A sad day in the world of Rap Music has occurred as Earl Simmons, known professionally as DMX, has passed away at the age of 50.  DMX had a heart attack last week, and had been on life support for many days.

Known for his gruff voice and gritty lyrics, DMX took over as the top rapper in the late 90s and early 00s following the passing of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.  DMX had five number one albums, and while he looked tough and sounded profane, he was incredibly relatable and complex.

DMX also branched out into the acting, most notably in Cradle 2 the Grave with Jet Li.  His music petered out in the 2010s, and he struggled with drug and legal problems that destroyed his output and creativity.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of DMX.

Hello everyone!

As you know, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the Class of 2018, which features Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, The Cars, Nina Simone, The Moody Blues and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. They will be removed from Notinhalloffame.com Rock and Roll list and now we are working on our next rendition.

The list is impacted annually by your votes and comments and we have seen in the past your input move an artist almost 100 spots. This year will be no exception.

Now we already have a Futures section reflecting those who are eligible for the next vote in December but we thought we would take the time to ask all of you where you think the following musicians deserve to be ranked by us.

Our first inkling is that of the new eligible artists none of them stand out as a first ballot entry. Frankly we are not sure that any of them are Top 50 worthy.

We certainly have some ideas, and we will be taking into consideration the votes that you have already given on each artist’s respective page in the futures section. However, we thought it prudent to ask all of you again here your thoughts about the potential rankings for the following:

AFI

Aimee Mann

Bjork

Blink-182

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

Built to Spill

Collective Soul

Counting Crows

Dave Matthews Band

DMX

Elastica

Everclear

Frank Black

Grant Lee Buffalo

Liz Phair

Rancid

The Roots

Shania Twain

Sheryl Crow

Snoop Dogg

Toni Braxton

We look forward to hearing any insight you may have!

DMX was a major player in the Hardcore Rap scene, and he enjoyed a high amount of commercial success. Actually, saying a high amount of commercial success was an understatement as he had the number one album on both the U.S. Mainstream and R&B charts (four of which actually debuted there). With an aggressive style and unparalleled intensity, DMX gruff vocals were matched by what was an organic portrait of the life he knew. As critically respected as he was commercially successful, the Hall of Fame chances of DMX lie in how many other Rappers before him get in and if his legacy increases.  This might sound harsh, but to paraphrase Chris Rock, if DMX had died young he would be considered legendary right now.