DMX's kids honor their dad at "Homegoing Celebration" funeral service
"I wanted him to see me graduate high school, so I could do stuff with him that we never got to do," DMX's son said.
By C.H.
On Sunday (April 25), shortly after 2:30 p.m. EST, BET began broadcasting DMX's homegoing funeral service live from the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, NY.
During the service, several of his kids approached the podium to share heartfelt sentiments about their father. Some teared up and braced before speaking to the crowd. Others, delivered jokes, read poems and recalled memories. All of them realized the moment at hand. Their dad has transitioned and they will never be able to do the things kids get to do with their parents ever again.
The first child to speak choked up for a few seconds, gathered her composure and read aloud a beautiful tribute to her father. "When my father passed, someone messaged me something that really stuck with me," she said. "They said 'the hardest thing ever is accepting that this earth still rotates without the people you love. You think they mean as much to the earth itself as they do in my heart.' But my father wasn't just loved by myself and my family and his friends, he was loved by everyone around the world, so I understand that I'm not the only one that feels this way and even though sometimes I want to be selfish and keep him all to myself, I'm feeling what you guys are feeling right now."
"Whenever I was out with my father, he was so proud to hear about all I was doing in my life, whether it was school and even the smallest accomplishments. And I understand that as his daughter, I have certain responsibilities to live the rest of my experience with the purpose that he left for me because there has to be one and it's something that I always had that he saw in me from day one because he would call me his twin and he didn't see me in him for nothing."
"He saw so much in me not just because I was his daughter, but because we just understood each other. We could talk about everything except boys, no boys! He saw so much potential in me before I could even see it in myself. We were the same and you were great so in your eyes that's all I could ever be to you. And though I wish things were different and that he could see me graduate college and grow up and walk me down the aisle, you being at peace is more important than all those things. I know for a fact that you're resting peacefully and that you're not in pain anymore. And although that doesn't make it easier, that doesn't make it okay … I know you're extremely happy that through all this, me and my brothers and sisters are finally in the same room together."
Another daughter said, "Just looking out in the crowd, everyone in this room represents how much he was loved. He's looking down on us as we gather here seeing and receiving that love and he's laughing at us too," she joked. "He referred to life as suffering. Well God came down and saved him finally. He saved him from the pain and suffering. For him to be at that level of peace is more than any of us could ask for him. And it's more than any of could ever do for him. He deserves it. He touched every heart in this room and many more across the world."
Screen shot YouTube/BET
His son Manny said DMX wasn't just his dad, he was "his friend." "I wanted him to see me graduate high school, so I could do stuff with him that we never got to do," he said. His daughter Sonova Jr. cheerfully said, "I look up to my dad and I thank him for all of my brothers and sisters." Another daughter, Aaliyah, said, "It makes me sad that my dad will never be able to sing happy birthday to me again."
Screenshot YouTube/BET
Watch the full "Homegoing Celebration" funeral service below:
DMX suffered every day, but we were the Dark Man's light