DMX’s family is warning the late rap legend‘s fans not to fall for funeral fundraiser scams. Family members told TMZ Monday they do not need to raise funds to pay for his funeral. They have also warned fans that any DMX merchandise being sold now is not family-approved. A viral tweet claiming Jay-Z and Beyoncé were teaming up to buy DMX’s masters to give them to his children is also false.
Members of DMX’s family told TMZ there were several false rumors about him that began since his death on Friday. One claim was that DMX’s family was raising money to pay for his funeral. These are all fake, and the family said it is not raising money now. TMZ‘s sources also said that any merchandise, like T-shirts, that are hitting the market now are not authentic and none of the profits are going to the family.
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TMZ also debunked a viral tweet that claimed Jay-Z and Beyoncé were spending $10 million to buy back DMX’s masters to give to his children. Although the tweet was published by an unreliable source and included the wrong number of children DMX has, it still went viral, racking up over 1,400 likes and 480 retweets. The family noted that Jay-Z and Beyonce have no connection to DMX’s master recordings. While some are controlled by Def Jam, Jay-Z does not own them.
Rumors about DMX started even before his family announced his death. On Thursday, comedian Lunell falsely claimed on Instagram that DMX died, which led to premature tributes trending on Twitter. DMX’s manager, Steve Rifkin, took to Instagram to ask fans to “please stop posting with these rumors” and said it was “not helping” his family to see these rumors. Unfortunately, hours later, his family announced on Friday that DMX died, a week after he suffered a heart attack.
There was also another morbid hoax that was debunked. A video claiming to show DMX’s body leaving the hospital went viral on Twitter. However, the video clearly shows that it was shot in Orlando, Florida, far from the White Plains, New York hospital where DMX died.
The family has not announced plans for a public memorial yet, but Yonkers, New York Mayor Mike Spano told TMZ the Yonkers Raceway would be available if the family wants to host an event in DMX’s hometown. In the meantime, fans have started a makeshift memorial outside the hospital. DMX’s fiance Desiree Lindstrom also got a new tattoo in his honor. She had “Dog Love” and an “X” tattooed on her forearm. “Honored to be able to do this memorial but also saddened,” Blank Ink Crew tattoo artist Krystal Kills wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of the tattoo.
