On Saturday, April 24th, DMX took his last ride through the streets of New York. Flanked by thousands of motorcycles, his blood red casket sat atop a monster truck with the words “Long Live DMX” emblazoned on the side as it made its way from his hometown of Yonkers to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where friends and family were gathering to celebrate the life of the late rapper who died April 9th at the age of 50. It was a legendary sendoff for an artist who poured his soul — with all its conflicts, its traumatic pain and its fierce love — into his music, forever bonding himself with the millions of people around the world who listened.
As the procession arrived at Barclays, the motorcyclists, many wearing leather vests bearing the Ruff Ryders logo, popped wheelies and burned their tires into the street, sending a thick fog of smoke into the air above the intersection on Flatbush and Atlantic. As fans danced and sang along to enduring DMX hits like “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” and “Party Up (Up In Here),” enterprising sellers hawked commemorative T-shirts, and members of the Nation of Islam passed out newspapers with a portrait of the rapper’s face on the cover. On the big screen outside of Barclays, a picture of DMX with angel wings appeared next to a line from his 1999 song “Fame”: “We each have a star, all we have to do is find it/ Once you do, everyone who sees it will be blinded.”
A Triumphant Return: The Restored Organ of St Peter and St Paul
On 1 March 2025, the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, marked a major milestone—the first performance on its 235-year-old organ since its comprehensive restoration. Silent since 2020, this remarkable instrument—famously played by Sir Elton John in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)—has now been fully revived, bringing its powerful voice back to the chapel’s historic setting.
The Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Choir, led by Dr Ralph Allwood MBE, delivered a superb performance alongside organists Jonathan Eyre and Alexander Knight. Introducing the show, Allwood reflected on choral music as a powerful act of collaboration, essential to human success—a fitting message for an evening that honoured both history and renewal.
The programme balanced organ solos and choral works, making full use of the chapel’s acoustics. Parry’s 'I Was Glad' and Widor’s 'Messe à deux choeurs et deux orgues' were highlights, while the organ’s placement at the rear allowed for moments of reflection as the audience faced Benjamin West’s towering 25-foot tall 'Preservation of St Paul after a Shipwreck at Malta'.
The evening also marked a transition, bidding farewell to Jonathan Eyre and welcoming Alexander Knight as the new organist. With its historic organ restored to full splendour, the chapel remains an outstanding venue for worship and music—well worth a visit.
