iHeartPodcasts Sets Narrative Series on DMX's Early Years

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, January 26, 2026 | 2:11pm CT

iHeartPodcast Network

iHeartPodcasts has partnered with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's G-Unit Audio andpodcast studio Narratively to produce Look Thru My Eyes: Becoming DMX, a new narrative podcast series examining the early life and rise of the late hip-hop icon DMX.

Set to debut later this year on the iHeartRadio app and major podcast platforms, the multi-episode series traces the formative years of Earl Simmons before global fame, focusing on his upbringing in Yonkers, New York. Hosted by Yonkers native and rapper Jadakiss, the project features firsthand accounts from family members, childhood friends, collaborators, rivals, and cultural figures who witnessed DMX's early path.

The series is executive produced by Jackson alongside Noah Rosenberg, Bruce Miller, Justin Baez, and Paul Anderson. Producers say the narrative centers on themes of legacy, faith, struggle, addiction, and survival, with Miller and Baez bringing personal ties to Yonkers and DMX's family to ground the storytelling in the community that shaped the artist.

"DMX's story is bigger than the music," Jackson said, describing the series as an effort to document the years before fame through voices closest to Simmons.

Narratively serves as the lead creative and production partner, with production also handled by G-Unit Audio, Blue Light Media, and 1982 Media, in association with Workhouse Media. The showrunner is Drew Nelles, whose credits include projects for iHeartMedia, Sony, and Gimlet Media.

Will Pearson, President of iHeartPodcasts, said the partnership leverages the company's scale to bring DMX's story to a global audience. The first season will chronicle Simmons' early life and artistic emergence, with future seasons envisioned to explore the origin stories of other iconic artists.