Hip-hop legend DMX stopped traffic one last time Saturday — with a high octane funeral procession that growled from Yonkers to Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center, where thousands are turning out for the rapper’s 4 p.m. memorial service.
The procession began at around noon in Yonkers — where the rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, grew up. It was led by hundreds of motorcycles, and the rapper’s shiny red coffin was borne on the flatbed of a souped-up monster truck, with “Long Live DMX” emblazoned on the sides of the vehicle.
“Hundreds of bikes, ATVs, cars going down Flatbush in the DMX procession toward Barclays,” one eyewitness tweeted.
The rapper’s casket arrived at Barclay’s just after 2 p.m.
The brash procession — which caused street closings, lane restrictions and heavy congestion — was a nod to the motorcycle-loving Ruff Ryders, a rap group with whom DMX rose to stardom, and even had its own name: “Ruff Ryders 2 The Rescue: Ryde 4 Life.”
Some 200 NYPD cops and traffic enforcement officers have been assigned to the event and helicopters are expect to whir overhead, police sources told The Post.
“Cops will be stationed along the route and there will be a heavy police presence,” a law enforcement source said.
“Temporary closures south on the Major Deegan to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge to the westbound Grand Central Parkway,” the NYPD tweeted.
Per New York State COVID-19 guidelines, Barclays is permitted to host 10 percent of its capacity. The arena seats up to 19,000 seats for concerts, and has 101 luxury suites, according to its website.
Organizers said in a statement they will follow New York COVID-19 testing guidelines and protocols. The ceremony will be livestreamed on DMX’s YouTube channel.
Neither the NYPD nor the city immediately responded to questions regarding the cost of the extra police presence and who is footing the bill.
“We aren’t at liberty to discuss the financial arrangements of our events,” a Barclays spokeswoman told The Post on Saturday.
The rapper died April 9 following after suffering a catastrophic cardiac arrest after an April 2 drug overdose that left him in a “vegetative state.”
The Mount Vernon-born dad of 15 moved to Yonkers as a boy was as talented as he was troubled. He made his name battling in street circles and had an infamous battle with Jay-Z back in 1993 before the two were famous. He went on to be one of the most successful commercial rappers of all time.
