Derek Simmons

Derek "Dialysus" Simmons was born and raised in New Jersey and he has overcome an incredible amount of adversity thus far in his life. At the age of 10 he was diagnosed with a kidney disease which became worse over the years, and in February of 2006 he had to go on dialysis. After over a year on dialysis, unfortunately his kidneys failed and had to be removed causing him to need a transplant. With much prayer, family, and friend support, he was lucky enough to find a perfect match for his kidney in his father Derek Simmons Sr. On July 12, 2006 he had a kidney transplant at St. Barnabas Hospital. After 6 other surgeries he was finally released from the hospital on August 26, 2006. After being released from the hospital, Derek was inspired by overcoming his adversity and wrote a song about his life titled "Lifestory" which was an inspiration to many. Turning a negative experience into a positive one, Derek declared his rap name "Dialysus" and continued to pursue his musical talents going