Rapper DMX was admitted to the hospital after suffering a heart attack, reportedly triggered by a drug overdose, at his home on Friday night.
The musician, whose real name is Earl Simmons, overdosed around 11 p.m. on Friday, according to TMZ.
Sources said the 50-year-old rapper was rushed to a hospital in White Plains, New York, and admitted to the critical care unit.
DMX in a critical condition
DMX (aka Dark Man X) was reportedly in critical condition at the hospital. One source said he was in a “vegetative state” while another said he was showing “some brain activity.”
Doctors reportedly warned that his prognosis was not good.
DMX battled with substance abuse legal issues
Rapper DMZ struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues over the years. The rapper checked himself into rehab multiple times in the past due to his longstanding drug use-related problems.
Separately, he was charged with tax fraud in July 2017 and pleaded guilty in November 2017. He was sentenced to one year in prison in March 2018 for tax evasion. He also received three years of supervised probation following his prison sentence and was ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution.
The rapper was released from prison in January 2019.
He went into rehab in October 2019 after completing his sentence. TMZ reported that he checked himself in at the time only to guard against relapse into drug use.
The rapper made a return to the stage in late 2019. He faced off with Snoop Dogg in a Verzuz battle in July 2020.
DMX’s rap career peaked in the 1990s
DMX released several albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (1998),…And Then There Was X (1999), The Great Depression, and Grand Champ (2003).
He released his last studio album Undisputed in 2012.
The rapper is known for hit singles such as Get at Me Dog, Stop Being Greedy, What’s My Name, Party Up (Up in Here), and We Right Here.
He also appeared in movies, including Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave, and Last Hour.
He published his memoirs, E.A.R.L.:The Autobiography of DMX, in 2003 and appeared in the reality TV series DMX: Soul of a Man in 2006.