Rapper DMX has been hospitalized and fellow music artists such as Missy Elliott and Rick Ross have taken to social media to pray for his recovery.
The 50-year-old “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” artist was rushed to a hospital in White Plains, New York on Friday night, April 2, TMZ reported, saying he is in critical condition. It quoted sources close to the rapper as saying he suffered a drug overdose that triggered a heart attack. DMX’s rep has not confirmed these details but did confirm to Billboard on Saturday, April 3, that the artist is currently hospitalized.
DMX, a father of 15 children and whose real name is Earl Simmons, has battled substance addiction on and off for years. He underwent treatment in rehab in 2017 and 2019.
Last November, he talked about his history of addiction to crack cocaine on the show People’s Party with Talib Kweli. The rapper said that at age 14, his mentor, who was like an “older brother” to him, gave him a crack-laced blunt without telling him what he smoked. He said he had never even smoked cigarettes or weed before the incident.
“I never felt like this,” he said, pausing for several seconds while getting emotional. “It just f–ked me up. I later found out that he laced the blunt with crack.”
The rapper asked, “Why would you do that to a child? He was like 30…and he knew I looked up to him. Why would you do that to someone who looks up to you? I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy.”
