DMX Hospitalized After Overdose, Condition Said to Be Dire

Rapper DMX is in “grave condition” following a drug overdose on Friday night, according to a report by TMZ. Sources close to him told reporters that he is in the hospital and that doctors are preparing his loved ones for the worst. The rapper is said to be in a “vegetative state.”

DMX — whose real name is Earl Simmons — reportedly suffered an overdose at his home at around 11 p.m. ET on Friday night. Insiders say that he was rushed to a hospital in White Plains, New York, where doctors determined that the overdose caused a heart attack. Right now, they say the rapper has only “some brain activity,” and it is not clear if he will make a recovery at all. Simmons has a long history with drug addiction, though fans hoped his most recent stint in rehab had set him straight.

Simmons was one of the pre-eminent rappers of his generation starting in the early 1990s, and he helped raise the Columbia Records subsidiary Ruffhouse out of obscurity with his “Ruff Ryders.” He released singles between 1991 and 1998, earning features alongside Jay-Z, Ja Rule and other top performers, but did not release his own full-length album until 1998. His single “Party (Up in Here)” is still emblematic of that era.

Still, Simmons’ whole career was in the shadow of substance abuse and legal issues, which he detailed in his memoir E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX. He wrote that his abusive childhood landed him in a boys’ home at the age of 14. Around that time, he said, he first smoked crack cocaine. He was charged with drug possession in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2013. He served jail sentences in some of those cases, paid fines in others and did one stint in a mental health facility where he claimed he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Through it all, Simmons maintained a dominant place in rap music and in pop culture more generally. His hit songs like “X Gon Give it To Ya” still make TV and movie soundtracks to this day, from Deadpool to Rick and Morty. DMX signed a new record deal with Def Jam in 2019, and has been promising fans new music ever since.

So far, Simmons’ representatives and family have not made an independent announcement about his overdose, and there have been no updates on his condition. Fans are rallying for the musician on social media.