DMX Update: What We Know About the Rapper’s Condition and Hospitalization

Since rapper DMX suffered a heart attack on Friday night, there have been few updates on his condition. The 50-year-old rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, remains in an intensive care unit at the White Plains, New York hospital. He reportedly suffered a drug overdose that triggered the heart attack, but his family has not confirmed that. His former manager described him as being in a “vegetative state.”

Sources close to DMX told TMZ on Saturday that the overdose happened at his home on Friday at 11 p.m. One source later told Entertainment Tonight that there were three attempts to revive him, two at his home and then again at the hospital. The source also claimed DMX recently had a drug relapse and fought the coronavirus. “They are standing by his bedside, holding his hand and praying,” the source said of his family. “They are really in prayer mode.”

Late Saturday evening, a family member told TMZ paramedics tried to resuscitate him for a half-hour. During that time, his brain was deprived of oxygen. “It’s not looking good,” the family source said at the time. On Sunday, Nakia Walker, DMX’s former manager, told The New York Times she was in contact with DMX’s family and he was in a “vegetative state” at the time. Walker confirmed DMX is on life support. “He’s still in the same condition — in a vegetative state, [with] lung and brain failure and no brain activity,” Walker told BuzzFeed News late Sunday. “We’re just praying and waiting. Praying and waiting.”

“On Friday night, April 2nd, 2021, our brother, son, father, and colleague DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, was admitted to White Plains (NY) Hospital, facing serious health issues,” DMX’s family said in a statement to ET. “We ask that you please keep Earl/DMX and us in your thoughts, wishes, and prayers as well as respect our privacy as we face these challenges. Thank you.” Angelo Ellerbee, a representative for the family, told ETthat DMX is in a “medical state from which I don’t think he will recover.”

Since the prognosis does not look good, members of DMX’s family have flocked to the White Plains hospital to see him. His fiancee, Desiree Lindstrom, and his mother, Arnett Simmons, have reportedly been allowed to see him. Lindstrom was seen at a vigil outside the hospital this afternoon with DMX’s youngest son, Exodus, reports TMZ. DMX’s ex-wife, Tashera Simmons, was also seen. DMX has four children with Simmons and 15 children in total. Some of DMX’s children arrived at the hospital on Monday and will be allowed to see him one at a time due to coronavirus protocols. It is not clear how many of DMX’s children traveled to White Plains.

DMX has struggled with substance abuse throughout his career and has faced drug charges. His most recent stint in rehab was in 2019 when he checked himself in after he completed a prison sentence for tax evasion charges. He returned to recording and performing after he completed the stretch in rehab, even appearing on Verzuz with Snoop Dogg last year. “We just stay hopeful. It’s devastating, for sure…it’s really hard,” Walker told BuzzFeed Sunday. She asked fans to “keep the positive energy, keep praying for X, keep playing his music, stay encouraged.”