DMX, whose real name was Earl Simmons, was hospitalized on April 2nd after suffering
from a heart attack.
At the time, his family said he was in a vegetative state and told People,
"We ask that you please keep Earl/DMX and us in your thoughts, wishes, and prayers."
His manager Nakia Walker told BuzzFeed that DMX had "lung and brain failure and no brain
activity," and that everyone was "just praying and waiting."
While he remained on life support, fans gathered outside of a New York hospital to hold a prayer
vigil.
But DMX never recovered, and on April 9th, the hip-hop legend died at age 50.
His family announced.
"We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl
Simmons, passed away at 50 years old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side
after being placed on life support for the past few days.
[...] Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end."
Months after legendary rapper DMX died, his official cause of death has been released.
Vulture reports that a source from the Westchester County medical examiner's office revealed
that the rapper died from a cocaine-induced heart attack which caused a lack of blood
circulation to his brain.
The source explained,
"It was cardiac arrest for a period of time, so there was no circulation to the brain."
Adding that acute cocaine intoxication was responsible for the "chain of events" that
followed.
While an autopsy wasn't performed, DMX's "urine showed the presence of cocaine," Vulture explained.
While prayer vigils were held for the rapper, it appears that it wasn't looking good for
DMX from the beginning.
Even though his heart was revived at one point, the source revealed to Vulture,
"His death literally happened immediately because the brain was dead.
[...] So obviously, there were a number of days where he was on ventilatory support and
so forth in the hospital.
However, he was diagnosed brain-dead early on ... He never woke up from [a] coma."
The rapper had been facing drug addiction for years after being introduced to drugs
as a child.
Of that experience, he said,
"A monster was born.
I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy."
While he clearly still managed to have a super successful career, it appears that drugs eventually
led to his demise.
DMX had an impressive music career since he rose to fame in the 1990s, but the late rapper
apparently had a hard life, which contributed to his problems with substance abuse.
As a child, DMX says he was physically abused by his mother and his mother's partners.
He once revealed,
"[My mother] beat two teeth out of my f------ mouth with a broom."
When he was only 6-years-old.
As for his father, DMX says,
"[He] never called me on my birthday or helped raise me at all."
According to People, DMX also suffered from severe bronchial asthma, which frequently
landed him in the emergency room.
Yet, it appears that being introduced to drugs at only age 14 by someone who was "like an
older brother" to him hurt the most.
DMX explained,
"I didn't smoke cigarettes, I didn't smoke weed.
I didn't do anything, I was 14 years old ... I never felt like this before.
I later found out that he laced the [cannabis] with crack.
Why would you do that [to] somebody who looks up to you?"
Throughout the years, the rapper was arrested multiple times and served time in jail.
DMX also went to rehab several times, with the most recent being in 2019, shortly after
he was released from prison on tax evasion charges.
But despite his personal problems, DMX always had his music to turn to.
The rapper's attorney Murray Richman stated that while his client lived a "difficult life,"
"He expressed the pain and suffering in a very unique way.
He truly is reflective of a whole segment of our society whose pain and suffering go
unrecorded."
DMX's longtime collaborator Swizz Beatz says that recording his last album, "Exodus," had
DMX in a good headspace right before his death.
He told the New York Post,
"He was in one of the best places I've seen him in years."
While "Exodus" is DMX's posthumous album - released a bit over a month after his death, it was
intended to be part of his comeback.
Swizz Beatz explained,
"We had plans to do a two-month cleansing and workout [program] before we came with
the album.
He was gonna re-brand himself."
Sadly, DMX never had a chance to follow through with that plan.
But fans still have his music to remember him by.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please call the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Administration's 24/7 National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.