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On April 2, legendary rapper DMX was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack and placed on life support. While conflicting details have been released about the cause of his health ailments and the state of his current condition, his ex-wife, Tashera Simmons, uploaded a touching video of fans playing the rapper’s music outside of the White Plains, New York hospital where he’s being treated.
In a screen recording obtained by The Jasmine Brand, dozens of people were lined up on the street as DMX’s “Where The Hood At” played loudly in the background. She captioned it, “The love is real… This just touched my heart.”
Simmons, who shares four children with the rapper, was married to the Ruff Ryders legend for fifteen years before they divorced in 2014.
Over the weekend, TMZ reported an alleged drug overdose triggered the heart attack that led to the rapper’s hospitalization. Some sources told the outlet that DMX has “some brain activity,” while other sources claimed the rapper is in a “vegetative state.” The conflicting reports continued as Murry Richman, DMX’s lawyer, retracted a statement that the rapper had been removed from life support and was breathing on his own after saying he was “given wrong information.”
DMX has been open about his struggles with substance abuse in the past.
In 2019, the rapper announced his plans to postpone tour dates after checking into rehab amid fears of relapsing.
“In his ongoing commitment to putting family and sobriety first, DMX has checked himself into a rehab facility,” a statement posted to the rapper’s Instagram at the time explained. “He apologizes for his cancelled shows and thanks his fans for their continued support.”
Throughout his career, DMX has spoken candidly about being introduced to crack at the age of 14 by a 30-year-old he looked up to. According to DMX, he smoked a blunt laced with crack cocaine after committing a robbery with someone he trusted.
DMX recounted the experience during an appearance on the People’s Party YouTube show. “I never felt like this before it f***ed me up. I later found out that he laced the blunt with crack… Why would you do that to a child?” he asked at the time. “He was like 30 and he knew I looked up to him. Why would you do that to someone who looks up to you?”
That moment changed the trajectory of the rapper’s life. “A monster was born,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy. Especially to someone that you supposedly love.”
In March of 2019, he talked about his efforts to confront pain caused by dark moments from the past actually helped in his efforts to stay clean.
“You never know when the things you stored away are going to come out and just fall all over the place,” he said last fall. “Let me open this door and start dealing with this sh-t right now before it comes out at the wrong time and I just have a meltdown… that’s what’s helped with addiction and sobriety.”
