DMX, born Earl Simmons, was hospitalized on April 2nd, 2021, after suffering a heart attack from an apparent drug overdose. The rapper, known for his growling and raspy voice, was on a ventilator and in a vegetative state when his family decided to have him removed from life support. On April 9th, 2021, Simmons passed away at the age of 50 at White Plains Hospital in New York. 
DMX’s History of Struggle with Addiction
DMX, who rose to fame back in the late 1990s and early 2000s with songs such as the “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem,” started struggling with drugs when he was just a young teenager. At the age of 14, the rapper was passed a blunt laced with crack cocaine by his mentor Ready Ron. Simmons had reported in an interview that he wasn’t even smoking cigarettes or weed at that time. This particular incident upset him because it seemed to be where the drug issues all started. In 2016, Simmons reportedly suffered an overdose in a hotel parking lot in Yonkers, NY. When found, he was not breathing, so he was given a shot of Narcan by medics. A witness stated that DMX had taken a powdered drug just before he fell unconscious.
DMX Wanted to Get Sober
The famous rapper had spent time in and out of treatment facilities several times over the years, with 2017 being his most recent stent in treatment. DMX was very open and honest about his struggles with addiction. He had committed to putting his sobriety and family first, but like others with addiction know, it’s not an easy journey or process, and relapse is always a possibility.
What Caused the Death of DMX?
An autopsy was performed on DMX, and the cause of death appears to be due to a lethal concoction of drugs, alcohol, and Covid-19. Multiple toxins were found in the rapper’s body: crack cocaine, fentanyl, and unknown amounts of alcohol and prescription pills. The autopsy details also showed that he had Covid-19, which likely complicated the rapper’s ability to draw oxygen into his system. Record producer Irv Gotti was interviewed on a Chicago radio station about Simmons. Gotti stated that he got a hold of a bad dose of crack cocaine, laced with fentanyl, which ultimately caused the overdose. When X got to the hospital, he couldn’t breathe. It was at that time he was diagnosed with Covid-19, which is a respiratory virus. Gotti said he was then hooked up to a ventilator, but before that, they found he was brain dead and most likely would not pull through from this. If he did, he would have been in a vegetative state.
The Opioid Overdose Continues Across the Country
The opioid overdose fatality rate continues to rise in this country, with fentanyl and heroin being the two central opioids causing death. All types of drugs are being laced with fentanyl these days because it is cheaper, easier to obtain, and easier to get into the country due to it weighing less than any other illegal drug. As a result, fentanyl is now being cut into heroin and cocaine, methamphetamine, and other street drugs. It is highly potent, dangerous, and deadly.
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