DMX dies at White Plains Hospital after a heart attack
Earl Simmons dies at White Plains Hospital, a week after suffering a heart attack at his Mount Kisco home. He was 50. The hospital reports the heart attack was triggered by a cocaine-induced cardiac event. Five of his eight studio albums had debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200; *It's Dark and Hell Is Hot* (1998) and *Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood* (1998) were both #1 within a single calendar year — a feat then unprecedented for a hip-hop artist.
Why it matters
DMX's death closes one of the most distinctive vocal careers in late-90s/early-2000s hip-hop — the gravel-rasp delivery, the prayer-and-gospel framings on every record, the openly autobiographical engagement with addiction across his discography. His Verzuz against Snoop Dogg in 2020 had introduced him to a streaming-era audience that had largely missed his Ruff Ryders peak. The eulogies — from Kanye West's Sunday Service at the funeral home to Nas's tribute verse — establish DMX as one of the era's most universally respected MCs.
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