Rapper, Actor DMX, Five-Time Billboard Chart Topper, Dead at 50

American rapper and actor Earl Simmons, known by the stage name DMX, died after suffering a heart attack during what media reports said was a drug overdose. (Getty Images)
American rapper and actor Earl Simmons, known by the stage name DMX, died after suffering a heart attack during what media reports said was a drug overdose. (Getty Images)
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Rapper, Actor DMX, Five-Time Billboard Chart Topper, Dead at 50

American rapper and actor Earl Simmons, known by the stage name DMX, died after suffering a heart attack during what media reports said was a drug overdose. (Getty Images)
American rapper and actor Earl Simmons, known by the stage name DMX, died after suffering a heart attack during what media reports said was a drug overdose. (Getty Images)

American rapper and actor Earl Simmons, known by the stage name DMX or Dark Man X, died on Friday, People magazine said, after suffering a heart attack during what media reports said was a drug overdose. He was 50 years old.

The chart-topping artist's songs included "Party Up (Up in Here)" and "X Gon' Give It To Ya." His career had been marked by legal troubles and prison time.

"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," his family wrote in a statement quoted by the magazine.

DMX collapsed at home, his family had said, and was taken to a New York hospital where his former manager said he had been placed on life support with no brain activity.

Celebrity publications TMZ and Billboard said he overdosed on drugs triggering a heart attack.

Growing up in Yonkers, New York, DMX took his moniker from the name of a drum machine used in rap songs. When he was 14, an older rapper who had been a mentor tricked him into smoking crack, DMX said in a documentary series broadcast on BET.

"He created a monster," he said. "Cocaine almost took my life on a few occasions."

His debut album in 1998, "It's Dark and Hell is Hot," was the first of five in a row to top the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. He was the only rap artist with such a streak, according to a 2019 profile in GQ magazine.

He studied the Bible and prayed before and after every show, he told GQ.

"Performing in front of people is beyond a high. It's beyond a high that any drug could duplicate," he said.

The rapper's intense songs told stories of a complex character's "sins of the streets," according to a biography on allmusic.com, which described DMX as a "hip-hop Johnny Cash."

His album “…And Then There Was X” was his biggest seller, certified five-time multiplatinum. DMX released eight albums and was nominated for three Grammys.

DMX earned more than 40 film and television credits, including "Belly," "Romeo Must Die," and action films "Cradle 2 the Grave" and "Exit Wounds," also contributing music to their soundtracks.

He had 15 children, according to media reports.

Before he died, his ex-wife Tashera Simmons, with whom he had four children, attended a vigil outside his hospital, where hundreds of fans danced to DMX songs. "The love is real," she posted on Instagram.

Basketball star LeBron James had tweeted while DMX was in hospital: "To one of my fav artist growing up and still to this day DMX, my prayers are with you and sent to the almighty heaven’s above!"

In 2017, DMX pleaded guilty in federal court to avoiding paying $1.7 million in taxes from 2000 to 2005 by shifting money among accounts belonging to managers and associates. He was sentenced to one year in prison.

The rap star’s prior arrest record included charges of animal cruelty, reckless driving, drug possession, weapons charges and probation violations. He served prison time in Arizona and New York.

In the 1998 song "Slippin'," DMX rapped: "To live is to suffer, But to survive, well, that's to find meaning in the suffering."



Lebanon Mourns Iconic Composer Ziad Rahbani as Mother Fairouz Makes Rare Appearance

A mourner holds up a rose and a portrait of renowned Lebanese musician and composer Ziad Rahbani as crowds gathered outside Khoury Hospital in Beirut's central Hamra district to bid him farewell before his funeral procession on July 28, 2025. (AFP)
A mourner holds up a rose and a portrait of renowned Lebanese musician and composer Ziad Rahbani as crowds gathered outside Khoury Hospital in Beirut's central Hamra district to bid him farewell before his funeral procession on July 28, 2025. (AFP)
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Lebanon Mourns Iconic Composer Ziad Rahbani as Mother Fairouz Makes Rare Appearance

A mourner holds up a rose and a portrait of renowned Lebanese musician and composer Ziad Rahbani as crowds gathered outside Khoury Hospital in Beirut's central Hamra district to bid him farewell before his funeral procession on July 28, 2025. (AFP)
A mourner holds up a rose and a portrait of renowned Lebanese musician and composer Ziad Rahbani as crowds gathered outside Khoury Hospital in Beirut's central Hamra district to bid him farewell before his funeral procession on July 28, 2025. (AFP)

Hundreds of people in Lebanon paid tribute Monday to iconic composer, pianist and playwright Ziad Rahbani, who died over the weekend. His mother, Fairouz, a Lebanese icon and one of the Arab world's most esteemed singers, made a rare public appearance.

Rahbani, also known as a political provocateur, died Saturday at age 69. The cause of death was not immediately known.

His passing shocked much of the Arab world, which appreciated his satire, unapologetic political critique and avante-garde, jazz-inspired compositions that mirrored the chaos and contradictions of Lebanon throughout its civil war from 1975 until 1990. He also composed some of his mother's most famous songs.

Lebanon's iconic singer Fairouz receives condolences during the funeral of her son, musician and composer Ziad Rahbani, at a church in Bikfaya town in the Metn District region of Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, on July 28, 2025. (AFP)

The Rahbani family was a cornerstone in Lebanon's golden era of music theater that today is steeped in idealism and nostalgia in a troubled country.

Top Lebanese political officials and artists paid tribute after the death was announced. Rahbani, a leftist Greek Orthodox, often mocked Lebanon’s sectarian divisions in his work.

Hundreds of people holding roses and photos gathered by Khoury Hospital near Beirut's busy Hamra district, solemnly singing some of his most famous songs and applauding as a vehicle carrying his body left its garage.

Reem Haidar, who grew up during the civil war, said Rahbani’s songs and their messages were what she and others associated with at a time when there was “no nation to belong to.”

The vehicle made its way to a church in the mountainous town of Bikfaya before burial in the family cemetery.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (R) stands nearby the coffin of late Lebanese composer and musician Ziad Rahbani during his funeral at a church in Bikfaya town in the Metn District region of Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, 28 July 2025. (EPA)

Fairouz, 90, had spent many years away from the public eye. Wearing black sunglasses and a black veil, she greeted visitors who came to pay respects. She had not been seen publicly since photos surfaced of her meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited her residence in 2020 to award her France's highest medal of honor.

In recent years, Rahbani also appeared less in the public eye, yet his influence never waned. Younger generations rediscovered his plays online and sampled his music in protest movements. He continued to compose and write, speaking often of his frustration with Lebanon’s political stagnation and decaying public life.

Rahbani is survived by his mother and his sister Reema and brother Hali.