Rapper DMX, who once rapped that he “hate[s] cops” and sang about murdering them, was revived by police officers in New York on Monday after falling unconscious due to a suspected drug overdose.
According to TMZ, DMX, real name Earl Simmons, was found unconscious in a parking lot at a Ramada Inn in Yonkers, New York, Monday evening. The rapper reportedly had no pulse and was not breathing, and police immediately began administering CPR.
The rapper reportedly began breathing again after about a minute of CPR. When a witness told police on scene that DMX had ingested an unidentified powder prior to collapsing, they gave him the drug overdose antidote Narcan. The rapper reportedly became semi-conscious and was taken to a hospital for further treatment.
TMZ reported that DMX is now in stable condition at the hospital and no criminal charges were expected to be filed.
The 45-year-old rapper has a had a long and contentious history with law enforcement. Since 1998, the rapper has been arrested multiple times on charges of drug possession, weapons possession, driving without a license, driving under the influence, aggravated assault, and failure to pay child support.
Some of the lyrics of DMX’s songs detail the rapper’s apparent hatred of police. On “Crime Story” from the rapper’s 1998 album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, DMX raps about coming across police officers who are looking for him.
“Run though the hallway, see police, face to face/And being I’m telling you this story, means I caught another case,” DMX raps, referring to catching another murder case. At the end of the song, the rapper enters a police precinct and blows himself up with C4 strapped to his chest.
A representative for DMX told TMZ that the rapper had not suffered a drug overdose, as many outlets had speculated, but that it was an asthma attack that had caused him to fall unconscious. A family member of the rapper told the outlet that he asked for his inhaler shortly before he collapsed.
Regardless of the circumstances, it appeared the quick action of the responding police officers was responsible for saving the rapper’s life.
“This was an excellent job by the officers and they definitely saved the life,” Lt. Patrick McCormack told the New York Daily News. “They found him in a lifeless condition with no breathing. They were able to bring back some breathing.”
Listen to DMX “Crime Story” below. (Warning: explicit lyrics.)
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