The American rapper DMX was hospitalised on Saturday evening after falling ill, his New York-based lawyer Murray Richman said.
“He had a heart attack. He’s quite ill,” Richman said.
Richman said he could not confirm reports that DMX, 50, overdosed on drugs and was not sure what caused the heart attack.
“I’m very sad about it, extremely sad. He’s like my son,” Richman said.
“He’s just a tremendous person, tremendous entertainer, tremendous human being. And so much to offer, so much to say. Not the run-of-the-mill rapper. A person of great depth.”
Earlier reports had said DMX, 50, had been on life support, but Richman told Pix11 he was later breathing on his own.
DMX, whose real name was Earl Simmons, has had five US No 1 albums, featuring hip-hop anthems such as Party Up (Up in Here), What’s My Name and X Gon’ Give It to Ya. His first two albums were released months apart in 1998, each going multi-platinum and attracting critical acclaim for bringing a gothic…