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The Westchester County Medical Examiner told Vulture on Thursday, July 8 that the hip-hop icon died on April 9 due to a cocaine-induced heart attack which caused a lack of blood circulation to his brain.
“It was cardiac arrest for a period of time, so there was no circulation to the brain,” the Medical Examiner explained to Vulture. No official statement has been released by the ME’s office.
According to reports, the death was caused by acute cocaine intoxication. Despite being treated for several days following his initial overdose, officials said that his brain was likely dead the entire time.
“His death literally happened immediately because the brain was dead,” sources stated. “So obviously, there were a number of days where he was on ventilatory support and so forth in the hospital. However, he was diagnosed brain-dead early on. He never woke up from a coma.”
The official report cited documentation from medical officials and law enforcement to determine the cause of death because an autopsy was not performed following his death.
A Mount Vernon native who grew up in Yonkers, DMX - whose original name was Earl Simmons - died surrounded by friends and family after being placed on life support for several days.
DMX (which stands for Dark Man X), a father of 15, spent much of his youth in Westchester before hitting it big with his debut album “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot,” which went platinum nearly five times.
Simmons previously lived near the Bedford border on McLain Street in Mount Kisco with his now-estranged wife Tashera Simmons before putting the home into foreclosure in 2016 after filing for bankruptcy.
“Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” his family said in a statement announcing his death in April. “He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him. Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever."
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