Pretty tough day today as we’ve lost not one but two legends, with the sad news rolling in just now that legendary rapper DMX has passed away one week after suffering a massive heart attack.

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DMX has been on life support since the cardiac arrest and his family shared the news that he had passed on with the following statement:

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.

Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end. 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.

We appreciate all of the love and support during this incredibly difficult time. Please respect our privacy as we grieve the loss of our brother, father, uncle and the man the world knew as DMX.

We will share information about his memorial service once details are finalised.

RIP to a true great of the rap game. I’m not exactly a rap connoisseur, but it’s fairly well known and accepted that DMX is one of the most influential rappers out there with his iconic and often imitated vocal delivery, so this really is some sad news today.

Although he’ll mostly be remember for fronting the Ruff Ryders Collective and major hits like ‘X Gonna Give It To You’ and ‘Ruff Ryders Anthem’, I also enjoyed his movies like ‘Exit Wounds’ with Steven Segal and ‘Cradle 2 The Grave’ with Jet Li. OK, I was just kidding about that last part but even so you’ve gotta respect that he was a man of many talents, including fathering 15 children. Thoughts go out to them at this time.

For more of the same, here’s DMX talking candidly about his crack addiction and how he was given a laced blunt by his mentor when he was just 14. Ouch.