A lawyer representing troubled rapper DMX insists the star is not in a “life-threatening situation”, despite reportedly admitting himself into a Florida hospital for “fear of stroke” earlier this week. The hip-hop star - real name Earl Simmons - was allegedly taken to the emergency room at a hospital in Aventura, Florida on Monday (22Sep08).

His health scare caused the rapper to miss a scheduled court appearance on Tuesday (23Sep08) in Arizona - where he was set to appear on charges of theft. And while his attorney Bradford Cohen refuses to comment on the exact nature of DMX’s illness, he is confident the hospitalisation will have no long-term effects on the hip-hop hitmaker’s health.

Cohen tells Billboard.com, “It was serious enough for him to be brought and taken into a treatment facility. “He spent the night there last night, and he will probably spend tonight there as well. I don’t think it’s going to be an ongoing thing or a life-threatening situation. He’s going to be all right.” DMX also faces several animal cruelty, traffic violation and drug possession counts in the state.

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