In tragic news from the world of music, legendary rapper DMX (short for “Dark Man X”) passed away at the age of 50 from a heart attack. The artist was a fixture in the hip-hop community, and was seen as one of the great voices of New York City, as Ja Morant and other NBA players are quite aware. The NBA community has reached out in memoriam reacting to the rapper's passing, headlined by resident NBA rapper Damian Lillard on Instagram:

Lillard, who is familiar as the voice of a city (his hometown Oakland and Portland), was not the alone in celebrating the life of DMX (real name, Earl Simmons). His teammate, CJ McCollum, also showed love for the legendary musician:

DMX has apparently been involved with the world of hip-hop since 1984, when he was only 14 years old. He got his start as a beatboxer for Yonkers local rapper Ready Ron, before two stints in prison caused him to take writing and actual emceeing more seriously. He would be signed to Columbia Records only eight years later, and has been a mainstay in the genre ever since. A testament to his skill was a feature with none other than Jay-Z as early as 1995.

Given the amount of time DMX spent as one of the leading names in hip-hop and rap, his influence spans generations. Players like 20-year NBA veteran Jamal Crawford, all the way to the NBA's youngest generation in Ja Morant and Trae Young paid tribute to the icon:

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To them, and to many, DMX was not just a rapper or artist. He was a leader, and in Trae Young's words, an icon to 30 years-worth of fans. The rapper was apparently planning to release music as recently as 2019, and has never stopped working through everything including road bumps and controversy.

Rest in peace, DMX, and know that you were, and are, loved and adored.