After the tragic passing of Smokin' Joe Frazier and Heavy D, another tragedy has stricken the Black community.
According to DJ Scratch, MC/producer Erick Sermon suffered a heart attack earlier today–though he said Sermon is recovering. "Erick Sermon had a heart attack today," Scratch wrote. "He's ok, but still send your prayers." DJ Scratch was a long-time DJ and producer for seminal hip-hop duo EPMD, which consisted of Sermon and Parrish "PMD" Smith.
Apparently, Sermon suffered from high blood pressure, which caused the cardiac incident. A number of reports came in via the web …
Kim Wingate, a close friend of Sermon and owner of justshuddup.com, said that she talked to the rapper. He nearly died. "On the heels of suffering the loss of Heavy D, we almost lost another HipHop Legend last night. Erick Sermon is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack last night. I just got off the phone with E and he said the doctor told him his blood pressure was so high he was minutes from death. He wanted me to let everyone know he's okay."
Even Def Jam founder Russell Simmons chimed in …
"sending prayers to my life long friend Erick Sermon … http://bit.ly/th5Lqy"
We'll continue covering this story with any new information that becomes available.
[Source: SOHH.com, BET, Russell Simmons' Twitter]