DALLAS (AP) - Representatives of pioneering rapper Bushwick Bill say he is hospitalized in critical condition but still alive, contrary to some reports.

Bill's publicist, Dawn P., told The Associated Press that the rapper is on a ventilator at a Colorado hospital. She says hospital officials confirmed Bill's condition Sunday morning and that his family is traveling there to be with him.

Pete Marrero, Bill's Dallas-based business manager, says the 52-year-old was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in February and is not expected to recover. Bill, whose legal name is Richard Shaw, had been planning to go on tour around the time he was hospitalized.

Bill is a founding member of iconic Houston rap group the Geto Boys. The Jamaica-born performer was widely reported to have passed Sunday after a bandmate wrote a post on Instagram suggesting he had died.

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