DMX FACES THE MUSIC: SERENADED BY JUDGE, GETS A YEAR IN PRISON

Ajudge heard a DMX rap song before adding his own lyrics to a court proceeding on Wednesday, ordering that the rapper be jailed for a year over tax fraud.

Federal Judge Jed Rakoff took requests on Wednesday, in Manhattan, New York, accommodating DMX’s desire to hear his hit, Slippin’, before the artist faced the music over his admission of guilt. The judge called DMX’s fraud a “brazen and blatant” crime that could not go unpunished.

The 47-year-old rapper, known to law enforcement and the courts as Earl Simmons, has been incarcerated since his bail was revoked in January. He sobbed during the proceeding as his lawyer, Murray Richman, recalled his nightmarish childhood.

Prosecutors sought five years in prison for him, citing a lengthy rap sheet and drugs. Richman wanted the accused free to support his 15 children and pay back more than $2 million (₹13 cr) in taxes.

As Slippin’ played in the packed courtroom, DMX nodded his head slightly to the beat while some of his supporters nodded more enthusiastically. Given a chance to speak, he said that he knew taxes needed to be paid and what he did was wrong. “I wasn’t following the rules,” said the rapper. “I was in a cloud.”

The judge said that in the court’s view, DMX “is a good man”, but “in many ways, he’s his own worst enemy”.