DMX Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Tax Fraud
DMX was sentenced to one year in prison for tax fraud in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday (March 28).
According to NBC 4 New York, the rapper’s attorney Murray Richman played X’s song “Slippin’” before Judge Jed Rakoff finally delivered the rapper’s fate in his tax evasion case.
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, plead guilty in November to evading $1.7 million in taxes. Prosecutors requested that X serve five years in prison citing his lengthy rap sheet and drug issues.
In addition to the one-year sentence, Judge Rakoff added three years of supervised release once X is out of prison.
If things go well for DMX, in about a year he could possibly get more help from former NBA star Jayson Williams.
Williams, who runs a rehab facility called Rebound, told TMZ that he wants to help DMX become a better person. Williams believes that X is not a bad guy and blames the rapper's addiction to drugs for his bad financial decisions.
"He wasn't evading taxes on purposes. When you are in a self-destruct mode...you are not worrying about paying taxes," he said. "We are dealing with a sick individual."
"[DMX] can really change the world," he continued. "He can take the stigma off of sobriety. He is not a bad person, he's a sick person that needs help."
During his sentencing, DMX was given a chance to speak to the court. The 47-year-old rapper apologized to the judge and said that he knows taxes need to be paid and what he did was wrong.
"I wasn't following the rules," he said. "I was in a cloud."
Watch DMX's "Slippin'" Video
10 Criminal Convictions Outside of Hip-Hop That Shook Up the Culture