DMX was sentenced to serve one year in prison on Wednesday after a guilty plea to tax evasion last November. The “X Gon Give it To Ya” rapper plead guilty in the federal case for avoiding the payment of $1.7 million in taxes.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the Ruff Ryders rapper’s lawyers planned to play his music to help lighten the sentence. It was reported Wednesday that they did in fact play his track “Slippin” from his 1998 album “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood.” In the track, X speaks about growing up in group homes and how it prepared him for jail and being forced to grow up before he was ready to be a man — lyrics that when really absorbed would help any listener see the mindset the rapper grew up with.
Prior to his final day in court, reports revealed that the prosecutors in his case were seeking a five year sentence, but ultimately he would end up being sentenced to four years less than what was recommended. DMX has been in jail since January and his bail was revoked after a failed drug test, an issue that has repeatedly plagued the now 47-year-old.
Throughout his illustrious career as one of the top selling rappers of all time with tens of millions of albums sold, DMX has almost become more famous for being in and out of jail. Some of the charges on X’s record include animal cruelty, drugs and weapons charges as well as probation violation as reported by Reuters.
“I knew that taxes needed to be paid,” Simmons reportedly said before he was sentenced. “I hired people but I didn’t follow up. I guess I really didn’t put too much concern into it. Part of DMX’s tax evasion charges came from living a “cash lifestyle.”
