RAPPER DMX NOT HAPPY WITH RECENT ARREST

Rapper expresses anger over recent arrest. Video courtesy of ABC15 TV 
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By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

Rapper DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was arrested Thursday in Phoenix after he allegedly violated his probation by using drugs, the Toronto Sun reported.

Maricopa County adult probation officers took the 40-year-old father of eight into custody at his north Phoenix without incident and placed him in the Maricopa County jail where he was held without bond.

The rapper's arrest came two days after Simmons' 40th birthday. According to court documents released Friday, Simmons allegedly ingested the prescription narcotic, Oxycontin and cocaine, failure to attend mandated counseling and make said payments, driving on a suspended license and failure to submit to drug testing.

"It is very frustrating that the probation department would time it in such a way to violate Mr. Simmons right before the holiday and just a few weeks shy of the termination date of the probation," said Simmons' attorney Glen Allen in an email to the Associated Press.

"Mr. Simmons has been working very hard and will overcome this setback," added Allen who said he had been working with the "Cradle to the Grave" actor and probation officials and expected the arrest.

His latest arrest follows two previous arrests for violating the terms of his probation, which he was placed on last year after convictions for attempted aggravated assault for throwing a food tray at a jail guard, and theft for trying to using a fake name to avoid paying a $7,500 hospital bill, AccessAtlanta reported.

Zach Dal Pra, Chief deputy of the Maricopa County adult probation department said officials may request that Simmons probation be revoked and with several prior violations, it is likely the rapper will face prison time.

Simmons, of Yonkers, pleaded guilty in 2008 to attempted possession of cocaine and marijuana in Miami, posing as an undercover federal agent in 2004 and crashing his sport-utility vehicle through a security gate at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Simmons, whose stage name is a tribute to the musical instrument the Oberheim DMX drum machine, made his grand debut onto the Hip Hop scene during the late 1990s.

He has starred in movies such as Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Last Hour and Belly.

To date, his best-selling album is his 1999 album "...And Then There Was X." In 2002, Simmons penned the autobiographical book titled E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX, available through Harper Collins.



Simmons has been married to wife Tashera Simmons for 12 and together they have four children. The troubled rapper/actor has four other children from previous relationships. On July 22, 2010, Tashera Simmons announced her separation from her husband, just 2 weeks after he was released from jail.

DMX expressing anger over recent arrest