Rapper DMX was arrested early Wednesday morning for driving without a license, according to TMZ.
DMX was driving a 1978 Buick when he was pulled over around 2 AM. He was then taken to Spartanburg Detention Center in South Carolina where he was able to be seen in front of the judge around 6 am. He was released shortly after he paid a fine.
The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, spoke with the local FOX station as he left the police station. “No, I didn’t have a license ..put the cuffs on me. Brought me here. I paid the money. Basically, just five hours wasted for nothing. I don’t have a court date or court appearance,” he told the news outlet. A pretty nonchalant statement due to the fact that his five month old daughter was in the back seat the entire time!
According to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office report, a deputy recognized the rapper at the Li’l Cricket on Gap Creek Road around 1 am. The report reads that after Simmons went inside the store, he came back outside and got in the driver seat. He had already been issued tickets in Greer and Duncan for driving without a license, and a state DMV search showed that he was only carrying a state identification card. Deputies stated that the car was turned over to a licensed driver who was in the car after the rapper was pulled over and arrested.
This wasn’t the rapper’s first brisk with the law. DMZ has served several prison sentences for various minor driving infractions. In Maricopa County, Arizona, he was arrested six times alone. DMZ has been arrested at least once a year since 1999, with the small exception of 2012. He announced last year that he had devoted his life to God and became a church deacon.
Shanika Simmons