DMX Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison for Tax Evasion

DMX is going back behind bars. The iconic New York rapper earned one year in prison for tax evasion followed by three years of supervised release, according to TMZ.

Prosecutors wanted much more. Prior to sentencing, the prosecution team requested five years in prison as a message to the rapper who pled guilty to tax evasion in November as part of a plea deal.

DMX was arrested for allegedly “engaging in a multi-year scheme to conceal” $1.7 million in taxes from the IRS. He originally faced more than a possible 40 years behind bars for the alleged crime.

As expected, DMX’s lawyer Murray Richman played the Ruff Ryder’s “Slippin'” music video in court. His goal was to help DMX speak through his music. He also wanted to reveal how hard the multiplatinum rapper’s life has been.

Earlier this year, DMX failed a drug test while out on bail. Today, he addressed the court with a message about his plight. “I wasn’t following the rules,” he said (per The Hollywood Reporter). “I was in a cloud.”

Judge Jed Rakoff called DMX’s alleged crime “brazen and blatant,” but also said he was a “good man.” “In many ways,” the judge added, “he’s his own worst enemy.”