DMX: Fighting Doing Time

By Serena Kappes

Wednesday September 24, 1997 12:00 AM EDT

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An attorney for rapper DMX claimed on Thursday that the multi-platinum rapper, who was arrested in March for driving without a license, has been given an unfair 15-day sentence because of his fame, reports the Associated Press. DMX (whose real name is Earl Simmons) attorney Mark Mahoney said that the rapper "couldn't avoid presenting himself in court as a representative of an urban subcultural population that a lot of people outside doesn't understand" and asked a federal judge to stay the sentence given in Cheektowaga (N.Y.) Town Court. DMX, 30, pleaded guilty to driving without a license (the charge was eventually reduced to a parking ticket, though he had four prior tickets for driving without a license) and admitted to marijuana possession when the incident, which took place after a Buffalo concert, occurred. He was fined $100, with a prison sentence pending. If the stay is denied by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Arcara, DMX will begin his prison sentence on Friday.