DMX's Lawyer Wants To Play His Music During Sentencing

DMX’s lawyer hopes that the art will speak for itself.

The rapper, 47, will be sentenced Thursday and could face up to 44 years of jail time.

Attorney Murray Richman said in court documents, made public on Monday, that he wants to play some DMX music during the sentencing to explain the man behind the charges according to the Associated Press.

He sent Judge Jed S. Rakoff lyrics to songs like the emotional "Slippin'" and "The Convo," which he hopes sheds light on the rapper's feelings and talent and shows off who the real Earl Simmons is. 

"It is raw Earl," the lawyer said. "We are not here or desirous of molding him into what some may want to see; Earl is uniquely him and that is both his beauty of mind and his genius." He added, "It was a salvation of sort to shut out the noise." In the song "Slippin'" for instance, DMX raps about his spiral in life. 

"I've been through mad different phases like mazes, to find my way/And now I know that happy days are not far away/If I'm strong enough I'll live long enough to see my kids/Doing something more constructive with their time than bids."

Richman says that DMX has been "sober now and invigorated" following his stint at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He suggests that a sentence that includes a 60-day study of his client by qualified consultants— rather than incarceration—could help DMX's rehabilitation and enable him to return to music. Subsequently, he could pay back the $1.7 million he owes in taxes and support his 15 children.

DMX was arrested for repeated bail violations after pleading guilty last year to tax evasion. According to an indictment, the rapper was charged with tax evasion, evasion of assessment of income tax liability, corruptly endeavoring to obstruct administration of IRS laws and the failure to file a U.S. individual income tax return. Authorities claim that the rapper went out of his way to maintain a cash-only lifestyle and didn't have a personal bank account as a means to evade his tax responsibility. Authorities allege that his 2013 bankruptcy filings were also inaccurate.

In January, he was back in prison for failing a drug test that was part of his bail conditions.

[Photo: Getty Images]