(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Live Nation)
DMX is in a bad way. The rapper has pleaded guilty to tax evasion and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York today. While awaiting sentencing, he’s been jailed for repeated bail violations. The prosecution is seeking five years of jail time. According to a sentencing memo filed earlier this week, X is asking the judge for leniency. He’s also asking to play Judge Rakoff some of his music, saying “he may be too emotional to speak” at sentencing.
“At sentencing, as he may be too emotional to speak, we will ask to play a few of his compositions so that the court may understand him genuinely in his voice,” DMX counsel Murray Richman told Judge Rakoff in the memo, attaching lyrics to two of his songs.
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This one’s for you Judge Rakoff:
As reported by Law360, DMX is on the hook for quite a bit of money following his plea, and the defense’s memo notes the only realistic way for him to make that money is through touring:
His memo notes that he is on the hook for for $2.3 million of restitution for taxes he never filed. He also admitted to evading $1.7 of taxes in other years, money that will be paid in restated tax returns. The memo argues also that his 15 children and at least one of DMX’s industry colleagues, an agent named Pat Gallo, will face “direct fallout” financially if the rapper is incarcerated and cannot tour.
His finances, meanwhile, are so muddled that a “creative approach,” such as establishing trustee to manage his money and restate his tax returns, would be the best way forward, his memo says.
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DMX also wrote a letter to the judge saying, “I don’t think I realized how blessed I was.” It remains to be seen if his good fortune will extend to sentencing.
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).