Rap singer DMX was jailed on Tuesday in Buffalo, New York and ordered to serve a six-month sentence for failure to pay child support. The 44-year-old rapper, real name Earl Simmons, was sentenced to serve time in the Erie County Holding Center.
DMX was turned over to Erie County Sheriff's Department jailers after a sentencing ruling by Family Court Judge Deanne Trippi. The Party Up (Up In Here) singer was arrested last month in New York City for failure to pay child support just before he was scheduled to perform at Radio City Music Hall. A New York City Sheriff's Office spokesman said that DMX, who is the father of 12 children, had $400,000 in unpaid child support at the time of his arrest.
DMX was set to perform on July 25 at the Shaggfest 2015 music festival in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Shaggfest creator Brandon Stokes took to social media to announce that DMX was no longer in the lineup. 'He begged the judge to let him finish his last 3 shows. 2 this weekend and one next week. Which was #shaggfest. But the judge said no,' Stokes tweeted under his Shaggy alias on Twitter.
'Now I will find something to replace that slot and it will be great. We took a huge risk with Dmx and I'm not upset about the effort,' he added in a follow-up tweet.
Trey Song was the scheduled headline act at Shaggfest. DMX previously has been arrested for driving under the influence as well as for driving without a valid license. The Romeo Must Die star spent seven months in an Arizona prison in 2011 for violating his probation for drug-related probation violations including cocaine use.
Since becoming a public figure, DMX's multiple arrests have been for offenses including: resisting arrest, animal cruelty, reckless driving, unlicensed driving, drug possession, and identity falsification. DMX had multiple extramarital affairs during his marriage to Simmons, some of which produced children.
DNA testing confirmed that he is the father of at least two children; the first was born to Maryland resident Monique Wayne in 2004, the second to a different woman in late 2008. DMX and Wayne fought over her claim that he was the father of her son for years, during which she has sued him repeatedly for defamation of character and for child support. After DNA testing proved DMX fathered Wayne's son in 2007, he was ordered to pay her $1.5 million.
