Jailed rapper DMX makes bid to rap for leniency, letter says

DMX wants to try to rap his way out of the rap.

The jailed rap singer, whose given name is Earl Simmons, intends to play some of his music in a bid to win leniency at his Wednesday sentencing, according to a letter filed with the judge on Monday.

“It is raw Earl,” his lawyer said. “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 own voice.”

Simmons pleaded guilty last year to evading $1.7 million in taxes, and his bail was revoked after he repeatedly violated drug treatment conditions. Prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 57 to 60 months in prison.

In his sentencing letter, lawyer Murray Richman said Simmons’ behavior, like his lyrics, flowed out of a broken childhood. He wants probation so he can keep making money, with a trustee named to make sure the government gets paid.

Richman urged the judge to review the songs “Slippin’” and “Convo,” and noted, “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.”