--- title: DMX's Lawyer Asks Judge to Listen to Songs Before Sentence description: DMX's lawyer is asking the judge who's handling the rapper's tax evasion case to listen to his songs so they can "understand him genuinely." canonical: https://time.com/5217401/dmx-lawyer-tells-judge-listen-to-his-songs/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-27T17:47:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:51:39.628Z og:title: DMX's Lawyer Asks Judge to Listen to Songs Before Sentence og:description: So they can "understand him genuinely" og:url: https://time.com/5217401/dmx-lawyer-tells-judge-listen-to-his-songs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81538b7a42821549/69892c1d4ee2624f30311505/dmx-lawyer-asks-judge-to-listen-to-songs-before-sentencing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: DMX In Concert - New York, New York og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: DMX's Lawyer Asks Judge to Listen to Songs Before Sentence twitter:description: So they can "understand him genuinely" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81538b7a42821549/69892c1d4ee2624f30311505/dmx-lawyer-asks-judge-to-listen-to-songs-before-sentencing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # DMX's Lawyer Is Asking the Judge on His Tax Evasion Case to Listen to His Songs Before Sentencing > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e84f0bcd-5843-45fe-87ab-7b0bc0cdcd8e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 27, 2018 5:47 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 27: Rapper DMX performs in concert at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on March 27, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 27: Rapper DMX performs in concert at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on March 27, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images) Noam Galai—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 27, 2018 5:47 PM UTC [DMX](http://time.com/5041988/dmx-rudolph/)‘s lawyer is asking the judge who’s handling [the rapper’s tax evasion case](http://time.com/4857997/rapper-dmx-income-tax-evasion/) to listen to his songs so they can “understand him genuinely.” According to the [_Seattle Times_](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/rappers-lawyer-seeks-to-play-music-at-dmxs-sentencing/), Murray Richman, who is representing the “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” rapper, asked the court to listen to DMX’s songs, “Slippin” and “The Convo” so they would have a more nuanced understanding of the artist. “It is raw Earl,” Richman said in court documents sourced by the _Seattle Times_. “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.” Richman also asked the judge to sentence the rapper to rehab instead of prison, which would give him a chance to pay back the $1.7 million in taxes that he owes the government, as well as support his 15 children, according to the Seattle Times. “For any plan to be successful we must get Mr. Simmons back to work and in a healthy manner,” Richman told [_Page Six_](https://pagesix.com/2018/03/26/dmx-wants-judge-to-hear-his-rhymes-before-being-sentenced-for-tax-fraud/). “He is one of the few people who indeed can achieve the restitution and make the government whole.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5217401/dmx-lawyer-tells-judge-listen-to-his-songs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5217401/dmx-lawyer-tells-judge-listen-to-his-songs/"},"headline":"DMX's Lawyer Is Asking the Judge on His Tax Evasion Case to Listen to His Songs Before Sentencing","datePublished":"2018-03-27T17:47:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:51:39.628Z","description":"So they can \"understand him genuinely\"","url":"https://time.com/5217401/dmx-lawyer-tells-judge-listen-to-his-songs/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81538b7a42821549/69892c1d4ee2624f30311505/dmx-lawyer-asks-judge-to-listen-to-songs-before-sentencing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81538b7a42821549/69892c1d4ee2624f30311505/dmx-lawyer-asks-judge-to-listen-to-songs-before-sentencing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"DMX In Concert - New York, New York","caption":"DMX In Concert - New York, New York","creditText":"Noam Galai—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5217401/dmx-lawyer-tells-judge-listen-to-his-songs/","name":"DMX's Lawyer Is Asking the Judge on His Tax Evasion Case to Listen to His Songs Before Sentencing"}}]}] ```