DMX is a free man.
The rapper was released from Gilmer Federal Correctional Institution in West Virginia on Friday morning (Jan. 25) after completing a one-year sentence for tax evasion.
The 48-year-old rapper, born Earl Simmons, began his sentence in March 2018 after pleading guilty to tax fraud in November 2017. He was jailed in late January 2018 after failing a drug test while awaiting sentencing.
“I spoke to him; he’s very happy,” his lawyer Murray Richman told Vulture. “He’s looking forward to being home. He’s never been hotter than now—people have been seeking him out all over.”
According to TMZ, X is getting right back to work. In addition to readying a new album, he’s developing film projects, including a possible biopic.
Now that he’s out of prison, he must also pay $2.3 million in restitution to the government and enroll in an outpatient program for substance abuse and mental health.
DMX’s original release date was supposed to be Sunday (Jan. 27), but it’s federal policy to release inmates early if their release date falls on a weekend.