DMX Talks Staying Sober, New Reality Show, Being Single, Losing A Dre Beat [PG.2]

Right. It seemed like you were going in and out at that time so much. Was there one specific reason why?
Yeah. I was on probation and they kept violating me for stupid stuff.  With probation you have to get permission to travel. I’m like, ‘well this is my job. If you want me to pay my fines and my restitutions, you have to allow me to work.’ So that was a power struggle. They didn’t want me to travel. And sometimes l was like ‘Fuck it’, this is what I do. I gotta work. So I got violated and they gave me 5 months. And I had 2 weeks left on probation, on this one, and they violated me again. Like wow, really? 2 weeks left? Anybody else, they signing their probation resolution papers. But with me they want to keep me on until the last day. They showed up and violated me with 2 weeks left because I had a show, and I’m drinking at the show, and a part of it was on the Internet—people filming and stuff.  So they saw me drinking out the bottle of Hennessey, and they violated me with 2 weeks left.  They gave me the maximum they could give me which was a year.  I’m like, really? All my fines are paid up, all my restitutions are paid up, and you’re gonna give me the most you can give me without successfully completing probation? But that’s how it is out here in Arizona. 

 That’s crazy. Did they actually use that video footage in court? Like from YouTube or something. 
They didn’t have to. They just said they had proof of me—it wasn’t like a trial. It was just like a hearing. 

 So at this point X, do you honestly feel like you’re being targeted by the Arizona police like every single time?
Pretty much. One thing about being a celebrity that I learned a long time ago was that I pretty much gave up the right to fair treatment. I’ll either get a favor or it’ll be worse. It’s rare you get fair treatment. They either love you or they hate you. So I pretty much gave up that option a long time ago. But yeah, the sheriff--he openly spoke about how he wanted to make sure I stayed locked up. If these things happened in New York, there’s no way I’d be in jail. Or any other state where the law is like, followed.

I know your sobriety is always an issue.  Did you have any recent troubles with staying sober? Has that affected the decisions you’ve been making? 
Nah. I had a drink, which is why I went this last time. The time before that, I traveled without a permit. It’s just always ‘ee found drug paraphernalia as well’ when they come get me. So it looks like, to the person who doesn’t read all the charges or understand them fully—it looks like ‘oh, he’s back in jail for drugs again. It’s pretty much the same original charges, they just keep violating me on probation.  

Are you going try and do things different to stay out when you come home this time? 
I’m not on probation now. I don’t have to report to nobody. I can just work like I want to work. It was really frustrating to have to go to your probation officer to get a travel permit. And they have me doing piss test twice a week. And if I traveled anywhere and I was granted permits, therefore I’m not able to take the piss test and I gotta meet them when I get back—it was just a bunch of stuff they had me doing just because they were in control.  My supervisor told me one time—I’m like ‘this is my job. You can’t deny me work’ and she was like ‘Oh, well you’re not special.  You can get a job at McDonalds.’ I’m like lady, really? You know what I’m saying? 

Especially now with the way music is, artists have to be able to travel to do shows. That’s really the only way you guys will really be able to make money. 
Yeah, exactly. 

X, I also know you have a reality show coming out. Can you tell us a little about that? 
Well I have a few offers, but I don’t know which one I’m going to accept. But the basis of it is gonna be is—I have 6 baby mothers and 10 children. 

Yeah, that’s a lot… 
They don’t know each other though. 4 of them grew up together, 1 grew up together, 2 grew up together, things like that. So what I want to do is—it’s from the East to the West coast. It’s going to really show a side to me like—I’m a really good father and I love my children to death.  So I feel like it’s important that they meet while they’re young so they can grow up as brothers and sisters as opposeto meeting each other when they’re adults and not really have any feeling for each other, even though they’re brothers and sisters. 

So it’s the family element. You want them to have that family feel. 
Exactly. I had brothers, 2 brothers and a sister, well shit—2 sisters and 3 brothers that my father had. I met the brother when I was younger. But we’re not really close. We don’t have much in common. He’s actually the reason why I got caught in this case out here and everything. But I have another brother and sister that I have still yet to meet. 

How are you going to manage to get all these women to get along though?
It’s like I’m not really committed to any of them. So it’s like at this stage in the game, don’t worry about what’s going to happen between us sexually. Let’s focus on allowing our children to have a realfamily. And all of the mothers are not going be involved, I can tell you that right now. But there’s no way they’re going to deny me access to my children. And the two women that would be a problem, it’s like they can just fall back. I’m taking my child to meet their siblings. I’ll probably only travel with like 8 of them. Or 7. But all of them are going to meet.

And the cameras are going to be with you the whole time shooting it for the show? 
Yeah. And they’re going to be able to show how much I really, really love my children. And how much of a big part of my life they really are, even though some of them I don’t get to see that often. But when I do see them, you can tell. I have relationships with all of them. It’s something that people—I don’t know if they expect it or not, but it’s a big part of my life. 

X, I also heard that you have a new fiancée, model Yadira Borrego. Is that correct?
No! We absolutely were living together, and at one time we were engaged. But um, no. I’m recalling that she wants to work it out, but I really don’t see that happening. I’m not going say it won’t work, but this last time in jail, with me focusing on the mental, allowed me to see who’s there for me and who’s not. It’s easy to say, ‘I got your back. I’m there for you.’ But when it comes down to it, like I said, I’m not even talking about money and things like that. I’m good. I got fans sending me money. I’m good with that. But if you tell me you’re going to bring my daughter, bring my daughter. Don’t have me looking stupid in the streets. You running around saying ‘I’m DMX’s fiancée’ but you up in the motherfucking club, every motherfucking night. Come on! I don’t get down like that. I’m a King. Regardless of what I’ve been through and what I’ve done, I present myself as a King. And I get that respect from people, from everybody I deal with. I worked my whole life to establish that respect and make sure I get that respect. And I’ll be damn if I’ll have a woman--allow her to take it from me. That’s DMX’s fiancée but what you all up in the club in niggas’s faces? Fuck outta here! 

So I guess it’s safe to say, at this time, X is a single man. 
Yessir.

That should mean that your day 1 fans will be happy that you’re focused on making music. How do you think the rap game’s changed since you been gone? Do you think it’s going to be harder to try to fit in with what’s going on right now? 
The name of the game is ‘Get In Where You Fit In, BUT Fit In.’ And for some people fitting in is blending in and doing what everyone else’s doing. For others, fitting in is just knocking niggas out the way. And that’s me. That’s how I’m going be at it. I’ve got my fanbase. I’ve got a box of mail. Like, how would you categorize that box? 2 square feet long. Full of mail. I’ve got fans and letters from Israel, France Germany, Sweden, London, Africa. They all saying pretty much the same thing ‘Yo, we love you, we need you, put some more music out please!’ And that’s without even hearing anything from me. It’s not like they just sucking dick like ‘Oh, X got a new joint out and its hot.’ It’s like we know what X’s capable of. That’s what we need. That’s the difference. Some people may come back because they put out a song that’s hot and everybody jump back on they dick. The people are knowing that he’s what we need right now. Regardless of what he puts out, we want him.

Something that we always hear at the VIBE office is we want DMX to do a It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot Part II.  Have you ever thought about that? 
That’s crazy. That’s what half the inmates in here tell me. My album, a lot of my albums, are in this penitentiary. A lot of people have my CD in here. CD’s, cassettes, everything. I get to hear my own music.  But it’s one of those things where a lot of them say like that first one was the best. And the thing about being here, you’re gonna get it raw. In some people’s opinion, the 6^th album wasn’t that good. In some people’s opinion, the 5^th album wasn’t that good. But you know, it’s a growth. On certain songs, they just want you to curse and kill people on every fucking song. I’m like nah, you can’t do that. But I’m able to point out on every album. But that’s the consensus like ‘We need that It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot and Flesh Of My Flesh’ you know what I’m saying?  And it’s like, I gotchu.  

Over your whole career you’ve worked with a lot of different producers. But is there one cat that you haven’t been able to work with?
Yeah, Dr. Dre.  

Oh, man. Have there ever been any talks with him? Have you even had the chance to… 
Yeah! He reached out a couple of times. But it’s always a middle man who tried to get something out of it.  Like he gave me a beat one time, and I sent it to my peoples, and they wanted to turn it into a compilation joint with everybody on it. And Dre got back to us like ‘Nah, keep that beat for X.’  

Oh shit. Do you remember what year that was? 
Umm, I remember it was around when I left Def Jam. 

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of VIBE.com's exclusive jailhouse interview with DMX.