Producer Dame Grease Talks DMX Arrest, Says ‘He’s Been Clean’

When DMX was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday (March 9) for violating the terms of his probation, the news didn’t catch many people by surprise given his lengthy rap sheet. According to reports, the Yonkers rapper was charged with five counts of probation violation for possession of cocaine and is currently being held without bond.

Cameras captured DMX in the courtroom yelling into the lens and cursing about people “violating his rights” after the judge left the room.

DMX's lawyer, Gary Jenkins, told TMZ: "He's been battling addiction for some time and he's in need of treatment... We're hoping that maybe Dr. Drew might be able to help him."

The rapper’s longtime friend and collaborator Dame Grease, who’s been recording music with him in Phoenix, explained to VIBE that contrary to reports, X has been clean.

“They got him on some super duper strict probation. You gotta report almost every day, so I think he missed like three or something,” said Dame. “Of course, the main thing is getting him healthy. But he’s been clean. He knows he can’t use drugs ’cause he’ll go to fuckin’ jail. I don’t know what the exact terms [of the violation] are, but as far as any dirty urine, I’m not aware of that and I know he’s been clean.”

As far as his music career, the status of the two albums X recorded under Bodog Entertainment—Walk With Me Now and You’ll Fly With Me Later—is still up in the air. However, Grease said that X has been working on new material that goes “back to basics.”

“I’m trying to get him back into a free creative mode. We’ve been recording in my crib. There’s no pressures, no media, no studio time count,” said Dame. “We got a couple joints for mixtapes, a couple joints for underground just trying to actually get his career back together. He’s good, besides this silliness right here. Hopefully it works out because he didn’t violate the judge or anything [in that video]. He just spoke to the camera. But it’s almost like anything he does is amplified a thousand times over. They said he was acting crazy. He just said, ‘Yo, they fuckin with me.’”

DMX is due back in court on March 16. —Clover Hope, with Additional Reporting by Jonathan Eiseman