It’s been eight months since DMX was released from prison on a tax evasion charge, after being sentenced to one year. And after years of battling substance abuse and being in and out of jail, it seems the rapper is doing pretty well these days.
A recent GQ photo shoot may serve as proof of that, because the 48-year-old looks healthy and his eyes seem clear. He also gave an insightful interview to the publication and talked about his younger days growing up in Yonkers, New York, as well as the current relationship he has with his mother, Arnett Simmons.
In the past, DMX has discussed being abused by his mother while growing up, specifically in 2012 on the VH1 series “Couples Therapy.”
It was on that show that he and his mother hashed some things out, and during that same appearance DMX revealed that his mother never said she loved him when he was a child.
During his GQ interview, the rapper said that he’s now forgiven his mom for the abuse, and he also gave an example of what he endured.
“I would get up at night sometimes to drink water, because I was so hungry,” he explained. “And I saw something in her notebook that was open on the kitchen table. And it was wrong, so I erased it. I thought I was helping. I don’t know what she thought I was doing, but don’t know if she thought I was trying to sabotage her or whatever.”
“But she beat two teeth out of my f–king mouth with a broom,” added DMX. “And I think about this today, I’m like, ‘OK, you saw me erase something in your notebook. What did you think I was trying to do? What could you have possibly thought I was trying to do?’”
But DMX chalks up the abuse to his mother being young at the time, and he’s fully forgiven her for it.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t love her,” he explained. “That doesn’t mean she’s the same person. Children don’t come with a f–king instruction manual. She was 20 when she had me. Four sisters; I’m the only boy. Maybe she didn’t know what to do with me.”
“I think a lot of people struggle with forgiving their parents,” DMX added. “In fact, I personally struggle with forgiving my parents. But until you learn how to forgive others, you can’t forgive yourself. You can’t forgive yourself if you don’t know how to forgive.”
Moreover, DMX talked about his last jail sentence and how he was able to get through it. He also said despite being locked up several times before, his last bid was the most difficult.
The “Get At Me Dog” writer revealed that he spent a total of 90 days in solitary confinement when he was locked up.
“You know, police target you,” he said. “I went to the hole once because I was paying people for their phone time. Because you only get 300 minutes a month. That’s not enough time to talk to my baby. The second time, I got caught with a bag of wine.”
“What you try to do is sleep as much as you can. Read books, because you got to think of sh-t that’s going to pass the time,” he added.
