Rapper DMX Arrested for Using Profanity

By CLIVE BACCUS Associated Press Writer

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (AP) -- Authorities arrested American rapper DMX on Saturday for using profanity during a concert the night before on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis, police said.

DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was released on bail of $376 until Monday, when he is due in Basseterre Magistrate's Court.

The 32-year-old rapper left the Caribbean island on Saturday afternoon, but he pledged to return for his court date.

"I'll go to court on Monday," he said before leaving. "I just want to thank all my fans for showing the support they did show," he said. "It feels good to get out of jail, but it feels a thousand percent better when you get out of jail to see everybody say they love you."

The rapper, who was nominated last year for a Grammy for best rap solo performance for "Who We Be," performed an hourlong concert Friday night before an enthusiastic crowd of about 3,000 at St. Kitts' annual music festival.

Organizers said they warned DMX he would not be allowed to use obscenities on stage, which is a misdemeanor in this former British Caribbean colony of about 40,000 people.

"There was a contract signed in which it was made very clear long before the arrival of the artists that there are laws in St. Kitts that do not take kindly to the use of indecent language on stage," Information Minister Jacinth Henry Martin said Saturday.

DMX, however, said he signed no such contract, and he would not have performed if he had been forced to censor his language.