DMX has a long history of courtroom appearances and legal battles. Today (March 28) likely set a precedent, even for the Yonkers, New York MC. Upon sentencing in a New York City courtroom, X’s legal team wanted U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff to understand the life and times of defendant Earl Simmons.

X’s lawyer Murray Richman played the “Slippin'” music video for Rakoff and the court. The 1998 gold-certified single from Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood is among the rapper’s most personal tracks. DMX also told the room, “I never went to the level of tax evasion where I’d sit down and plot…like a criminal in a comic book.” ABC News reports that the former Ruff Ryders/Def Jam Records superstar was choked up in admitting he “wasn’t following the rules.”

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“If I’m strong enough I’ll live long enough to see my kids / Doin’ somethin’ more constructive with their time than bids / I know because I been there, now I’m in there / Sit back and look at what it took for me to get there / First came the bullsh*t, the drama with my mama / She got on some fly sh*t so I split and said that I’ma / Be that seed that doesn’t need much to succeed / Strapped with mad greed and a heart that doesn’t bleed / I’m ready for the world or at least I thought I was / Baggin’ ni**as when I caught a buzz / For thinkin’ about how short I was / Goin’ too fast, it wouldn’t last, but yo, I couldn’t tell / Group homes and institutions prepared my ass for jail / They put me in a situation forcin’ me to be a man / When I was just learnin’ to stand without a helping hand / Damn, was it my fault, somethin’ I did / To make a father leave his first kid at seven doin’ my first bid? / Back on the scene at 14 with a scheme / To get more cream than I’d ever seen in a dream / And by all means I will be livin’ high off the hog / And I never gave a f*ck about much but my dog / That’s my only mothaf*cka I had offered my last / Just another little ni**a headed nowhere fast,” he rapped in the song’s first verse, addressing his legal and personal battles 20 years ago.

Despite the video presentation, the 47-year-old rapper was sentenced to one year of incarceration, followed by three years of supervision. He has been in custody since bail was revoked in January. The MC reportedly did not comply with bail restrictions which were set to allow him to maintain a livelihood for more than $2 million of restitution and child support payments through paid performances. TMZ reports that X failed a drug test during this most recent bail.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Cooper cites that DMX had engaged in tax fraud for six years.

ABC News reports, that after listening to DMX’s testimony and his art, Judge Rakoff said, that in the court’s view DMX “is a good man.” The judge also said, “In many ways,” the judge said, “[DMX is] his own worst enemy.”

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It is unclear where DMX will serve time, or if the past three months will count towards his sentence. Last month, DMX appeared alongside Royce 5’9, KXNG Crooked, Statik Selektah and Forever M.C. on “King Kong.” It may be some time until X releases more music.