DMX has announced his plans to become a pastor – just as soon as he gets out of jail.
The rapper presently sits in a Phoenix jail cell, awaiting sentencing on charges of animal cruelty, drug possession and theft. He pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2008.
"[Jail] has gotten me closer ... to realising, to actualising my true calling in life, which is to be a pastor," DMX told Fox 10 News. "I came here to meet somebody. I don't know who it is, but I came to tell them that Jesus loves them. To tell them about the glory of God."
DMX made a similar announcement in March 2003, saying he was retiring from rap and turning to preaching. Though the rapper has often included a gospel track on his albums, he has shown no sign of adopting the life of a holy man. When the police raided his home in 2007, they found guns, ammunition, drug paraphernalia and three dead dogs. Last year he was charged with identity theft after using someone else's social security number at a Florida hospital.
DMX blamed his problems on the state of Arizona, where he had been living. "I'm not coming back," he said. "I'm not coming back for a show. I'm not coming back for a visit. I'm not even driving through the state. If I'm on a plane and they're flying through, I'm gonna go around."
Despite falling in love with the state a few years ago, thinking it "God's country", it was not the promised land he hoped for. "I met the devil in God's country," he said.
As well as plans to release a gospel album, DMX has ambitions to star in his own reality TV show as soon as he is released. "Before you know it I'll be back doing what I'm supposed to be doing," he said. "The Gospel according to X – music, movies, speaking to people." Hopefully, it won't feature any dogs.
