Rapper DMX was arrested and released from a South Carolina jail on Wednesday for driving without a license.

Authorities say the Cradle 2 the Grave actor, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was arrested at 1 a.m. Wednesday after an officer saw him at a gas station in Greer. DMX already faced several charges of driving without a license, so deputies say an officer pulled him over after watching him leave a gas station, get into a car and drive away, according to the Associated Press.

DMX went before a judge at 6 a.m. and was released a short time later after paying a fine.

The 42-year-old spoke with FOX Carolina after leaving the jail where he indeed confirmed that an officer watched him at a local gas station and pulled him over because he did not have a license.

"They watched me at the gas station, get in the car and then he followed me...around the corner and pulled me over...."

"When I could have just paid the money right there on the spot," the rapper told FOX Carolina. "Basically it was just five hours wasted for nothing. I don't have a court date or a court appearance."

DMX also told reporters he had his five-month-old daughter in his 1978 Buick at the time of the arrest. "He could've pulled me over at the gas station when I got in the car. He didn't do that," he said.

According to a report from the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, deputies said DMX had been issued tickets in Greer and Duncan, accused of driving without a license, and a state DMV search showed he only had a state identification card in his possession. After pulling him over, deputies said the car was released to a licensed passenger riding in the car.

Simmons was arrested back in 2011 after a trooper pulled him over for driving at 102 mph. He had recently finished some time in prison on probation revocation for failing to submit to drug testing and driving without a license, according to the Associated Press.

Watch his interview with FOX below:
CBS Atlanta 46

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