DMX Has Heard God's Calling

DMX will leave Arizona after he's released from prison and plans to become a preacher, he says in an interview from the jail where he's currently serving time.

DMX (real name Earl Simmons) spoke with Fox 10, an Arizona affiliate of Fox News, about his love for Arizona, which he calls "God's country." Nonetheless, he says he'll leave the state when he leaves prison and will never return because he "met the devil in God's country."

"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 in a plane and they're flying through, I'm gonna go around."

Why? Well, because DMX says his time in prison has made him realize his "true calling in life" is to be a pastor.

"I came here to meet somebody. I don't know who it was, but I'll know when I see them, and I came here to give a message, and that message is that Jesus loves them. I came here to give them the word.

"That's why I'm here. Regardless of what it looks like, regardless of what people think, I came here to meet somebody and tell them about the glory of God."

The rapper, who had completed a gospel album titled You'll Fly With Me Later that was to have been released this year, would like to star in a television show while he's incarcerated. It will be called Pain And Perseverance and be based upon the fact that he can reach people in a special way because he's "grounded."

We wouldn't exactly call a man who's been arrested too many times to count in the last year "grounded," unless you mean the ma and pa kind where you're put in your room and have all of your privileges taken away. In this case, it's the law that's doing it, not mom and dad.

"I'm going to give my first sermon in the church," DMX says. "That's going to be incredible for me, and I hope it will be incredible for the congregation of that church.

"I hope I'll be able to reach somebody and touch somebody and bring them closer to the Lord."

DMX still asserts that he "didn't get into any trouble" during his time in Arizona.

"I was never arrested at the scene of any crime. The police came and arrested me for something."

That's interesting, because when the police came and arrested DMX for animal cruelty, they did it at his house where he was alleged to have buried several dead dogs after mistreating them. They seized several more dogs as well as some drugs. We're pretty sure that makes the house a crime scene.

As for whether he thought Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was out to get him, DMX says he'll "let the public answer that.

"It might look like it, but I don't know if that was the case, so I'm not gonna say if that's what it was. But we're all God's children and I do pray for that man, as I pray for everyone else. You know, whether I know you or not, I pray for my friends, family, loved ones and enemies, every night, you know. Because we're all God's children. We're all God's children and we all deserve the same grace."

DMX pleaded guilty to charges of animal cruelty, drug possession and identity theft on Dec. 30. He'll be sentenced on Jan. 30.

Watch the interview below: