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The Year in Music 2013 — Stars Behaving Badly: Chris Brown & DMX

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RCA; Ruff RydersIt was a rocky 2013 for several artists, but there were two in particular who seemed to be regular fixtures inside the court room: Chris Brown and DMX.  Here’s a look back at their legal woes over the year.

Chris Brown
Chris Brown started the year excited to release his much-anticipated X album, but he seemingly spent more time in court than in the studio.  In January, Brown and his crew got into a scuffle outside a Los Angeles studio with Frank Ocean’s entourage. Since then, Frank’s cousin, Sha’Keir Duarte, has filed suit against Brown for $3 million in unspecified damages.  Brown in turn filed a countersuit against Duarte, claiming he provoked the fight by threatening to kill him.

In May, Brown’s rep denied reports that the singer drove away from the scene of a fender-bender without handing over the necessary information. However, a month later, it was announced that Brown faced criminal charges for being involved in the hit-and-run accident. Ultimately, the L.A. City Attorney’s office charged Brown with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license. After getting his probation for his 2009 assault of Rihanna revoked as a result, Brown vented his frustrations via Twitter: “I did everything I was suppose [sic] to do during the so called hit n run,” he wrote. “I provided the correct info. There were no injuries or damages. C’mon!!”

There was good news August 16, when a Los Angeles judge reinstated Brown’s probation after he was subsequently cleared of May 2013’s alleged hit-and-run.  However, following questions concerning whether Chris did indeed complete the community service to which he was sentenced as part of his Rihanna assault probation, the judge ruled Chris will have to complete an additional 1,000 hours of community service, and he has to do it in Los Angeles this time, not his native Virginia, where the court can keep a closer eye on him.  

In October, Brown was arrested for allegedly punching a man near a Washington, D.C., hotel. Shortly after the incident, the singer entered rehab to, in the words of his rep, “gain focus and insight into his past and recent behavior, enabling him to continue the pursuit of his life and his career from a healthier vantage point.” That same month, Brown appeared in a Washington, D.C., court, where a felony assault charge stemming from the incident was reduced to misdemeanor simple assault. 

Chris is due in court in D.C. in January, and then again in Los Angeles in February.

DMX
All year long DMX ‘s long history of substance abuse and legal troubles kept him in hot water. After previously appearing on Dr. Drew Pinsky‘s Lifechangers and VH1’s Couples Therapy, the rapper sought help during an explosive, 90-minute episode of Iyanla: Fix My Life back in March. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. At one point he lashed out at the host Iyanla Vanzant, telling her to “shut the f**k up,” after she questioned if he was high.

That kind of erratic behavior seemed to follow the troubled rapper for the majority of 2013. In July, DMX was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence in South Carolina.  The rapper, born Earl Simmons, was taken into custody by officials around 3 a.m. and transported to the Greenville County Detention Center, where he was processed and released an hour later. The incident marked the second traffic offense of the year for DMX, who was previously arrested for driving without a license in February.

Days later, DMX filed for bankruptcy, submitting documents in a Manhattan court stating that he had less than $50,000 in assets, while owing approximately $10 million, including $1.24 million in child support alone, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In August, DMX was arrested in Greer County, South Carolina on drug possession charges following a minor traffic violation. The following month, he was caught on camera running around naked in the halls of a Detroit hotel.

After his appearance on Dr. Phil’s television show, DMX was arrested at a Spartanburg, South Carolina airport for driving with a suspended license, driving while uninsured, and driving an unlicensed vehicle.

Dishonorable Mentions
In October, Cee Lo Green was charged with slipping the drug Ecstasy to an unidentified 33-year-old woman while the two were eating at a Los Angeles restaurant the evening of July 13, after which the pair went back to the woman’s hotel.  Cee Lo pleaded not guilty to the charge.  Prosecutor declined to purse a rape charge against Cee Lo, citing insufficient evidence.

In July, 50 Cent was charged with domestic violence and vandalism in Los Angeles, accused of kicking the mother of his child and trashing her place, causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


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