Warrant issued for US rapper DMX

Rapper DMX starred in the film Romeo Must Die

An arrest warrant has been issued after US rapper DMX failed to turn up at a New York court to face several charges including driving without a licence.

City Court Judge Barbara Leak issued the warrant on Wednesday for the star, whose real name is Earl Simmons, after already postponing proceedings twice.

Mr Simmons's lawyer Stacey Murray promised he would come to court on Thursday and said he had been ill.

He is also accused of speeding and not wearing a seatbelt.

"We have granted him a number of courtesies. It ends now," the judge said.

Airport arrest

Mr Simmons, 35, was stopped by police in the New York district of White Plains on 2 June for speeding and making unsafe lane changes, police said.

Officers then found he was not wearing a seatbelt and did not have a driver's licence.

Nine days later, he was given a ticket for driving on the shoulder of the Hutchinson River Parkway in Harrison, New York.

Last month, the rapper was arrested and cautioned by police after being arrested at Heathrow Airport for abusing airline staff.

DMX has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide and will release his sixth solo album, Year of the Dog, Again, this summer.