Warrants issued for US rapper DMX

DMX had a top 10 UK hit with X Gon' Give It To Ya in 2003

Arrest warrants have been issued for US rap star DMX after he failed to attend court on two separate traffic charges.

"In truth, I do not know where he is," said Murray Richman, lawyer for the 36-year-old rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons.

"Why would he be hiding out from a damn traffic infraction?"

The musician had been due to appear in two New York courts on charges of speeding, changing lanes dangerously and other driving offences.

His first court date was in White Plains City Court, New York, on Tuesday.

When he failed to attend, Judge Brian Hansbury gave him until 1400 on Wednesday to face charges arising from 2 June, 2006, when the rapper was stopped by police for allegedly speeding and making unsafe lane changes.

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

'Missed flights'

The star was also due in City Court in Yonkers, New York, on Wednesday to face a charge of driving with a suspended license last October.

His lawyer said the rapper had been in Arizona on Tuesday and had promised to attend both hearings.

"He said he missed a flight," said Mr Richman. "He's always missing flights."

It is not clear whether the current warrants will produce a quick arrest.

Mr Richman told the Associated Press news agency that, since the charges are not major offences, they would not generally prompt "using a lot of resources to find someone".

"On the other hand, he's a celebrity," he added.

Mr Simmons was jailed in New York last year after missing an earlier court appearance relating to the first set of charges.

As DMX, he has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide and scored a top 10 hit in the UK in 2003 with X Gon' Give It To Ya.