DMX headlines hip hop festival a day after pleading not guilty to tax fraud

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - The Yonkers native is out on bail with some court-ordered restrictions, but that didn't stop the show.

Just one day out of jail, rapper DMX opened his set at the Brooklyn hip hop festival with a message.

"We’re not going anywhere."

It was a point well received by his fans. 

Born Earl Simmons, DMX walked free on Friday after pleading not guilty to what the Internal Revenue Service called a brazen effort to evade $1.7 million in taxes.

The indictment alleges Simmons stopped paying taxes in the early 2000's at the peak of his career.

It said the rapper funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in music royalties to his manager’s bank accounts, who took their fees, then gave everything left over to DMX in cash. 

Court documents also charge the artist lied about his income on tax returns.

In 2015, the 46-year-old was sentenced to six months in jail for not paying $400,000 in child support to his ex-wife.

DMX was released on a $500,000 bond. The judge restricted Simmons' travel to the south and east districts of New York, which allowed him to be in Brooklyn. He's due back in court Monday morning.