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Rapper DMX is in an Arizona jail for drug-related probation violations, court officials have said.

The 39-year-old was taken into custody after being arrested on suspicion of possession of the drug Oxycontin and failing to submit to drug testing.

He is being held in a Phoenix county jail without bail.

The rapper last violated his probation in March by using illegal drugs and was sentenced to six months in jail and another 20 months probation.

According to court documents, it is alleged the rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, also used cocaine and drove on a suspended license.

"Mr Simmons has several felony convictions, and has been given multiple opportunities to succeed on probation," court papers said.

"He has been directed to treatment, as well as choose his own treatment program, and continues to use illegal drugs following these opportunities."

It is unclear how long he might stay in jail, however the rapper could face prison time because of his repeated probation violations.

DMX's lawyer Glenn Allen told AP: "It is very frustrating that the probation department would time it in such a way to violate Mr Simmons right before the holiday and just a few weeks shy of the termination date of the probation.

"Mr Simmons has been working very hard and will overcome this setback."

The rapper has a long record of arrests in Arizona for crimes that range from animal cruelty to reckless driving and weapons possession.

He also plead guilty in 2008 to attempted cocaine and marijuana possession in Miami, and again in 2004 over an incident in which he posed as an undercover federal agent and crashed his car through a security gate at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport.