"There Were Times Where It Appeared I Had Nothing To Hold Onto"

Former Ruff Ryders leader DMX recently opened up about getting his life straightened out and how his focus is now on helping steer others from making the same mistakes he once made.

In X's interview, the Yonkers, New York-bred emcee reflects on living a straight life.

"There were times where it appeared I had nothing to hold onto. Nothing to help me get through that. I'm a man of faith, and it's good to know there are others out there like me," X said in an interview. "Be grateful for the fact that you can see clearly. I appreciate the continued support, and I'm sure you have noticed, but I will never let you down in terms of the message and the delivery of the message. It'll always be honest, it'll always be to the point and it'll always be uncompromised." (KPLR 11)

X also used the opportunity to discuss his recent appearance on "Lifechangers."

"I was on there because hopefully, I was able to change somebody's life and be a positive influence. Because there are so many negative things said. People don't know the real me. Those are types of things that I not only enjoy doing, but I do them on the regular. I don't do it for the fame, I don't do it for the publicity. I do it because it needs to be done. So it's great to have that side of me shown." (KPLR 11)

A few weeks ago, X revealed cleansing himself of cocaine usage.

DMX tells TMZ, he has finally kicked the drug addictions that kept him behind bars for years -- and he has his children to thank. X tells us, coke was his greatest demon after his latest prison release in July -- "Everyone was taking advantage of me with my finances, trying to put me in the direction to fail. I have 10 kids. I have to drive them in the right direction, so I let the cocaine go." The rapper -- real name Earl Simmons -- says God also helped him through ... telling us, "I am on a spiritual road to do right in my life. I am leaving out all negativity and going to stay on the right road to positive." (TMZ)

In early November, X's publicist Domenick Nati hit up SOHH and explained his client's decision to appear on "Lifechangers."

"I am very excited about this show. Everybody knows DMX the artist and performer but his fans rarely get to see Earl Simmons," Nati told SOHH via statement. "When Earl was asked to try to help a troubled teen he was insistent that everything be "real". He didn't want anything scripted, he just wanted to speak from the heart. I haven't seen the final cut but I hope that the world gets a glimpse of how genuine DMX really is." (SOHH)