Rapper DMX has been arrested after he was caught driving without a license in South Carolina.

The hip-hop star, real name Earl Simmons, was booked for the traffic offence at the Spartanburg County jail in the early hours of Wednesday.

He went before a judge at 6am local time and was released shortly after paying a fine, reports FOX Carolina.

DMX tells the station, "I could have just paid the money right there on the spot. Basically it was just five hours wasted for nothing. I don't have a court date or a court appearance."

The "Party Up (Up in Here)" hitmaker has been in and out of jail in recent years, but announced last year he had devoted his life to God and become a church deacon.