Chart-topping rapper DMX (a.k.a. Earl Simmons) was arrested Wednesday (June 17) night by New York City police on charges of rape, sodomy and false imprisonment, according to police.

The New York Police Department's Office of Public Information confirmed that the 27-year-old rapper, whose album recently debuted at #1, is charged with raping and sodomizing a 29-year-old woman at a South Bronx apartment on East 143rd Street at 4 a.m. Sunday.

The victim was taken to St. Luke's Hospital following the incident and was treated and released, police said. The rapper currently is being held in police custody and a trial date has yet to be set.

DMX is best known for his husky-voiced rapping style, which first gained wide exposure on such songs as "24 Hours To Live" with rappers Mase and the Lox, LL Cool J's "4, 3, 2, 1" and Ice Cube's "We Be Clubbin Remix." DMX's solo debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, which features such songs as "Fuckin' Wit' D" (RealAudio excerpt), debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart four weeks ago.

DMX was scheduled to headline the "Survival Of The Illest Tour" with Def Jam labelmates Onyx and Def Squad at the Hampton University Convocation Center in Hampton, Va., the night he was arrested. His spot was filled by veteran rapper LL Cool J. Spokespeople for Def Jam could not be reached for comment by press time regarding the arrest or the remainder of the tour.

DMX also is scheduled to make his big-screen debut in "Belly," the first full- length film directed by hip-hop video director Hype Williams. "Belly," which also features the acting of rappers Nas, Method Man and T-Boz of TLC, is an urban drama about two childhood friends who aspire to completely different lifestyles while climbing their way up the rungs of organized crime. DMX plays "Tommy," an ambitious street hustler, while Nas plays "Sincere," a man trying to work within the law to live as a family man.

"I get to sell drugs, I get to kill people, I get to do it with girls, you know, drive cars, wear flashy jewelry, I get to do it all," DMX said of his role during an interview with SonicNet Music News on the day after the alleged incident.