Rapper DMX [ tickets ] and another man were arrested Thursday night (6/24) for allegedly trying to rob a man in a parking lot at New York City's Kennedy Airport.

Port Authority police said that DMX (born Earl Simmons) and his friend Jackie Hudgins allegedly demanded that another man get out of his car, claiming that they were federal agents. They are also accused of trying to rob the man, whom police didn't identify.

Newsday reported that the reason for the confrontation wasn't clear, but that an unidentified "law enforcement source" said that there might have been a traffic-related dispute. Police responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call at about 8 p.m.

DMX and Hudgins were charged with attempted robbery, criminal mischief and criminal impersonation, police said.

The rapper has had past run-ins with the law, but has been cleared in most previous cases. He served a 15-day stint in jail in 2001 after missing several court appearances before he settled speeding and marijuana possession charges.

He settled a 1999 case--in which police claimed they found crack pipes, a pistol and more than a dozen pit bulls at his home--by paying a fine and making public service announcements for the Humane Society.