Despite paying off her tax debt (at the last minute) Lauryn Hill was sentened to three months in federal prison for tax evasion! Find out the specifics of the judge's ruling inside and see what Kelis named her new album...
Although Lauryn Hill's lawyer told the media that she'd paid off nearly $970,000 in state and federal tax liabilities, a Newark, NJ judge sentenced her to three months in a federal prison today.
During the hearing, Lauryn defended her mounting tax debt, explaining that she dropped out of the music business but had always intended to fix her situation.
"I was put into a system I didn't know the nature of. ... I'm a child of former slaves. I got into an economic paradigm and had that imposed on me." She added, "I sold 50 million units ... now I'm up here paying a tax debt. If that's not likened to slavery, I don't know what is."
Despite her plea, the judge in the case was unmoved by the statement and sentenced Lauryn to 3 months behind bars, 3 months of house arrest AND 9 months of supervised release!
If Ms. Hill felt imprisoned by the system before.....what's a real conviction going to do to her psyche?
By the way, the judge ordered Lauryn to report to prison by July 8. We wonder if she will go all "Tupac" in the studio and bang out as many tracks as she can BEFORE she goes on lockdown?
And in other music news....
Kelis has announced that FOOD will be her next studio album. Produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, and set for release through his label Federal Prism, the disc is expected to drop in September. The lead single, "Jerk Ribs" (previously labeled "Call On Me") is already stirring up buzz for album.
Photos via Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images North America