First Lauryn Hill, now Beanie Sigel.
Rapper Sigel was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to two years in prison for failing to pay more than $700,000 in taxes. This comes after Sigel previously pleaded guilty for failing to pay his taxes in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Hip hop artist Hill also pleaded guilty in federal court two weeks ago for failing to pay her taxes for three years.
Sigel told the judge he accepts “total responsibility” for not paying his taxes. He complained that family members had spent up his money while he was in jail for drug and gun crimes in 2004 and 2005.
“I haven’t been able to get my career back on track since,” Sigel told the court.
He has until Sept. 12 to surrender to authorities to begin his sentence. Sigel will drop his fifth album, “This Time,” on August 28, before he reports to prison. It will be released through Ruffhouse Records.
“Regardless of this unfortunate situation, Beanie has created a tremendous body of work that is totally worthy of the Ruffhouse name,” Ruffhouse CEO Chris Schwartz said in a release issued to the site Hip Hop-N-More. “It’s almost ironic that the sentencing is happening on the eve of this record, because this record is about introspection and redemption. Beanie is truly one of the great lyricists in the hip-hop game. He stands tall among all the major MCs and he’s revered by all hip-hop aficionados around the world.”
According to reports, Sigel failed to pay more than $728,000 in federal taxes after earning more than $3 million between 1999 and 2005. He paid just $10,000 in taxes on that income.
