Singer Lauryn Hill is to face sentencing today for tax evasion charges, but she has managed to pay off the staggering debt she owed the IRS on Sunday without revenue from her new single, “Neurotic Society.”
It has certainly been a rough time in Hill’s life but paying off over $900,000 in Internal Revenue Service debt might be her first big break.
Hill’s attorney expects the courts to give her a lenient sentence since she finally paid the debt in full.
“Ms. Hill has not only now fully paid, prior to sentencing, her taxes which are part of her criminal restitution, but she has additionally fully paid her federal and state personal taxes for the entire period under examination through 2009,” said Nathan Hochman, attorney for the former Fugees singer.
Hill was given another opportunity to pay the large debt in April, but fell short of the amount she owed. While she hoped to pay off the majority of the debt, at that time she was only able to hand over $50,000. She was expected to pay more than $500,000.
It wasn’t long before rumors were sparked that Hill was being forced to sign a deal with Sony to pay off the debt and possibly avoid a jail sentence.
After finally paying the debt in full Sunday, her attorney revealed that she actually didn’t use any revenue from her new song, “Neurotic Society.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the song would have brought in enough revenue for her to do, so even if she wanted to.
Hill took to Tumblr to share new song, only to disappoint many fans.
In addition to having a wonderful voice it is Hill’s lyrics that keep her fans captivated. But in “Neurotic Society,” Hill speeds her way through every verse and rhyme so listeners can barely understand what she is saying.
Hill will more than likely say that the song is a result of poor time management, since she was literally forced to release it at the last minute.
“Here’s a link to a piece that I was ‘required’ to release immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline. I love being able to reach people directly, but in an ideal scenario, I would not have to rush the release of new music… but the message is still there,” Hill wrote on Tumblr, providing a link to the new song.
The “rush” part may only be a reference to the production of the song, but it sounds as though someone threw her into the booth and gave her 30 seconds to make her way through a series of verses that would usually take five minutes.
Nevertheless, her fans hope that Hill is here to stay and that the courts will go easy on her today.
