Lauryn Hill may have failed to pay taxes for three years, but the result may lead to new music from the singer and MC.
During court proceedings for tax evasion, it was revealed that Hill signed a new contract with Sony, and has plans to make new music in order to pay back the federal government for her delinquency.
Hill has until May 6 to take care of her liability, which now stands at $504,000 according to the NJ.com. Last year, the reclusive artist plead guilty for failing to pay taxes 2005-2007, equaling out to $1.8 million.
This week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Moser told the court that Hill made a deal with Sony to receive $1 million for five new tracks plus additional advances for an entire album’s worth of music to make up for the tax scofflaw.
The multi-Grammy Award winner’s last album was 2002’s “MTV Unplugged No. 2.0”; she toured with Rock the Bells and on her own headlining stint in recent years, but those outings hadn’t made enough of a dent in her outstanding debt.
Update: Lauryn Hill posted to her Tumblr that the $1 million deal may be “inaccurate,” though does not note what monetary amount she was promised. She then reiterates how much her music has sold.
“The nature of my new business venture, as well as the dollar amount reported, was inaccurate, only a portion of the overall deal. Keep in mind, my past recordings have sold over 50,000,000 units worldwide, earning the label a tremendous amount of money (a fraction of which actually came to me),” she posted. “I am one artist who finds value in openly discussing the dynamics within this industry that force artists to compromise or distort themselves and what they do, rather than allowing them to make the music that people need. There are volumes that could (and will) be said.”