Lauryn Hill Sentenced to Jail Time for Failed Tax Payments

Although Lauryn Hill looks like she's been getting her financial issues in order, her sentencing hearing today (May 6) proved otherwise.

The 'Doo Wop (That Thing)' rapper and singer was sentenced to three months in prison for failure to pay taxes on $1 million in earnings, AP reports.

While in a Newark, N.J., courtroom, Hill spoke to the judge, comparing her tax debt to slavery. “I needed to be able to earn so I could pay my taxes, without compromising the health and welfare of my children, and I was being denied that,” she told the judge.  “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. 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.”

The jail time would be in addition to the three months of home confinement that she's already been given. She'll then have nine months of supervised released. Hill has until July 8 to report to prison.

Before her sentencing, her lawyer said she had already paid $970,000 towards her debt, which satisfied state and federal tax liabilities..

There is still no information about where or when she will serve her prison sentence.

Watch Lauryn Hill's 'Ex-Factor' Video