Grammy award-winning singer Lauryn Hill has been released from federal prison. After serving a three-month sentence for tax evasion, Hill was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. FCI Danbury is a low-security facility that only houses female inmates.
While today definitely serves as a massive weight lifted from Hill’s shoulders, the battle still isn’t over. The Fugees’ lead singer will still be plagued with restrictions, such as three months of home confinement, in addition to a year of supervised probation. Hill was also ordered to pay the full amount she owed in back taxes, in addition to penalties and interest incurred from the unpaid debt itself. However, Hill’s lawyer, Nathan Hochman, confirmed that all required payments have been made in full.
“I can confirm she was released, and she’s doing well. Her court case is now 100 percent done. She has one year of supervised release, and then she’ll be completely done,” said Hochman. He also stated that Hill’s release, which was several days ahead of schedule, was attributed to various beneficial factors that ruled in her favor, “including good behavior,” Hochman stated.
Hill also released a new song today commemorating her release. The song entitled, “Consumerism” was posted on her Twitter time-line.
New music from @MsLaurynHill "Consumerism" https://t.co/Xln3PVK9kj
— Ms. Lauryn Hill (@MsLaurynHill) October 4, 2013
The song was also shared on Hill’s Tumblr page where she included a brief message to her fans discussing her sentiments in regards to the song and the meaning behind it. The message read:
“Consumerism is part of some material I was trying to finish before I had to come in. We did our best to eek out a mix via verbal and emailed direction, thanks to the crew of surrogate ears on the other side. Letters From Exile is material written from a certain space, in a certain place. I felt the need to discuss the underlying socio-political, cultural paradigm as I saw it. I haven’t been able to watch the news too much recently, so I’m not hip on everything going on. But inspiration of this sort is a kind of news in and of itself, and often times contains an urgency that precedes what happens. I couldn’t imagine it not being relevant. Messages like these I imagine find their audience, or their audience finds them, like water seeking it’s level.”
Ms. Lauryn Hill
The “Everything is Everything” singer has sold approximately 16 million albums over the tenure of her entire career. Hill was convicted for failure to pay taxes owed on more than an estimated $1.8 million in revenue she garnered between the years of 2005 and 2007. She turned herself in on July 8 immediately following the conviction.
Image via Lauryn Hill