welcome home beans!
That singular tweet – together with a photo on Instagram – from @DJDrama was the first indication to many of Beanie Sigel’s fans had that he was back on Broad Street this week. The popular rapper had been serving a sentence in the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia on drug and tax charges.
Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, pleaded guilty in 2011 to failing to file federal income tax returns for 2003, 2004 and 2005. The IRS alleged that Sigel failed to pay federal income taxes on more than $1 million in income; by 2012, the amount owed, together with penalty and interest, had reportedly ballooned to more than twice the amount originally owed.
The Philadelphia native rose to fame in 1999 with his hit, The Truth, which reached #5 on Billboard records. The Truth was recorded with the then fledging label Roc-A-Fella Records, founded a few years earlier by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter (yes, that Jay-Z), Damon “Dame” Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke.
Sigel’s album, The Reason, released in 2001, earned the rapper an award at the BET Awards for Album of the Year. The following year, Sigel founded the rap group, State Property, with Philly rappers Freeway, Peedi Peedi, Oschino, and Omillio Sparks, and the Young Gunz (Young Chris and Neef Buck) and female R&B singer Casha. As Sigel’s appeal picked up, so did opportunities to make more money. Despite his newfound fame and wealth, authorities allege that Sigel couldn’t let the thug life go: he was arrested on multiple occasions and eventually sentenced to federal prison on gun and drug charges in Philadelphia. Despite beating an attempted murder charge (for which he was tried twice), Sigel went back to prison on probation violations.
While Sigel was dodging (though not always successfully) legal troubles, the Internal Revenue Service claimed he was dodging taxes, too. Sigel apparently agreed, pleading guilty to tax evasion in 2011. The feds had also alleged that Sigel failed to pay taxes in prior years (dating back to 1999) but Sigel would only serve time for 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Federal prosecutors wanted Sigel to serve the maximum sentence of three years, charging that he had “utterly failed to cooperate” with authorities, including not making good on his tax obligations. Instead, U.S. District Judge Jan DuBois sentenced Sigel to two years in federal prison; he was also required to repay those back taxes, together with interest and penalties. Sigel got another break when he was sentenced to just six to 23 months on the drugs charges since those charges were to run concurrently with the tax sentence.
With things going his way (relatively speaking, of course), friends expected an early release for Sigel – and they got one. It’s not unusual for tax evasion sentences to be cut a bit short: just last year, entertainer Lauryn Hill who previously pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges got out of jail a few days early for good behavior. Hill went on to release an album within 24 hours of leaving prison. Sigel fans have to be hopeful that he’ll do the same: he hasn’t released an album since This Time in 2012 which was recorded with special guests Oliver Laing, Akon, Junior Reid, State Property and Game just before his prison stint. Prior to his arrest, Sigel signed with Ruffhouse Records, whose famous roster includes DMX, Cypress Hill and yes, Lauryn Hill.
