(AllHipHop News) Rap star Method Man evened up with the Internal Revenue Service yesterday (June 28th) when he paid off his back tax bill. Method Man, born Clifford Smith, appeared in Stand Island Criminal Court and pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges. According to reports, Method Man forked over $106,000 in restitution after he failed to pay his New York State income taxes from 2004-2007. Method Man, 39, denied he was attempting to evade paying off his taxes and blamed accountants for mishandling his finances. Yesterday, the Wu-Tang Clan member paid over $40,000 to settle the entire debt with the IRS.

(AllHipHop News) Lil Boosie officially entered into a not guilty plea today (June 28th) during a court hearing related to a murder charge against the popular rapper. Boosie, born Torrence Hatch, was in court for a total of about two minutes, where he stood before Judge Mike Erwin and pleaded not guilty to murdering 35-year-old Terry Boyd in October of 2009. “I think he’s absolutely not guilty. I think he meant what he said. He’s absolutely not guilty,” Boosie’s defense attorney, Marcus Allen told WAFB Channel 9. “We’re just going to prepare for his defense and get ready to address the charges.”District Attorney Hillar Moore declined to speak on the facts of the case after the hearing, but noted that Boosie was fighting several other cases, including drug conspiracy. In addition to the 1st-degree murder charge, Lil Boosie is accused of smuggling codeine and marijuana pills into Hunt Correctional Institute with the help of an ex-correctional officer and his girlfriend y. “I’d rather wait for the evidence to speak as to what happened,” said District Attorney Hillar Moore. “He’s got several different cases, so it depends on which one you’re talking about. He also has the introduction of the drugs into the prison and obviously, he’s presumed innocent at this point.”Lil Boosie could face the death penalty if he is convicted of 1st degree murder. video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

(AllHipHop News) Celebrities like RZA, Brandy, Ray-J, Marlon Wayans and others came out to an exclusive mansion party outside of Hollywood to support the Congressional run of Kevin Powell, a politician with legitimate roots in Hip-Hop.

Powell is a 2010 Democratic candidate for Congress in Brooklyn, New York.

The mansion party also brought out mogul/Loud Records founder Steve Rifkind and DJ J. Period, who spun the music for the event.

RZA performed with a full band, entertaining the those in attendance.

The event took place at the home of Jeff Bowler, a movie producer in the Los Angeles area.

Powell expressed his excitement at this biggest, most successful fund-raiser to date.

“I have been a Hip-Hop head since I was 13. I have been a b-boy, tagged  

graffiti, used Hip-Hop as a tool to deal with social issues in our  

communities, and I was a founding staff member at VIBE where I  

interviewed folks like Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and many  

others,” Powell told AllHipHop.com. “But nothing gave me great pride than this past Saturday night  

in Los Angeles at our Hollywood for Kevin Powell fundraiser.”

Continuing, he said “To have folks like Marlon Wayans, Steve Rifkind, Ray-J, Brandy, J. Period and the RZA there to

support me meant so much. Yes, others were there. But Hip-Hop was really there.”

Marlon Wayans often quipped with those in attendance and jokingly encouraged Powell to become more active on Twitter. All of those in attendance took pictures and most publicly spoke of why they are supporting Powell for Congress.

Powell expressed why Hip-Hop and the youth must continue to be engaged in the political process.

“We got Barack Obama elected president in 2008. And now,  

with my Congressional campaign here in Brooklyn, New York, we have an  

opportunity to put into office someone who comes directly out of  

Hip-Hop culture,” he said. “This is not  

just my campaign, it is our campaign.”

Powell is requesting that supporters donate at least $5 to

“Kevin Powell for Congress” by Wednesday, June 30th, a financial benchmark for those running for this position.

(Click here to donate to the campaign and to read about Kevin Powell’s position on the issues.)

Kevin Powell has been an activist and community organizer for over 20 years, written 10 books, and is a renown public speaker. The core of his issues line in improving the public school system, job and small business creation, “greening” the environment, and ending violence against women and girls. He is also a founding staff member of VIBE magazine.

Cuban-American rap star Pitbull has teamed with The City of Miami for a new campaign aimed at curbing gun violence on the July 4th holiday celebration. Pitbull appears in the “One Bullet Kills the Party” campaign, which includes billboards, radio ads, bus benches and television spots. “Today as we approach the 4th of July, I am asking the people do not kill the party,” Mayor Tomas Regalado told local media. “Let’s party to celebrate our independence.” Naughty By Nature has announced they will drop two tracks from their upcoming album Anthem Inc., via a new partnership with Tommy Boy Records. The EP includes the single “I Gotta Lotta” and “Get To Know Me Better” which features Pitbull. Naughty By Nature released three classics with Tommy Boy in the early 1990’s. The label released Naughty By Nature in 1991, followed by 19 Naughty III (1993) and Poverty’s Paradise (1995) which earned the group a Grammy Award. “When we started in 1991, Tom Silverman and Tommy Boy were a great fit to lead us thru the indie industry,” said founding group member Kay Gee. “Now in 2010, with the ever-changing record industry, Tom is one of the leaders shaping new technology and is at the forefront of today’s new music business model. It only makes sense for us to reunite for this EP. Besides, nobody knows our brand better than Tommy Boy! They helped us build it.” Naughty By Nature’s EP will hit the iTunes store tomorrow (June 29th). Eminem’s album Recovery has landed at the top of the U.K. charts, according to sales data by the Official Chart Company. According to reports, Recovery sold over 140,000 copies in the U.K., giving Eminem his sixth #1 album in the county. Additionally, two singles by Eminem are in the Top 10 on the singles chart. “Not Afraid” is sitting at #5, while “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna opened this week in the #7 position. Eminem is expected to top the United States charts tomorrow as his album Recovery should sell just over 600,000 units, when the data is released tomorrow.