Yahoo! Music, Dec 6, 2001 6:00 pm PST
(12/6/01, 6 p.m. ET) -- Jay-Z received a three-year probation sentence Thursday (December 6) from Judge Micki Scherer for stabbing music executive Lance "Un" Rivera in December 1999, according to a spokesperson for New York's District Attorney's office. The top rapper admitted to committing the crime in court on October 17.
Jay-Z stabbed Rivera in the stomach while attending the December 2, 1999 release party for Q-Tip's Amplified at New York's Kit Kat Klub. The rapper, who also heads Roc-A-Fella Records, was rumored to be upset with Rivera for allegedly bootlegging his album, Vol. 3...Life And Times Of Sean Carter.
Rivera accused Jay-Z of assaulting him the night of the incident, but later refused to work with prosecuting attorneys. On October 18, the New York Post reported that Jay-Z paid Rivera $600,000 to not cooperate with prosecutors.
If Jay-Z had not pleaded guilty, he would have gone to trial and faced a possible 15-year jail sentence. Initially, however, he proclaimed his innocence, even recording the song "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" with R. Kelly.
Calls placed to Jay-Z's labels Def Jam Records and Roc-A-Fella were not returned by press time.
In October, Jay-Z was hit with a copyright infringement suit from Demme Ulloa, the woman who sings the chorus for "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," who claims she has not been paid for her work.
Jay-Z's album, The Blueprint, has sold more than 1.5 million copies since its September release.
-- Billy Johnson Jr., Los Angeles
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