Rapper Beanie Sigel back in court

PHILADELPHIA --A judge extended Beanie Sigel's supervised release after the rapper was questioned in federal court about a positive drug test and association with convicted felons.

Sigel was sentenced in October 2004 to 12 months and a day, plus two years of supervised release, on gun and drug charges.

The U.S. Probation Office asked for a hearing Wednesday to change his supervised release status, saying he failed to notify his probation officer that he had been stopped and questioned by police on Aug. 20. He was with several people, at least one of them a convicted felon, at the time, police said.

Sigel also tested positive for codeine and morphine in a drug test in December.

The 32-year-old rapper, whose real name is Dwight Grant, told U.S. District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick that he had been given a prescription by his doctor three days before a scheduled drug test.

Sigel's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., provided Surrick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Douglas with a copy of a prescription and a letter signed by a doctor.

Surrick sentenced Sigel to an additional six months of supervised release. He told Sigel he would have to get the situation "under control or otherwise I'm going to have to take action you're not going to appreciate."

Sigel's albums include "The Truth," "The Reason" and "The B. Coming." He starred in the 2002 film "State Property" and its 2005 sequel, "State Property 2."