Method Man And D'Angelo Face The Music

Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man has accepted a plea bargain to carry out community service in connection with his May arrest for driving under the influence of marijuana.

The rapper (real name Clifford Smith) was stopped at the Battery Tunnel connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan on May 17 and, when he rolled down the window of his 2005 Lincoln, authorities said they detected a strong marijuana odour and visible drug paraphernalia. More drugs were found after the vehicle was searched and Method Man was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of marijuana, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving an uninspected motor vehicle.

The 36-year-old MC has agreed to undertake community service as part of the Choices And Consequences program that's headed by the Brooklyn district attorney's office.

"He's never been in trouble with the law before," Method Man's lawyer, Peter Frankel, told the New York Daily News. "This is a guy who flies in the face of all stereotypes about rappers."

Meanwhile, soul singer D'Angelo was fined $1,500 U.S. and given a six-month suspended jail sentence for driving under the influence in connection to a September 2005 accident in Powhatan, Va. that left him and passenger Lynne Sellers injured. The crooner wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the driver's seat of his Hummer.

D'Angelo (real name Michael Archer) pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence. Judge Paul Cella fined him $1,500 ($750 of which was suspended) and revoked his driver's license for 12 months. The 33-year-old avoided a reckless driving charge.

The R&B singer was driving with a suspended licence at the time of the accident, since he was found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana possession in April 2005.