Nas going broke or going to jail

When it comes to Uncle Sam�blood is not thicker than water.

Rapper NAS is facing an inflated bill from U.S. tax officials – the money he allegedly owes has spiraled from $2.6 million (�1.6 million) to more than $3.4 million (�2.1 million).

The hip-hop star was hit with the initial bill from officials at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in October last year (09), amid claims he had failed to keep up with his tax payments in 2006 and 2007.

Nas is already facing financial problems stemming from his ongoing divorce battle with estranged wife Kelis – last July (09) a judge ordered the rapper to pay his former partner $5,000 (�3,330) a month in child support for his son Knight.