Names and faces

LITTLE ROCK — PSY has reached a new milestone on YouTube. The South Korean rapper’s video for “Gangnam Style” has reached 1 billion views, according to YouTube’s counter. It’s the first time any clip has surpassed that mark on the streaming service owned by Google Inc. It shows the enduring popularity of the self-deprecating video that features Park Jae-sang’s giddyup-style dance moves. The video has been available on YouTube since July 15, averaging more than 200 million views per month. Justin Bieber’s video for “Baby” held the previous YouTube record at more than 800 million views. PSY wasn’t just popular on YouTube, either. Earlier this month Google announced “Gangnam Style” was the second-highest trending search of 2012 behind Whitney Houston, who passed away in February.

Joseph Cartagena, the rap artist better known as Fat Joe, pleaded guilty Thursday to failing to pay taxes on nearly $3 million in income he earned over two years for performances and music royalties. The platinum selling artist was once a Billboard chart topper with hits like the duet “What’s Luv” with the R&B singer Ashanti. Cartagena entered the plea in federal court in Newark, N.J., because some of the companies he earned money from are incorporated in that state. The 42-yearold Miami Beach, Fla., resident entered pleas to two counts covering years 2007 and 2008. His sentencing will take into consideration the government’s initial allegation that he failed to pay income taxes for years 2007 through 2010. Federal prosecutors said the total tax loss to the government for those four years was $718,038. In federal court Thursday, when asked by U.S. Magistrate Cathy Waldor if he understood the charges he was facing, he replied, “I super-understand it.” Cartagena’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said outside federal court that his client “had already taken steps to resolve this situation” before he had been charged. He said the rapper hoped to pay back the taxes by the time of his sentencing April 3. Cartagena owned the Somerville-based Terror Squad Production Inc. and Miramar Music Touring Inc., according to court papers. He also earned income from FJTS Corp., during the time in question. Cartagena could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $200,000, plus penalties from the Internal Revenue Service.