update: Rapper Jay-Z [ tickets ] has been indicted on assault charges related to the December stabbing of a record company executive in New York. The Grammy-winning artist and Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge.

A Manhattan criminal court judge today (1/31) allowed the rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, to remain free on $50,000 bail pending a Feb. 22 arraignment in New York's Supreme Court. There, he will answer to charges of first-degree attempted assault, which could put him in prison for up to 15 years, and second degree assault, which carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

Carter was arrested on Dec. 1 following a scuffle that led to the stabbing of Untertainment Records head Lance "Un" Rivera at a CD release party for rapper Q-Tip at New York nightclub. According to the Associated Press, a Criminal Court complaint alleges that Carter slashed Rivera's abdomen and stabbed him "more than once in the back with a knife." (Rivera was treated at a nearby hospital and released.)

Newsweek has said that Carter and Rivera may have had a falling-out related to the premature distribution the new Jay-Z [ tickets ] album to New York radio stations, for which Carter's camp reportedly holds Rivera responsible.

Carter was charged with two other assaults following his arrest, but prosecutors reportedly haven't wrapped up investigations in those cases.

Murray Richman, Carter's attorney, has said that videotape from the party proves that the rapper wasn't present when the stabbing took place. The grand jury that handed down the indictment reportedly didn't view the tape.