Hip Hop News

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Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to felony gun charges in October, and today in Manhattan Criminal Court the multiplatinum MC learned his jail term will likely begin on February 9th, 2010 — the same day he will be sentenced and just eight days after his oft-delayed Rebirth is scheduled for release. According to NBC New York, Wayne will serve between eight months and a full year in prison because police found a loaded 9mm handgun on his tour bus during a routine stop in July 2007. As Rolling Stone previously reported, the smell of marijuana exiting the tour bus led cops to search the vehicle following a concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre.

If he’d gone to trial, Wayne would have faced between three and a half to seven years in prison. Wayne, or Dwayne Carter as he’s called in a court of law, made no statements during the brief hearing today. Until a week ago ,Rebirth was scheduled for release today, as well. As RS reported last week, Weezy’s rap-rock album has since been moved to February 1st, so if the album is delayed any further, Wayne won’t be able to promote it outside of jail. The rapper is currently free on bail.

Even though Wayne’s prison term isn’t expected to exceed a year, Tha Carter III MC isn’t completely clear of all his legal troubles yet: he also faces a trial for felony weapons and drug possession charges after a tour bus search in Arizona in 2008 yielded 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine, 41 grams of ecstasy and a handgun.