Ja Rule Released From Prison

Rapper Ja Rule has been released from prison and will remain under house arrest until July 28th as he finishes a two-year sentence for tax evasion and possessing a semiautomatic handgun, the BBC reports.

The rapper served the two sentences back-to-back, reportedly leaving a New York State prison back in February – where he was serving his sentence for the gun charge – only to be released into federal custody to complete the sentence for tax evasion.

Ja Rule Finishing Album Before Heading to Prison

Ja Rule was sentenced to state prison in June 2011 after New York City police found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in his car in 2007. In March of that same year, he admitted that he’d failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income between 2004-06, resulting in a 28-month federal sentence.

As of this past February, Ja Rule’s lawyer Stacey Richman said the rapper still owed the federal government $1.1 million in back taxes, and was eager to resume working again to pay it off. “Many people are looking forward to experiencing his talent again,” Richman said.