Lil Wayne set to be sentenced to year in NY jail

NEW YORK (AP) - March 8, 2010 -- Lil Wayne has agreed to go to jail in a gun case, but it has proven unexpectedly hard to put him there.

First, the rap star's sentencing was postponed last month so he could undergo surgery on his bejeweled teeth. Then, a fire shut down Manhattan's main criminal courthouse while he was on his way there last week.

But Lil Wayne is finally set to be sentenced Monday to a year in city jail, as planned when he pleaded guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He admitted illegally having a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun on his tour bus in July 2007.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper, born Dwayne Carter, has been one of music's most prolific and profitable figures in recent years. His "Tha Carter III" was the best-selling album of 2008. His latest album, "Rebirth," was released last month.

Facing jail with his career in full throttle, Lil Wayne has prepared with a burst of work and farewell shows and videos for fans. He said in a video clip sent last week to MTV News that he shot footage for seven music videos with various artists in one night over the weekend.

He told Rolling Stone for a story last month that he planned to keep working behind bars.

"I'll be still rapping in there, have a gang of raps ready when I come back home," he said.

With good behavior, he could be released in about eight months.

City jail officials haven't said where the multiplatinum-selling artist will be housed among their roughly 13,000 inmates. His lawyer has said she plans to ask for protective custody out of concern for safety, as well as his health after his extended oral surgeries.

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new york city, guns, lil wayne, entertainment

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