Lil Wayne jail sentence postponed by bad tooth

Rapper Lil Wayne - file

NEW YORK (AP):

Lil Wayne's prison sentence was expected to begin yesterday but the rapper was granted a brief reprieve. Wayne will report back to a New York courtroom on March 2 because his lawyers argued that he had to undergo dental surgery before his prison sentence began. The judge overseeing the case told Lil Wayne's legal team that their client would be sentenced on March 2 and no later. Since the surgery is scheduled for February 12 in Miami, the judge advised Lil Wayne to return to Miami immediately to ensure he avoids the snowstorm that is expected to blanket the Northeast. The surgery requires a recovery time of a week to 10 days.

The Grammy-winning artiste's plea deal calls for a year in jail, though good behaviour could shave that to as little as eight months.

"This is Lil Wayne going to jail. Nobody can tell me what that's like," the rapper told Rolling Stone magazine for its latest issue. "I just say I'm looking forward to it."

Lil Wayne is the latest of a string of rappers who have been sentenced to jail.

His plea deal calls for him to serve his sentence not in state prison but in the city jail system, where rapper Foxy Brown spent about eight months in 2007 and 2008 for a probation violation involving a fight she had with manicurists in a nail salon.

Rapper Remy Ma spent several months in a city jail in 2008 while awaiting sentencing for shooting a woman outside a nightclub. She's now serving an eight-year sentence in state prison.

City Department of Correction spokesman Stephen Morello wouldn't discuss any arrangements being made to house Lil Wayne among the roughly 13,500 inmates in the massive Rikers Island complex and other jails. Most inmates are awaiting trial.

Some inmates, including Foxy Brown, are separated from the general population because of their celebrity or other reasons, but "there's no special-inmates wing," Morello said.

Lil Wayne's attorney didn't return telephone calls seeking comment Monday.

Guilty plea

Lil Wayne, 27, pleaded guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, admitting he illegally had a loaded .40-calibre semi-automatic gun on his tour bus in July 2007. Police found the weapon when they stopped the bus after a Manhattan concert.

Little more than a week ago, Lil Wayne was reinforcing his place in rap's pantheon with a commanding performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony. His latest album, Rebirth, was officially released February 2.

A rapper since he was a teenager, Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, became known for his voluminous output and collaborations with other artistes.

His career has hit a peak in the last two years. His Tha Carter III led 2008 album sales with 2.8 million copies sold and featured such hits as the number one smash, Lollipop. His Grammys include 2008's best rap solo performance award, for A Milli.