Jeffery Atkins, more commonly known to music fans as Ja Rule, was released from prison today after serving a two year sentence a spokesman for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons told Reuters. The rapper had been incarcerated for gun charges and failure tax evasion.
TMZ reported that Atkins' wife picked him up as he was released from Ray Brook Federal Prison in New York Tuesday morning. Ja Rule's freedom was short lived as he was driven straight home where he will be on house arrest until July 28.
The gun charge came from a 2007 incident when a semi-automatic handgun was found by police when the rapper was pulled over after concert. Atkins would eventually plead guilty to the charge.
Shortly after Atkins started serving his sentence for the gun charge in June 2011 he was sentenced to 28 months for failing to pay a reported $1.1 million in taxes, according to Reuters.
Atkins was able to serve the two sentences concurrently.
The 37 year old rapper from Queens has had multiple albums reach the top of the charts. Both "Rule 3:36" and "Pain is Love" made it to the top spot, "Pain is Love" was also nominated for a Grammy.
One of the highlights of Ja Rule's career involved his collaboration's with Jennifer Lopez. Their song "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" not only was a number one hit but also won an MTV Video Music Award for best Hip-Hop Video.
Ja Rule is also known for some of his acting work, especially his role in "The Fast and the Furious".
Atkins was scheduled to be released from prison in July but he was released early, according to TMZ.
Ja Rule will most likely be eager to revive both his film and music careers once he is released from home detainment; he has a pretty hefty tax bill to pay off.
