Blogged By: De De Tillman

Source:Yahoo Music

Posted: Thursdy February 21, 2013 @5:30 p.m PST

Rapper Ja Rule left an upstate New York prison Thursday morning after serving most of his two-year sentence for illegal gun possession and headed straight into federal custody in a tax case.

The rapper, who had been in protective custody because of his celebrity, has some time remaining on a 28-month sentence for tax evasion that ran concurrently.

Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, may have less than six months left and may be eligible for a halfway house, defense attorney Stacey Richman said. Back taxes are one of the main reasons he wants to get back to work, she said.