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40 Top Rappers Who Have Gone To Jail
If there is one profession in which its practitioners are more likely to end up in prison, it is that of a rapper.
Rappers and prisons are nearly synonymous.
While many people are incarcerated – or have been incarcerated – for minor infractions such as parole violations, others are imprisoned on more heinous charges such as murder.
Most of the time, they have only themselves to blame.
Currently, numerous rap artists are incarcerated for a variety of reasons, both major and minor.
It demonstrates that no matter how much money rappers have, they are not above the law at the end of the day.
Now, scroll down to see which rapper is currently or has previously taken an involuntary vacation at a correctional facility. Some of them may be old news, while others you probably aren’t aware of.
Chi Ali
On January 14, 2000, during an argument, Chi-Ali shot and killed Sean Raymond (his brother-in-law). He served 12 years of a 14-year sentence for first-degree manslaughter and other lesser charges. Jail
Lil’ Wayne
Lil Wayne has spent the majority of his career in and out of prison, mostly on weapons and drug charges. He was once sentenced to a year in prison for possessing a firearm.
Slick Rick
Slick Rick was imprisoned for 5 years and 12 days in 1991 on charges of attempted second-degree murder.
C- Murder
Corey Miller aka C-Murder, a No Limit rapper, was arrested in 2002 in connection with the murder of 16-year-old Steve Thomas, and was sentenced to life in prison on August 14, 2009.
Tupac
Tupac has been incarcerated several times, the most notable being for his 1993 sexual assault on a 19-year-old woman. Shakur received a sentence of 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison, which he served for nine months (beginning February 14, 1995).
Shyne
Shyne was sentenced to ten years in prison in July 2001 for charges stemming from an infamous nightclub brawl in 1999 involving Puff Daddy and Jennifer Lopez. After firing his gun in self-defense, he was charged with assault, reckless endangerment, and gun possession.
Remy Ma
On March 27, 2008, Remy Ma – born Reminisce Smith – was sentenced to eight years in prison. This was after she was found guilty of two charges of assault, illegal weapon possession and attempted coercion after she shot two times at her friend while the two women struggled in a car. Remy Ma served six years in prison.
Cassidy
Cassidy was imprisoned in 2006 for involuntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a criminal instrument.
Ja Rule
Ja Rule was sentenced to two years in prison in 2011. According to authorities, the charge stemmed from a July 2007 incident in which police pulled him over and discovered a semi-automatic handgun hidden in his car. His two-year sentence was extended due to tax evasion charges.
Beanie Sigel
Beanie Sigel has been in and out of trouble with the law for the majority of his career, whether it’s for drugs, firearms, or child support.
Beanie was sentenced to six to 23 months in prison on March 6, 2013, after pleading guilty to a narcotics possession charge. He was previously sentenced to a year and a day in prison for illegal weapon possession.
Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane has spent time in jail on several occasions since 2000. The most notable was for striking a promoter in the head with a pool cue in 2005, violating his probation from an assault conviction.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard
The late ODB was sentenced to prison on multiple occasions for multiple assaults, theft, drug charges, evading a rehab facility, and wearing a bulletproof vest. Just to name a few.
Snoop Dogg
Murder was the case that they gave him in 1993. Snoop was acquitted of the murder charges but he has been in and out of trouble with the law throughout his whole life. Snoop served time multiple times in the few years after he finished high school.
Lil Boosie
Lil Boosie, now known as Boosie Badazz, served time after pleading guilty for drug charges from 2011 to 2014.
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T.I.
T.I. is another rapper who has been in and out of the jail throughout his career. He was incarcerated at a prison in 2009 for his conviction on weapons charges.
Dr Dre
In 1994, Dre violated his probation for an earlier battery offense, after he led police on a high-speed chase while intoxicated. Dre was sentenced to several months in jail and ordered to pay a fine. He served his time in 1995.
G-Dep
The Bad Boy rapper confessed in 2010 to committing an unsolved murder for which he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Black Rob
In 2006, Bad Boy artist Black Rob was sentenced to seven years in prison for grand larceny.
Fat Joe
In 2013, Fat Joe was sentenced to four months in federal prison for tax evasion.
Wiz Khalifa
Khalifa was booked into a jail on a misdemeanor charge of possession of less than two ounces of marijuana. Lucky for him he only had to pay a fine and avoided a long jail time. He was released from jail the following day after posting a $300 bond.
Lil’ Kim
Lil Kim was convicted of three counts of conspiracy and one count of perjury for lying to a grand jury about her co-manager, Damion “D-Roc” Butler, and bodyguard Suif “Gutta” Jackson’s involvement in a 2001 shooting outside New York City radio station Hot 97. She served a 12-month sentence between 2015 and 2016.
Mystikal
Mystikal was sentenced to a six-year prison term for sexual battery and extortion. While incarcerated he was given even more jail time for tax offenses. That is not the last time Mystikal was in trouble with the law. The rapper was convicted of domestic abuse battery and given more jail time.
Foxy Brown
For violating her probation, Foxy Brown was arrested and convicted of multiple assault charges including throwing a Blackberry phone at someone and attacking two nail technicians. She spent eight-months in prison.
Notorious B.I.G.
Before he became famous, Biggie Smalls was busted for selling drugs and served nine months in jail.
2 Chainz
August 2013, 2 Chainz was arrested on a charge of obstructing a police officer’s investigation after local authorities pulled his tour bus over for a busted tail light.
He was charge and booked into a jail for drug possession.
6ix9ine
In November 2018, controversial rapper 6ix9ine was arrested on racketeering, carrying a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy murder charges.
After striking a plea deal with prosecutors, he was given a sentence of 2 years after testifying against the his associates, the Nine Trey Gang.
XXXTentacion
The late XXXTentacio was sent to a youth detention center in late 2016 – early 2017, for six months for gun possession; arrested and charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon; arrested for false imprisonment, witness tampering, and aggravated battery of a pregnant victim.
DMX
DMX was first sent to prison in 1986 for stealing a dog from a junkyard. He spent two years in a juvenile correctional facility.
Before his death, DMX was in jail 30 times for various offenses, including robbery, assault, carjacking, animal cruelty, reckless driving, driving under the influence, unlicensed driving, drug possession, probation violation, failure to pay child support, pretending to be a federal agent, and tax evasion.
Kodak Black
Kodak Black have been in and out of jails and house arrests. In 2015, he was arrested and charged with robbery, battery, false imprisonment of a child, and possession of cannabis.
Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav has been in and out of jail over the years. In 1991, Flav served 30 days in jail for assaulting a former girlfriend. In 2002, Flav spent nine weeks in jail for driving with a suspended license, numerous parking tickets, and tardiness for probation appointments. On October 17, 2012, Flav was jailed on felony charges stemming from a domestic argument with his fiancée and his threats to attack her teenage son with a knife. Rappers Who Have Gone To Jail
Flesh-N-Bone
On September 22, 2000, Stanley Howse, better known as Flesh-n-Bone was sent to jail for 12 years on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and probation violation.
Lauryn Hill
In 2012, singer and rapper Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to three months in jail. She served the sentence the following year with one year parole.
Big Lurch
Big Lurch is currently serving a life sentence for murdering 21-year-old female roommate and eating parts of her body while under the influence of PCP in April 2002.
Petey Pablo
On September 11, 2010, Petey Pablo was arrested at an airport for carrying a stolen 9mm semi-automatic pistol aboard a US Airways flight. On September 26, 2011, he was sentenced to 35 months in prison, and was jailed on January 4, 2012.
Sadat X
On December 22, 2005, Sadat X was arrested in Harlem and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to a year’s jail term and left prison on the 14th of June 2007. Rappers Who Have Gone To Jail
Capone-N-Noreaga
The duo met in jail in 1992. This was when Victor ‘Noreaga’ Santiago met Kiam ‘Capone’ were serving time for unrelated attempted murder cases in a New York prison facility.
In 1996, before the group’s debut album was completed, Capone was jailed for a parole violation. Rappers Who Have Gone To Jail
Da Brat
Da Brat was sentenced to three years in prison, seven years of probation, 200 hours of community service for assaulting a waitress in 2007.
In May 2010, she was temporarily released from prison as part of a work-release program, after serving 21 months. On February 28, 2011, Jermaine Dupri announced that Da Brat was officially released from prison, completing her sentence. Rappers Who Have Gone To Jail
Steady B & Cool C
On October 30, 1996, Steady B was convicted of the second-degree murder of Philadelphia Police officer Lauretha Vaird. The incident occured during a botched bank robbery in January 1996. On December 13, 1996, Steady B was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. His partner, Cool C, was sentenced to death. He is currently on death row.
Juelz Santana
In December 2018, Santana was sentenced to 27 months in prison for carrying an unconcealed weapon in his bag at an airport. He was released early from prison on August 5, 2020, after serving 17 of his 27 month sentence. Rappers Who Have Gone To Jail
Loon
On November 22, 2011, Loon (now a Muslim with the name Amir Junaid Muhadith) was arrested while on a trip to Brussels. He was extradited to the United States in May 2012 and was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment in July 2013 for conspiracy with intent to traffic heroin. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic effects in prison centers, the former Bad Boy rapper was granted early release on July 29. 2020.