JA RULE BEGINS HIS 2 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE!

Rapper Ja Rule was cuffed and shipped off to prison for two years Wednesday for having an illegal loaded gun.

The 35-year-old rapper shook his head no when Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers asked if he had anything to say to the court.

"Take charge," the judge said as the hip hop star, dressed down in a gray hoodie and matching sweatpants, was taken into custody.

"See y'all later," he said, turning and waving to his wife, Aisha, his mom, and mother-in-law, who sat in the largely-deserted courtroom.

"Love you," one of the women, weeping, shouted back.

While Ja Rule said little, after court, his angry lawyer Stacey Richman blasted the sentence as heavy handed for a man she said was no threat to the community.

"He's a phenomenal father, he's what we want in our communities," Richman said. "The idea of sending him to prison is illogical to me, it doesn't serve a purpose."

Ja Rule agreed to the plea because, under New York's tough gun laws, he faced a mandatory 3½ years if the case went to trial and he was convicted.

With credit for good behavior, the singer could be out of prison in 18 to 20 months, Richman said.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance defended the law.

"Carrying an illegal gun in New York City puts the safety of all New Yorkers at risk," said Vance. "Whether you are a Grammy-nominated musician or a teenager carrying a gun for a friend, justice is blind. This sentence should put all illegal gun owners in New York on notice."

The platinum-selling Ja Rule pleaded guilty in December to attempted criminal possession of a weapon for having a loaded .40-caliber pistol in his luxury $250,000 Maybach sports car after he left an upper West Side concert in 2007.

The guilty plea came on the heels of rap sensation Lil Wayne, who was arrested the same night after the same concert, and served eight months in prison on similar charges.

Ja Rule, a father of three, also pleaded guilty this spring to federal tax fraud charges in New Jersey for failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income.

Born Jeffrey Atkins in Hollis, Queens, the singer admitted he didn't pay taxes on income he earned between 2004 and 2006.

He faces up to three years in prison and $100,000 in fines when he is sentenced later this summer.

He was nominated for a 2002 Grammy Award for the album, "Pain is Love."

He'd hoped to release the sequel, "Pain is Love 2," before starting his prison term but the album won't be out until mid-summer, said his manager, Ron Robinson, who accompanied him to court.

"He put the finishing touches on it two nights ago," Robinson said.



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