Lil Wayne lands in solitary confinement for contraband

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On Monday, rapper Lil Wayne was sent to solitary confinement for a month as punishment for possessing ‘music contraband’ -- headphones and a charger for an MP3 player -- back in May.

The rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Carter Jr., will, with good behavior, likely finish out his sentence doing alone-time, spending 23 hours a day in his cell at Riker’s Island in New York, with no television and only one phone call a week instead of daily chats. He’ll get out to shower and exercise, but not to eat.

‘Possession of contraband is serious,’ though not as grave as violent offenses or being caught with a weapon, for example, a corrections department spokesman told the Associated Press.

Lil Wayne’s contraband was found stashed in a potato chip bag in a trash can in his cell. A watch that was also an MP3 player was found in possession of another inmate in the same wing.

The rapper’s one-year jail sentence, which began March 8, was part of a 2009 deal in which he pleaded guilty to a 2007 weapons charge. With time off for good behavior, he is scheduled to be released on Nov. 4

-- Christie D’Zurilla

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