Ja Rule will be calling prison home for the next year-and-a-half. The rapper turned himself in today to begin serving his sentence on gun charges.

The 35-year-old, born Jeffrey Atkins, pleaded guilty in December to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He is expected to spend 18-20 months behind bars in New York beginning at Rikers Island, the same facility where Lil Wayne did his time. After about two weeks, he will be transferred to a different correctional facility upstate.

His wife, attorney, and several other family members joined him in court while the sentence was read. Emotions ran high as he was handcuffed and taken from the courtroom. He shouted, “See y’all,” and his family responded, “We love you,” while some burst into tears.

The former Murder Inc. rapper spent his last full day of freedom in the studio working on his albums The Renaissance Project and P.ain I.s L.ove 2, due this summer. He said he plans to work out and play basketball and ping-pong. “Much love to the fans. I love ya’ll. Thanks for holding me down throughout the years and through this whole situation,” he said.

Rule revealed plans to launch a 40-night world tour immediately following his prison stint. “I want the bus to come straight to the prison and take me to my first show. Put my family on the bus, have them come to the first few cities, send them back home, and let me keep going,” he previously told staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud.

Before heading to do his bid, Rule shot a video for “Spun a Web” and the 7 Aurelius-produced “Real Life Fantasy” in the Nevada desert with director Hype Williams. “The visuals that we’re going to put out will be something that’s unmatched. It’s real artsy. It’s Banksy. It’s Mr. Brainwash. It’s Warhol. It’s out there,” he shared with staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud.

Read our exclusive interview with Ja Rule where he discusses prison, lessons from Lil Wayne, and learning to ignore Twitter beef.

[Video via MTV]