Ja Rule will begin his two-year prison sentence today (08.06.11).

The hip-hop artist - real name Jeffrey Atkins - pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in December 2010 and his publicist has confirmed he will turn himself in to authorities in New York 10:30am local time.

He will be sent to Rikers Island before being assigned to another facility in upstate New York.

It has been four years since he was charged with having a loaded gun in his sports car after leaving a concert in New York - where he was initially pulled over for speeding - and he has been putting the finishing touches to his new album 'The Renaissance Project' in recent months as well as dealing with an ongoing tax issue.

Lawyer Stacey Richman said: "We want to finish the album, and there's also a tax issue.

"Somebody, an accountant, had filed an incorrect form, and this is to correct what was done in the past."