Arkansas, Dec 23 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Rapper T.I. got a pleasant surprise and a lovely Christmas present when the prison authorities released him early in his 366-day term. However he will have to stay in a halfway house for 2-3 months. His attorney, Steve Sadow, told the website xxlmag.com that T.I. would report to a halfway house in the Atlanta area later in the day to begin a stay of two or three months. His real name is Clifford Harris, Jr., and he has been serving time on charges of weapons possession following his arrest in 2007. His date of release was 10th March 2010.

The twenty eight year old rapper T.I. was arrested when he was trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers from undercover federal agents in 2007. This happened after the T.I.’s best friend was killed following a party in Cincinnati in 2006. The rapper has said the bullets that killed his friend were actually meant for him.

The self-proclaimed “King of the South” was looking at a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge in his three-count indictment. However, he made a plea deal with prosecutors. And in exchange for a lighter sentence he was under house arrest before his sentencing and he spoke to community groups and high schools about the dangers of drugs, violence and guns.

T.I. is one of the most popular rappers of his generation, with three straight No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, including 2008’s “Paper Trail.” He’s also had three No. 1 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.