( rapindustry.com ) - Rappers Ja Rule and Lil Wayne were arrested on charges of carrying illegal .40 caliber guns, authorities said.
The top-selling hip-hop stars, whose latest song is named "Uh Oh", were each arrested and charged Sunday night with criminal possession of a weapon, authorities said. Ja Rule's real name is Jeff Atkins; Lil Wayne's is Dwayne Carter.
They were arrested shortly after Carter's concert at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan. It was not immediately clear whether Atkins had also performed.
Officers spotted Carter and another man smoking marijuana by a tour bus near 61st Street and Columbus Avenue at about 11:30 p.m., police said.
The officers took the two men into custody, finding the pistol. Both were charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.
Atkins was arrested about an hour earlier on West End Avenue. Police said he was in a luxury sedan that was going too fast.
Officers stopped the car and arrested the occupants - Atkins, the driver and another man - and found the weapon, police said.
Contact information for the rappers' managers could not be found early Monday, and there was no immediate response to messages left with their record company, Universal Motown. It also was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys.
Ja Rule rose to fame in the mid-1990s after appearing on a hit song with Jay-Z and later going on to record platinum-selling solo albums. Lil Wayne's albums include "Tha Block Is Hot," "Lights Out," "Tha Carter" and "Tha Carter II."