US rapper Lil Wayne has been sentenced to one year in jail after pleading guilty to a gun possession charge. The Grammy-Award winning performer delivered a farewell bow to his fans as he was escorted from Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.

The charge relates to an incident in 2007 when a weapon was found in his tour bus, but not on him personally. The judge passed the sentence for attempted criminal possession of a weapon after a plea agreement in which Dwayne Carter (27) - the rapper's real name - gave up his right to appeal.

The sentencing had been postponed twice in the last month, first so the singer could get dental surgery and then, because a fire shut the courthouse for several days. His teeth are encrusted with diamonds worth some 150,000 dollars.

Lil Wayne's album The Carter III was the biggest-selling US release of 2008 and won him best rap album and three other prizes at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

The rapper is now headed to Rikers Island jail in New York, where he will be held in protective custody and could be released in eight months with good behaviour. In the lead-up to sentencing, he sent a six-part series of videos on his life to MTV.com in anticipation of his jail term.