[article id="1633428"]Lil Wayne has been in prison[/article] for approximately four months now, after being sentenced by a Manhattan judge to one year behind bars for attempted gun possession. But his actual prison term is 10 months, not a calendar year, and if he stays out of trouble (and has no more [article id="1639155"]infractions for possessing an iPod[/article]), the Cash Money recording artist could be [article id="1633425"]released from jail[/article] as early as November.

In the meantime, [article id="1642523"]Wayne has kept busy, blogging[/article] on his fan-appreciation website, recording a [article id="1641133"]verse for Drake's "Light Up"[/article] and accepting [article id="1639506"]visitors like Diddy[/article].

[artist id="611"]Fat Joe[/artist] recently ventured to see Wayne in Rikers Island. The Bronx-bred rapper described his frequent collaborator as being in "great spirits" and said he's operating well while detoxing from the codeine-laced drinks he so often raps about.

"Lil Wayne, it's such a shame," Joe told MTV News. "He's in great spirits. I love Lil Wayne; that's like my little brother. He's just the coolest dude on Earth. I tell you one thing, him not being high made me realize how much funnier he is. This guy has jokes. We were up in there for four hours, just telling jokes, dying laughing, falling on the floor.

"He's a beautiful dude," Joe continued. "He did what he did. He had a gun on him, but people don't really know how much of a great father that he is, great of a person he is, a friend, a loyal dude. He's charismatic. It's just sad to see him over there like that, but I'm pretty sure he learned his lesson, and he's gonna be focused."

Once Wayne is released from jail in New York, the rapper will begin serving three years of probation, stemming from a [article id="1642774"]2008 arrest in Arizona[/article], when authorities discovered drugs, drug paraphernalia and a firearm aboard the rapper's tour bus.

Do you think Lil Wayne's music will be different when he's released from jail? Talk about it in the comments.