[article id="1643696"]Lil Wayne is expected to be released from prison[/article] Thursday following his completion of a [article id="1633428"]prison sentence[/article] for attempted gun possession in New York. The superstar MC has been on [article id="1633433"]Rikers Island[/article] since early March.

Just before dawn on Thursday, the rapper will rise and begin the process of his release.

"They have to check his docket number to see that he doesn't have any open cases or open warrants," a Rikers Island source told MTV News. " ... He has to be fingerprinted and dressed. It's another process again before he leaves."

According to the source, Lil Wayne will begin the exit process around the inmates' breakfast time, at 4 a.m. The process could take more than two hours, depending on the work- and caseload on Thursday at Rikers Island.

As inmates are processed for admittance and exit, the dockets clear and each prisoner is also cleared, allowing groups to be sent on their way.

Because of the unique setting at Rikers Island, inmates have two options for leaving the premises: either on a city bus that takes prisoners, visitors and employees to Queens or a facility vehicle unit that travels to Manhattan delivering those who have completed their sentencing to the same building where they were booked.

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Bookmark weezywatch.mtv.com for MTV News' complete, round-the-clock coverage of Lil Wayne's prison release and the ensuing homecoming celebrations.

Although the process is fairly mundane, it is also difficult to predict or estimate release times, the source warned.

"Every day is something different," the source said, saying it wouldn't be impossible, though unlikely, for Lil Wayne's processing to last into the night. "We don't know how many bodies we'll be getting in or how many bodies will be released."

Stick with MTV News throughout the weekend for up-to-the-minute reports on [article id="1651386"]Lil Wayne's prison release[/article] as we follow him from Rikers Island to his celebrations at home and beyond. Follow us on Twitter @MTVNews for instant updates and bookmark [article id="1651386"]weezywatch.mtv.com[/article] for complete, round-the-clock coverage.