Various Artists News

The hip-hopster was busted Friday following a concert in Boise, Idaho, by local police acting on a felony warrant issued in Atlanta. The Lights Out emcee, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was wanted after failing to show up for two court hearings over a 2005 marijuana-possession charge.

Wayne was booked into the Ada County Jail on the charge of "being a fugitive to Idaho." After spending the night, he was released on $10,000 bond.

A rep for the rapper calls the whole incident a clerical mix-up and said Wayne will take care of his legal responsibility.

"One of the best things about Lil' Wayne is he takes his business very seriously. He's never missed a concert or a hearing," his Bronx-based attorney, Stacey Richman, tells E! Online.

Boise Police Department spokeswoman Lynn Hightower says authorities there first learned about the outstanding warrant shortly before Lil' Wayne got to town. Undercover officers took him into custody without incident at approximately 10 p.m., after his gig at Qwest Arena.

The rapper initially wasn't eligible for bond and was expected to be locked up until Idaho officials could extradite him to Georgia. However, his bond status was changed, though Hightower couldn't say why.

The 25-year-old performer was arrested in Atlanta in August of last year after getting caught with marijuana and over 100 Xanax and Hydrocodone pills. A grand jury eventually indicted him on three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

When he failed to show up for two court appearances this past August, the judge issued a warrant for Wayne's arrest and he was declared a fugitive—unbeknownst to the rapper.

"When we learned about why he was arrested, we were quite shocked because when he was originally arrested, his counsel told him his case was dismissed," says Richman. "But then it seemed that the case was reactivated by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office a full year later and we had no notice."

Richman said that the last hearing she was aware of in the case was in November 2006 and that she had not been informed about the August dates. She says she explained the situation to the judge and prosecutors and promised that the Grammy nominee would appear later this week in Fulton County Criminal Court. Richman says the judge then reversed himself and allowed Lil' Wayne to post bail so he could perform in Oregon on Saturday night.

"It was the judge's direction that he be released so he could make his show," says Richman.

That was welcome news for jail officials. Richman says one deputy told her the lockup had been overwhelmed with angry phone calls from fans and concert promoters asking about the status of Saturday's concert and pleading for the entertainer's release.

"We did receive several phone calls from fans...and by all accounts that were directly involved with him were nothing courteous," a jail spokeswoman says.

Despite all the behind-the-scenes wrangling, however, Wayne wasn't released until 7 p.m. Saturday and was unable to make it to the Gods of Hip-Hop Comedy Tour stop at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

While Wayne works out his Atlanta rap sheet, he also has some courting to do in the Big Apple.

The New Orleans native was nailed on drug and weapons charges following a July show at the Beacon Theater. That case is pending.

Lil' Wayne, who's up for three BET Hip-Hop Awards this month, including Hip-Hop MVP of the Year and Hip-Hop CD of the Year, was also slapped with a $1 million civil suit from a 17-year-old girl who claims she suffered a serious head injury after the rapper or a member of his crew threw wads of cash into the audience during a concert, instigating a melee.