Lil' Wayne is expected to receive a one year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted gun possession.

The rapper, real name Dwayne Carter, had pleaded not guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing.

Carter will remain free on bail until he is sentenced in February, according to the Associated Press.

He was arrested in July 2007 when police allegedly found him trying to conceal a .40 caliber semi-automatic loaded handgun on his tour bus.

The court hearing in New York on Thursday was intended to focus on the controversial DNA profiling technique that had been used to connect Carter to the weapon.

The rapper's defence lawyer had argued that the technique was unreliable and that the gun did not belong to Carter.

However, the Grammy award-winning rapper today acknowledged that he had the weapon on bus.

When told that he would not be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea as some people attempt to, Carter replied: “I'm not one of those people.”

The rapper's plea has cast doubt over his future release plans.

It had been announced this week that Lil' Wayne's new album 'Tha Carter IV' would be released in December.

Another album from the rapper, the much-delayed 'The Rebirth', was also due before the end of 2009.

(by Jason Gregory)