As of this morning, Lil Wayne (nee Dwayne Carter) is free from his 8-month sentence in New York’s Rikers Island penitentiary. The besieged rapper, who also has a drug case standing in Arizona and will be on 36 months probation, released a statement before his exit, telling his fans:

“I vow to continue to be me. … I don’t have to change for no one but God, I will be the same Martian I was when I left, just better.”

The MC is expected to get back into the studio shortly to continue work on his long-awaited Tha Carter IV, the followup to his 3.5-million selling 2008 smash Tha Carter III.

(Source: New York Daily News)