Ja Rule Released From Upstate New York Federal Prison

May 08, 2013 9:56 AM EDT

Johnny Nunez, WireImage

Recording artist Ja Rule attends the Ne-Yo MTV After Party at Boulevard3 on September 12, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Federal authorities say rapper Ja Rule has left federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says he left a correctional facility in New York's Adirondacks on Tuesday (May 7), though time remains on his sentence.

The bureau says the release date for the 36-year-old rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, technically remains July 28, with possible community-based supervision for the balance.

TMZ reports his wife picked him up and that he'll remain in home confinement until then.

Ja Rule had served most of a two-year sentence for illegal gun possession in a New York state prison before his release in February and subsequent transfer into federal custody in the tax evasion case.

He admitted failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million earned between 2004 and 2006.