Meek Mill gets 2-4 years in prison for violating probation

PHILADEPHIA (WTXF) - TMZ obtained rapper Meek Mill's mugshot taken Wednesday morning as he prepares for his 2 to 4 year sentence.

The rapper was sentenced to prison Monday for violating probation in a prior drug and weapons case.

The Philly native and recording artist was already on thin ice after a city judge put him on house arrest in 2015 for leaving Pennsylvania for a gig without court approval.

In March, he was arrested at a St. Louis airport for fighting.

And Mill - whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams - was arrested again in New York back in August for recklessly driving his motorcycle.

When sentencing the 30-year-old musician Monday, Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley cited a failed drug test and a failure to comply with a court order restricting his travel.

The sentence came as a surprise after prosecutors recommended Mill not be imprisoned for the probation violations, noting he's been off drugs since January and has complied with most requirements of probation.

But Brinkley says she's been trying to help Mill for about a decade and that he just does whatever he wants.

Mill's lawyer has vowed to appeal.

In Mill's corner is another famous Philadelphian, comedian and actor Kevin Hart, who posted to Instagram Monday night writing, in part, " Praying for my brother @meekmill right now. God sometimes puts the toughest battles on his strongest soldiers. "

The Associated Press contributed to this report.