Lil Wayne: I was a suicide prevention aide in jail

Lil Wayne worked as a suicide prevention aide whilst in Rikers Island jail.

The 34-year-old rapper spent eight months at the New York prison complex in 2010 after he was convicted of possession of a firearm the year before, and has revealed he briefly took up the role during his stay.

Writing in his memoir ‘Gone ‘Til November: A Journal of Rikers Island’, the star said: "The job is basically to monitor the top tier [of the jail] for an eight-hour shift and if someone wants to hang up (meaning to kill themselves), to not negotiate with them or try to talk to them out of it, but just to alert and officer."

And the ‘Sucker for Pain’ rapper also revealed that the compensation for doing the job was dependent on a very important factor.

He wrote: "You get paid $50 if you stop the person from actually hanging themselves and $25 if you find them hung up. Yeah, it’s that real."

However, the ‘Mirror’ musician admits his stint in the job – which often saw him patrolling the top tier every night until six in the morning – didn’t last for long, as he left his position in order to focus on his own wellbeing.

The news comes after the rapper took to Twitter last month to hint at his retirement. The star – real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. – admitted to feeling "defeated" and said he was "done".

He wrote: "I am now defenseless and mentally defeated & I leave gracefully and thankful I luh my fanz but I’m dun

"ain’t lookin for sympathy, just serenity … I’m good y’all don’t trip (sic)."

Lil Wayne’s memoir, ‘Gone ‘Til November: A Journal of Rikers Island’, is out now.