By Heather Grossmann and Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Lil’ Wayne's got a new gig, and while the rapper will earn a scant 50 cents an hour for the work — a wage not even comparable to the more than $40 million he earned last year — it’s for a good cause.
The jailed hip-hop star, who was locked up at Rikers Island on a gun possession rap last month, landed a job observing fellow inmates and reporting to guards any problematic psychological signs or indications that an inmate may be suicidal.
Lil' Wayne had to take special classes at Rikers to prepare for the job.
"It's one of the better-paying work assignments," said a corrections official of the superstar's job, which nets him about $20 for a 40-hour work week.
Other jobs at Rikers, like mopping and laundry service, only pay between 25 and 35 cents an hour, and are much more labor intensive, the source said.
The money Lil' Wayne earns must be used for commissary purchases like toiletries, snacks and phone calls.
Lil' Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, is serving a one-year sentence after pleading guilty last October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
