KINGSTON, Jamaica – Dancehall recording artiste Laden is now a free man.

The artiste, whose real name is O’keefe Aarons, was released from the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre on Friday afternoon after serving almost 30 months of a four-year prison sentence for firearm possession.

A video of the freshly freed deejay driving a motorcycle has been making the rounds on social media.

Attorney-at-law Thomas Levene confirmed earlier with OBSEVER ONLINE that he had “heard” that his client would be released Friday, but could not give an official comment at the time.

READ: Prison release ‘imminent’ for Laden

In December 2020, Laden was sentenced to four years imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm and 18 months for illegal possession of ammunition after pleading guilty to the charges. Both sentences had been set to run concurrently so he would serve a maximum of four years. He had been in lock up three months prior to his initial sentencing.

The police reported that about 10:40 pm on October 28, lawmen were in Cheapside, St Elizabeth, when they signalled the driver of a black Mercedes-Benz motor car to stop.

The driver, which turned out to be Laden, initially complied with the order, but sped off when the police approached.

A chase ensued and, during the chase, an object was seen being thrown from the sunroof of the car.

The object turned out to be a firearm.

Laden rose to fame as a Digicel Rising Star top 10 finalist under the stage name ‘Jim Laden’, and is known for songs like Time to Shine, Feelings too Heavy and Never Lonely.