Reality TV star Lil Scrappy released from jail

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ATLANTA – One of the stars of the controversial reality TV series Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta has just been released from a metro Atlanta jail after violating the terms of his probation.

According to reports, rapper Lil Scrappy was freed on Wednesday, but a judge imposed stricter conditions on probation from an earlier conviction.

Scrappy (real name is Darryl Richardson) was taken into custody and booked at the DeKalb County Jail on Monday for breaking the terms of his probation for a prior drug offense. The hip-hop artist tweeted this message to fans on the same day, “I just got locked up pray for me.”

The conditions of Richardson’s five-year probation didn’t require him to report regularly to a probation officer, said DeKalb County district attorney spokesman Erik Burton. Though Burton said the probation did require that the rapper inform the officer of any address change.

Burton said that when a probation officer tried to recently reach Richardson, he couldn’t be found because he changed his address.

In 2008, he was sentenced to five years’ probation after police found he was in possession of marijuana. He was also ordered to complete an alcohol/drug education program and perform 240 hours of community service.

Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta chronicles the love lives and ups and downs of up-and-coming and more established artists in the city. Scrappy is the man behind the 2006 hit “Money in the Bank.”

The Vh1 series, a spin-off of the original Love & Hip Hop series, has been embroiled in controversy since it first aired in June 2012, with even an online petition to boycott the show.

Despite its ratings success, critics say Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta displays negative and dysfunctional images of black women and is a distorted portrayal of Atlanta.

Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti