Foxy Brown released from prison

Rapper Foxy Brown, 29, was released on Friday after spending 8 months in a New York prison.

Brown, born Inga Marchand, was sentenced to a one-year incarceration after assaulting two nail salon stylists after receiving a $20 manicure. She was initially sentenced to three years of probation in October 2006, but in September 2007 a judge sentenced her to jail time because Brown was not taking probation seriously.

Stephen Morello, a Department of Corrections spokesman, said Brown's release was not unusual, as inmates typically serve two-thirds of their sentence.

A less than model inmate, Brown spent 40-76 days (reports have differed on the length of time) in isolation in the fall after refusing a drug test and getting into a shoving match with another inmate. In January she requested and was denied early release to treat an ear condition, which she thought could cause permanent hearing damage.

"Yes, I've made some bad choices and stupid mistakes. But please understand that sitting in a prison with murderers and criminals is not rehabilitating or what I need to deal with my inner issues," Brown wrote to Judge Melissa Jackson in a four-page missive.

But when Brown was released from the Rikers Island Correctional facility at 12:05 p.m., she was greeted warmly by fans and photographers.

"I feel good," she said at the time. "I'm back home."

Brown then went to LaGuardia Inn for a press conference.

"My family never missed a visit in eight months, ever. I cried coming out. I didn't cry coming in. There's a big difference," she told Access Hollywood. "I believe that God put me there for a reason; incarceration is serious."