Foxy Brown freed from prison in New York

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. rapper Foxy Brown was freed from a New York City prison on Friday after serving eight months of a one-year sentence stemming from an assault of two nail salon stylists over a $20 manicure.

Brown, 29, whose real name is Inga Marchand, was sentenced to three years' probation in October 2006 for assaulting the stylists. But in September 2007 a judge ruled she was not taking probation seriously and sent her prison for one year.

Inmates typically serve two-thirds of their sentence, said Stephen Morello, a Department of Corrections spokesman, adding that Brown had been met at the Rikers Island prison by New York City Councilman Charles Barron.

He said this was an unusual move as inmates are usually taken from prison on a public bus and delivered to a city parking lot. But he said that as a public official, Barron had access to the prison and had requested to pick up Brown.

Barron could not immediately be reached for comment.

Brown's publicist said the rapper had been released into the custody of her mother.

In October authorities said Brown received 76 days in isolation in jail after getting into a shoving match with another inmate and refusing to do a drug test.

Then in January, Brown asked for early release to treat an ear condition she feared could threaten her hearing.

"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 in a four-page handwritten letter to Judge Melissa Jackson.

Brown became the first female rap artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the U.S. pop chart encompassing all styles of music, with her 1999 album "Chyna Doll."

(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by Michelle Nichols and Sandra Maler)