US rapper Ja Rule said he was “devastated” when he was refused entry to Britain days before the first leg of his international tour began due to his criminal record, according to Reuters.

All of The Sunrise Tour’s UK shows, including London, Nottingham and Liverpool, have been listed as canceled on the Ticketmaster website. It was supposed to start on March 1.

“I’m so devastated I can’t believe the UK isn’t letting me in. I spent half a million dollars in production of my own money to put this tour together, but I was denied entry a few days before my shows,” Ja Rule said on X’s social media late Tuesday night.

Great Britain is one of the few European countries that restricts the entry of people with a criminal record.

The Grammy-nominated rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, spent nearly two years in prison on firearms and tax evasion charges.

He pleaded guilty in 2011 to failing to file tax returns for five years, and in 2010 pleaded guilty to gun charges.

In a later post on Wednesday, Ja Rule said the promoter had assured his team that a criminal record would not be an issue.

UK government guidance says entry will be refused if a person has been convicted of a criminal offense in the UK or abroad for which they have served 12 months or more.

Ja Rule received a Grammy Award nomination for his 2001 album Pain Is Love and has appeared in several films, including 2001’s The Fast and the Furious.

In another case in 2022, American rapper Lil Wayne was refused entry to the UK, where he was scheduled to perform at a British music festival. The organizers said that the refusal to enter was a decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the last moment.

In 2010, Lil Wayne was sentenced to a year in prison on gun charges.