Ja Rule Makes His Court Appearance Today, Faces 3 1/2 Years in Prison

Rap star Ja Rule has lost his battle to get his 2007 gun possession case tossed, but his lawyer says he remains on track to fight the charges.

Ja Rule — real name Jeff Atkins — had argued in a two-week hearing last spring that cops had no cause to search his Maybach after a concert at the Beacon Theatre and seize a .40-cal, unlicensed handgun found inside. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers denied the motion this morning.

The judge did throw the rapper one crumb — his helpful statement to cops that he had “a little weed” in his pocket can’t be used against him.

“We disagree with the decision, but we’ll tend to other issues now,” said defense lawyer Stacey Richman.

Next fight for the hip-hop big will be against the methodology investigators used to match a microscopic amount of DNA recovered from the gun to Ja’s own profile, Richman said.

He remains free on bail on gun possession charges carrying a mandatory minimum of 3 and 1/2 years prison; his next court date is March 3.