Rapper Lil' Wayne has appeared at an arraignment hearing in New York - pleading not guilty to gun charges.

The star - real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. - was in court on Monday facing two felony charges of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

The charges relate to an incident last July when police found a handgun stashed in Carter's tourbus following a performance with Ja Rule at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre.

If convicted he faces up to three-and-a-half years in prison due to the city's strict gun laws.

Carter is also facing drugs and weapons charges in Arizona after a border patrol inspection of the rapper's tourbus allegedly revealed marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia as well as a 40-caliber pistol.