Thanks to some anger-management issues, Busta Rhymes will be working the Boy George beat.
But it could have been worse for the hit-making rapmeister, who finally agreed Wednesday to work out a deal with prosecutors in separate assault cases, thus avoiding some quality time in Rikers Island.
Instead, Rhymes, referred to in court by his birth certificate name, Trevor Smith, copped to two misdemeanor assault charges.
While the D.A. urged a sentence of one-year in jail for Rhymes' beatdown of his former driver and a fan, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Larry Stephen opted to ding the hip-hopster with just 10 days of community service and stuck him on three years' probation.
Rhymes, 35, also faced a drunk-driving rap, and wound up surrendering his license and enrolling in court-sanctioned DWI classes. The formal sentence will be entered Mar. 18.
"I just want to say that I'm very grateful to the judge, and I'm very grateful to the system. I believe in the system," Rhymes said upon his exit.
All told, The Big Bang purveyor had been facing charges from a quartet of incidents stretching back over the past year and a half. He was accused of roughing up his former chauffeur/gofer in a beef over money. He was accused of smacking down a fan who spat on the rapper's SUV. And he racked up a pair of driving infractions for driving with a suspended license and drunken driving.
Stephens also ordered Rhymes to keep away from his former driver.
Before now, Rhymes had steadfastly refused to hammer out a deal with the D.A. The rapper's lawyer told E! Online Rhymes was being unfairly targeted for failing to cooperate with detectives investigating the still unsolved 2006 shooting death of a bodyguard.
Wednesday's plea doesn't quite clear Rhymes' docket though. He still faces a civil lawsuit filed last August by the salivating fan.