Two acclaimed rappers were arrested on gun charges Sunday night in separate incidents on the Upper West Side, police officials said.

Jeffrey Atkins, known as Ja Rule, and Dwayne Carter, known as Lil Wayne, were arrested with .40-caliber pistols after Mr. Carter headlined a concert Sunday night at the Beacon Theatre on 74th Street and Broadway.

Mr. Atkins, who according to police sources had performed two songs with Mr. Carter, was arrested at about 10:30 p.m. on West End Avenue, while Mr. Carter was arrested about an hour later on 61 st Street and Columbus Avenue, police said.

Both suspects were charged with criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Mr. Atkins’s arrest came after he was pulled over in a luxury sedan due to a suspended registration, officials said.

Police smelled marijuana emanating from vehicle and removed Mr. Atkins, a driver identified as Mohamed Gamal, and another man identified as Mr. Atkin’s manager, Dennis Cherry, according to the complaint.

An officer searched the car and found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol in the backseat with the serial number scratched off, according to the complaint.

Mr. Carter was spotted about hour later smoking what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette in front of his tour bus, officials said.

As police approached Mr. Carter, he tossed an open Louis Vuitton bag to the side, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said. Police found a .40-caliber pistol, police said.

Police then entered the tour bus and arrested another suspect, who was not identified, on drug charges, police sources said. The suspect was caught trying to stuff a bag of marijuana down his pants, police said.

There was a large police presence in the area around the Beacon Theatre at about 9 p.m. Sunday night. About 10 police officers, including members of the police department’s community affairs bureau, were lined up near where Mr. Carter’s tour bus was parked next to the theater.

An official at the Manhattan district attorney’s office said the police were there for the concert.

Messrs. Atkins and Carter were arraigned yesterday in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Mr. Atkins was released on $150,000 bail and Mr. Carter was released on $30,000 bail. Mr. Atkins’s manager and driver were released on $150,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively.

The lawyer for Messrs. Atkins and Carter, Stacey Richman, spoke to reporters after the arraignment, saying, “I believe everybody here is not guilty.”