Coolio, 48, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was a passenger in a vehicle officers stopped about 2:20 a.m. several blocks east of the Las Vegas Strip, Officer Laura Meltzer said.
No one else in the car was arrested.
It was not immediately clear if Ivey had a lawyer. His manager Susan Haber said she had not heard about the incident and had no comment.
Ivey was sought on a warrant charging him with failure to appear on an illegal stop and driving without a license summons issued in June 2010.
He was freed later in the day. A court date wasn't immediately known.
Coolio is a musician, actor and record producer best known for the song "Gangsta's Paradise."
