Jailed Rapper May Strike Gold
Island Def Jam expects to sign imprisoned rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow to a $3 million record contract this week, a source familiar with the negotiations said.
Shyne, now serving a 10-year term for his role in a New York nightclub shooting involving Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, was expected to finalize the deal by the end of this week, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Shyne, 25, would be the first artist acquired by Island Def Jam Music Group - a unit of the entertainment giant Vivendi Universal - since Antonio "L.A." Reid took over as chairman in February.
Sources quoted by HipHop-Elements.com say Shyne has been at the heart of a bidding war between corporate giants, including Sony Entertainment and Warner Music Group, eager to sign the jailed rapper because his name is already so well-known.
The proposed contract includes a stipulation that Shyne's albums would be released on an imprint called Gangland Records, the source said.
A spokesman for Island Def Jam parent Universal Music Group declined to comment. Calls to Shyne's publicist were not returned.
Def Jam reportedly plans to produce the album with material Shyne recorded before he began serving his sentence. The prospect of other releases from prison — some rappers have recorded albums over the phone or in visiting rooms — is unclear.
Shyne was sentenced to prison in 2001 when he was 19 for his part in the 1999 shootout at Club New York.
Three people were wounded in the melee, which reportedly started after a patron insulted Combs, who was there with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez.
No charges were filed against Lopez. Combs and his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, were acquitted of gun possession charges.
Shyne was convicted of gun possession and assault for firing a gun in the crowded club and hitting at least one person. He is not slated to be released from the state prison in Dannemora, N.Y., before 2009.
His lawyers, according to HipHop-Elements.com, are filing an appeal of the verdict against Shyne and hope to get him out within the next 12 months.
A previous move to have the conviction set aside failed last year.
Shyne's career got derailed before it really got going. His self-titled debut album on Combs' powerhouse Bad Boy Entertainment label was released in September 2000. He had a modest hit with the single "Bad Boyz," and the album has sold more than 900,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
There's no surprise that Shyne isn't signing on the line again with Combs. Bad blood developed between the two during the trial, with Shyne at one point saying the typically stylish rap star acted like "a snitch" during the proceedings.