Some people would see being locked away in a maxium security prison while your new album is being a road block in their success, but not Shyne. “It’s like Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder, they had their handicaps. It didn’t stop them from making their mark.” he told the NY Daily News. With his new album “Godfather Buried Alive” set to be released this week on Island Def Jam, 25 year old Shyne is more than optimistic about his future but still upset over what landed him at Clinton Correctional Facility.
“When you’re a friend you have a duty to that person,” he said about Diddy. “People said to me, ‘Why didn’t you leave the club?’ How could I leave when my friend, who I lived with at the time, was in danger? In that club that night, I had to pull my gun out. I didn’t pull it out and wave it around and say, ‘Somebody want a piece of me?’ Somebody was trying to pop my head off, so I had to do that”. Referring to the trial Shyne says, “I was fighting against Combs’ defense. People were injured, so somebody had to go to jail. At end of the day, it wasn’t going to be Combs because he was paying the lawyers. I never had a chance.” Shyne may get a second chance as his album is scheduled to number one on the billboard charts next week, Shyne is maintaining a low profile.
“I carry myself as a regular guy,” he says. “I run 3 miles a day. I remain occupied in the law library. I have a system that keeps me consumed.” Shyne’s first wish for his label Gangland Records, sign Foxy Brown. “I’ve known her since ’96,” Shyne said. “We used to go to high school together. I remember when Big used to come pick her up. I’ve known her before rap and she’s always maintained with me and she’s been through her own little things, so we’ve got a connection in that regard”.
