Lebell

LINK

Jailed rapper close to $3 million deal

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Posted: 12:31 PM EDT (1631 GMT)


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- 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 would be the first artist acquired by Island Def Jam Music Group since Antonio "L.A." Reid took over as chairman in February.

The label plans to produce the album with material Shyne recorded before he began serving his sentence, the source said. The prospect of other releases from prison -- some rappers have recorded albums over the phone or in visiting rooms -- was unclear.

Shyne, whose deep voice has drawn comparisons to late Notorious B.I.G., is not slated to be released from the state prison in Dannemora, New York, before 2009.

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.

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.

But the following year, when he was 19, Shyne was sentenced to prison 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.

Shyne was convicted of gun possession and assault for firing a gun in the crowded club and hitting at least one person.

No charges were filed against Lopez. Combs and his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, were acquitted of gun possession charges.
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My thoughts:

- What is wrong with a society where thugs like this are idolized and rewarded for bad behavior?

- Where is the rage of the black community against gansta rapper/murderers, especially those individuals (e.g. Sharpton, Jackson, etc.) that rage against gun manufacturers for selling to the black community?

- Related to the last: Why do liberal groups like the Million Mom March, Hollywood actors, NAACP, etc. positively froth at the mouth when talking about white middle aged male gun owners and their groups (like the NRA, GOA, etc),who follow laws but don't rage against "entertainers" of "color" who are waging the equivalent of gang warfare on the streets?

Yes, things like this upset me.

I feel that as a white gun owner/concealed weapons permit holder I am looked at like I am a potential psychopath liable to go over the edge and start a massacre any moment while these BASTARDS are not only given a pass because they are black, but are ENCOURAGED to continue bad behavior because it sells.

__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

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absorbentishe

This shit sickens me. How as a society can we let this happen. Granted he probably took the fall for P-frickin' Diddy, but still. In the last 10 years, if you don't have a record, you can't make a record. The morales of the record company has gone so far down hill, there's almost no way to right it.

theusername

The black community really has to step up and speak out against this crap because it's giving them a bad label and really harming their youth who want to be just like 50 Cent, sell drugs, get shot 10 times, be in a gang, and be a pimp.

It really saddens me and someone in that community needs to make it stop.

Cynthetiq

damn... even 2Pac has the ability to come back from the grave with album after album.. why not someone from behind bars?

IMHO maybe something good will come of it.. Johnny Cash was a felon.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Lebell

Yet another one:

Link
---------------------------------------------
Li'l Kim charged in rap-rivalry shootout
By Lisa Sweetingham
Court TV
Thursday, April 15, 2004 Posted: 4:23 PM EDT (2023 GMT)

NEW YORK (Court TV) -- Rapper Lil' Kim turned herself in to authorities Wednesday morning after being charged with lying to a grand jury about a three-year-old shootout between members of her entourage and those of rival rap duo Capone-N-Noreaga.

Lil' Kim, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, is one of four defendants named in the 25-page, 17-count indictment handed down by U.S. Attorney David Kelley.

Jones is charged with conspiracy to commit perjury, obstruction of justice, and three counts each of making false statements and perjuring herself during three separate appearances before a grand jury that was investigating a February 2001 shooting in front of a Manhattan hip-hop radio station.

"These charges are baseless and I'm confident that the case against her will be completely dismissed," her lawyer, Mel Sachs, told reporters.

Jones' co-defendants, members of her rap "family," Jr. M.A.F.I.A., include Damion Butler, aka D-Roc, Suif Jackson, aka Gutta, and Monique Dopwell, aka Mo Betta. The alleged shooters, Butler and Jackson, have previous convictions on unrelated felony firearm charges and now face additional gun charges.

Although Jones is not a suspect in the shooting, she faces a maximum prison sentence of five years on the conspiracy charge, five years for each perjury count, five years on each false statement count and 10 years for obstruction of justice, as well as fines of at least $250,000.

The trouble began on the Sunday afternoon of February 25, 2001. As Jones was exiting Hot 97's Greenwich Village station after a guest appearance, members of Capone-N-Noreaga's entourage were arriving.

Investigators say that, while Jones and Dopwell were standing by, Butler, Jackson and at least one other person fired shots at the rival group outside the radio station, putting one man, Efrain Ocasio, in the hospital with a bullet in his back.

Jackson is also charged with firing an illegally obtained fully automatic Mac-11 machine gun. Ocasio was treated for his gunshot wounds and later released.

The rivalry apparently stemmed from insults that Kiam Holley, aka Capone, and rap diva Inga Merchand, aka Foxy Brown, slung at Jones on the song "Bang Bang," from Capone-N-Noreaga's 2000 album, "The Reunion."

According to earlier press reports, a surveillance video camera on the scene showed Jones and several men, possibly the shooters, scrambling into the back of her black limousine and fleeing the scene. Butler, Dopwell and Jones, met up that evening at Jones' New Jersey home, according to the indictment.

Butler, who was a close friend of rapper Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G., developed a relationship with Jones and became her manager after Smalls was murdered in 1997. Jones refers to Butler as "my brother, my best friend" in the liner notes to her album, "The Notorious Kim."

Jackson, who was also a close friend of both Smalls and Jones, often spent the night at Jones' New Jersey home, according to the indictment.

But when Jones was shown a picture of Jackson during a grand jury investigation on June 19, 2003, she denied having a friendship with him.

"I think I have seen him, but I don't know him too well," Jones said, "I don't know his name."

"Where do you think you have seen him?" asked the investigator, who is not identified in the indictment.

"I have seen him around. He has a familiar face."

"Has he ever been to your home?"

"No," Jones replied.

When asked whether Butler was present on the day of the shooting, Jones answered, "Yeah ? no, I am not positive."

Later, after more questioning about whether she had seen Butler at any time during or after the shooting, Jones replied, "That's what you asked me before and I said the same thing."

"And you did not see him?" asked the investigator. "Is that what you are saying?"

"I did not see him," said Jones.

Jones was to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon before Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for April 16.

__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

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Halx

Yeah I was gonna say, if rappers who are 6 feet under can continue their careers, why can't jailed ones too?

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Cynthetiq

sensationalize them and they will continue the cycle.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

World's King

I found my new Hero.

P. Diddy sold out. I needed someone that really new how it was to grow up in the ghetto. I grew up in the suburbs but my parents got a divorce so it was really hard growing up. My mom didn't have the money to buy me a new car when I turned 16. I had to wait till I was 17. I thought I was gonna just die...


Who gives a fuck?

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

moonstrucksoul

yup.

it's material recorded from before he went to prison.

now if they were trying to get the prison to let them set up a recording studio inside, or on a "work-release" to record, then maybe I would be up in arms about it.

as for the "Black Community", I can't say what they should and shouldn't do. It's not up to me it's up to them.

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Aletheia

Lead Belly recorded some of his best work while in prision.

water_boy1999

What do you mean, it's up to them? That segregates blacks from whites and I feel we are all in this together. My music of choice is rap, but I am white. I know that wasn't intended to sound racist, but it was a tiny bit.

I think it is everyone's voice that will make a difference here. I am offended that they would let someone in prison make a $3mill deal. Isn't the point of being in prison to NOT have any rights?

__________________
Doh!!!!


-Homer Simpson

KellyC

The irony is...this fucker can't use the money for a long, long time. So lets laugh at that shall we?

__________________
Him: Ok, I have to ask, what do you believe?
Me: Shit happens.

Holo

THese particular rappers need to realize they are entertainers and not Al Capone. If they wanna act like Al Capone they need to rot in jail for their time served. then when they are free they can resume their lives. This is one of the purposes of prison; to take precious time out of your life to punish you for a crime as well as to remove you from society. Give him a coffee can and a pen and a pad....he can record the shit and ink deals when he's not draped in the county blues.

__________________
I happen to like the words "fuck", "cock", "pussy", "tits", "cunt", "twat", "shit" and even "bitch". As long as I am not using them to describe you, don't go telling me whether or not I can/should use them...that is, if you want me to continue refraining from using them to describe you. ~Prince

moonstrucksoul

i am just saying that I am not a member of the Black Community.
If someone wants to say that the black Community should do something about it, then i say "OK" but they have to make the move for themselves.
I am white, i don't buy rap music. and i don't support gansta rap. maybe it is you who should be evaluating what you support.

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sailor

Lebell, you nailed it. Ive been feeling the same thing for a long time, and it disgusts me. You just put it into words a lot better than I have been able to.

__________________
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."
--Plato

Karby

my thoughts exactly. he's not gonna be able to use it anyway.

__________________
~my karma ran over my dogma.~

Midnight_Son

True but Cash had talent, he could sing and actually play and instrument.......no kids, scratching an album doesn't count. Which reminds me……..isn’t rap’s 15 minutes just about up?

Nisses

nope, not by a long shot Midnight_Son

gotta agree on the fact though, that prison is there to punish, take the individual out of normal society and teach him a lesson by doing so.

The current system is just so full of holes if you're at all important that it's laughable at best. Something to brag about even.

__________________
Moderation should be moderately moderated.

Kaos

Sure...let them continue their career. But a lot of the money they make in jail should go straight to the victims.

Also, if they come out of prison with money, they won't Have to come back into society broke and more chance than anything, revert to more crime to live.

smooth

whoa, dude, broaden your horizons.

The "black community" has and does speak out against "this crap."

There's a lot of rap out there. I hope people don't feel like they've got a pulse on urban politics just because they're listening to whatever happens to be most popular.

Strange Famous

Shyne isn't a murderer, for a start... and if he was white he wouldnt be serving 10 years just for slapping some guy in the face with a gun in the first place.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

Strange Famous

Who do you think Shyne's "victims" are?

People are talking like he is a serial killer, he caught a bullshit case cos Puffy could afford a better lawyer than him, all he did was defend himself from someone who was assaulting his friend, he didnt shoot anyone, he didnt even really hurt anyone, the case was bullshit, and he is doing 10 years for it cos he is a young black man, basically.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

:::OshnSoul:::

This affects only those who give a shit, really.
I, like my *moon* does not listen to nor purchase rap music. As I am not black, I still don't think it has anything to do with the black community, but with the rap community. There are plenty of blacks who don't listen to it, and plenty of non-blacks who do.
So, let's just leave it up to those who like rap and let them handle it if they care to. I have no opinion on this of my own, except for I feel he has the right to do as he wishes- it was afterall pre-recorded music and may I remind others that there's been plenty of other artists in prison who have made money/a living during and after prison.

Strange Famous

Good point.

Johnny Cash's whole convict persona is celebrated by the mass media.

But Shyne is a thug, Shyne is a monster, why? Because he is young, black, working class, and he dares to speak out against a society that he see's as racist.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

User Name

Everyone knows that it's the fault of the left-wing homosexual feminist abortionist atheist moral relativists.

And Strange Famous, have you ever actually listened to "Shyne" or even read his lyrics?

This is an excerpt from his "song" That's Gangsta:

[Shyne]
I got a question; as serious as cancer
Where da fuckin safe at? Somebody better answer
before I start killin and fillin these double-I slugs
in your mug then you spittin up blood
Got dead gangstas rollin over like, "Yo this nigga cold"
The way he cut his coke is murder game to his flow
Rich is, my only reason for bein, shit
I never had hope, until I sold dope
Drug game is infectious, got me livin reckless
Feds get uptight when they see my watch and necklace
glow, fuck 'em, they can't catch me
Murder and money, 'til they throw my ashes in the sea

Strange Famous

Yeah, I own Shyne's debut album on Bad Boy.

And those are lyrics, not deeds, he is talking about black consciousness, the situation most black youth's face like Biggie Smalls said if you are young and from a deprived area "either you slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot" - or otherwise just get used to life being poor and exploited. Black kids do not have the same options as white's because they live in an extremely racist society, and Shyne expresses that hopelessness, and he embraces the negative sterotypes given to him to become white middle America's worst nightmare.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

User Name

I don't see how Shyne's, or any other rapper's embrace of negative stereotypes is supposed to positively change the status of his people in society.

If so many black kids didn't aspire to be drug dealers, athletes, or rappers, their opportunities would increase commensurately. I live in a predominantly black city, with predominantly black schools, and have had the same exact opportunities as my black peers. I simply chose to take advantage of them.

"Middle America" is an invention (made popular by Eminem). You are talking as if there is one block of people who live between the two coasts who share the same exact views, beliefs, and demographics.

sexymama

I taught an entire "poetry" unit, last year, based on the lyrics of songs. It is amazing how many of my students thought lyrics, such as the above, were "good" as they talk about "fighting back" and "making money." These were mostly Hispanic and Caucasian middle schoolers. Don't even begin to think this is a "black" issue.

If this guy is allowed to make $3million -- shouldn't some of it go toward his daily support? After all, it
costs a lot of money to provide for those in prison.

__________________
If you can go deeply into lovemaking, the ego disappears. That is the beauty of lovemaking, that it is another source of a glimpse of god

It's not about being perfect; it's about developing some skill at managing imperfection.

Strange Famous

It costs him a lot that the state has locked him up because he is young black and famous.

I agree, the state shouldnt have to pay for his keep, he should be released, because he didnt do anything wrong (according to American morality, he was just using his gun to defend himself - he didnt even kill anyone)

Tony Martin is a hero cos he gunned down a burgular who broke into his house, and Shyne is portrayed as a maniac just cos he slapped some guy in self defence and fired some shots in the air.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

Lebell

Intentionally or not, that's the first sensible thing you've said in days.

__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

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