Shyne Po- Hip Hop’s best debut in Coke Rap.
Shyne Po, born Jamal Barrow born out of Brooklyn came into this world on November 8,1978. Coming from a family from Belize, the streets of N.Y is waht Shyne P painted in his rhymes. Coming from a collective amount of remix’s and street singles, Shyne has made a sound and although he has driven of comparisons from Bad Boy Entertainment label mate, Biggie Smalls; Shyne driven his street lyrics into the mainstream. Things got eerie and disrespectful when Puff Daddy and his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez got into a brawl in a nightclub because, “ On December 7, 1999; Shyne stated that Puffy got into an argument pulled out a gun and Shyne pulled his gun out and let of fire”, (Sarter, 2019). Like Shyne said, they (Puffy and J-Lo) did not care about Shyne so they dropped a dime on him
During that summer of 2000, Shyne knew he was going to locked up so he lived in the studio to create his debut which ended up being two album’s worth of material. As a kid, I had a crush on Lil Kim and Jennifer Lopez until 1) Lil Kim wanted to diss Shyne for Biggie’s voice similarities and 2) If J-Lo cared, she would of said Shyne acted in self-defense because end of the day, he did not kill anybody.
Besides Biggie, The Lox, Mase, & Black Rob’s albums, Shynes debut stood out to me because 1) there was no sign of Puff Daddy and he had no part in it, 2) Only features he has is Barrington Levy and Slim from 112 & 3) It stood out; For instance, Ready to Die and Life After Death are classics but Puff is all over these songs. To prove my point, I am going to break down all the tracks from Shyne’s debut to prove Shyne’s album stood out better than any other artist on Bad Boy Entertainment because he had more creative control over his work than the other artist.
Dear America
The intro with spoken word has proved that he is a cause that needs help. With the intro talking about the pain he suffered and the PTSD that Puffy and J-Lo gave Shyne after the night club shooting; Shyne is telling his lawyers, judges, & jury he is innocent. Diddy’s and J-Lo’s karma is still coming.
Whatcha gon do
Shyne steps over these haunting violins like he is stomping over these streets of N.Y. He has no care in the world because he knows he is the next one to take over the millennium. Now that he is released from his prison stint, I believe that the hook is dissing his label owner and his boss, Puff Daddy along with his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. On the hook, he raps, “Whatcha gon do when shit hits the fan/take it like a man or snitch like a bitch”, (Shyne-topic, 2015), Shyne takes a bold approach by question both (J-Lo and Puff) integrity. Thanks to Shyne, I can’t listen to Puff’s music or watch J-Lo’s music videos on mute. If the devil wears Prada, she is J-Lo with a big ass.
Bang
Shyne P continues his prolific coke raps telling a story about his experience moving that white girl. On the song, he also talks about his consequences messing with the drug saying, “I might die from a bad drug trade or an drug overdose”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015). Stories of the streets will leave you shaking and scared.
Bad Boys feat. Barrington Levy
If Puffy put this on his record of collections with other Bad Boy artist and their greatest hits, this song would be played on repeat in my Sony Stereo I had back in the summer of 2000. With Grace Jones being sampled on this song, Shyne turned her track, Nightclubbin into Bad Boy’s new millennium anthem. Barington Levy stood out doing his dancehall voice over the whole beat.
Let Me See Your Hands
Shyne is bragging about how he is still in the dopegame. This is a street anthem the streets of N.Y will rob, steal, and slang to this hit. Again, not saying it because it is a classic album but this song is a warning for no skips.
Gangster Prayer (Interlude)
If Biggie had the Hustler’s prayer, Shyne had the gangster’s prayer.. Amen
The Life
Enough said, like Shyne said in the intro, “ Nobdoydy sells records but Shyne P., Mothafuckers”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015). Shyne proved he can step outside of the typical Bad Boy flashy era with the best story telling as he glides with “ Everything is everything until my man got pinched/ He got into a shootout with the cops and the priest and”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015). If you do not see great story telling, you are blind.
It’s OK
D-Dot Angellette typical club beats with Shyne’s harsh vocals can turn a club song into a fight in the club real quick.
Niggas Gon Die
The Neptunes ran 2000, okay? Like D-Dot, The Neptunes gave Shyne this beat and he caused manslaughter on the track and murdered the Neptunes beat. The illest hook ever where he raps, “ Money be the root of all evil/ Calico Desert Eagle. I’m coming to see you/Niggas gone die”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015). Now you can officially murder someone to a Neptunes beat.
Everyday (Interlude)
Obviously, these hoes are sheisty and dirty pulling up talking about Shyne with Puff Daddy 2000 remix Public Enemy feat. Shyne playing. In my opinion, these broads set up Shyne like Puff and J-Lo (Get It)
Bonnie And Shyne feat. Barrington Levy
This is one of them songs where up to this day, I want this love story to happen to me. Shyne at the time was 22 and I was 11 going into 12 and I looked up to Shyne because he was the youngest rapper next to Lil Wayne, Bow Wow, & Romeo making hits and it made them look cool to drop hits in your teenage years. The woman in the video, I pictured as my girlfriend and note I was at a Catholic School and my 6th grade teacher because I looked up to Shyne so heavy, I emulated the way he dressed and carried himself. He (my 6th grade teacher) was probably taking his frustrations on me because his Bonnie couldn’t do him shit and for the fact he caught me bumping this song in my walkman. He does not know that positive happens in rap music so he can keep his biased opinion to himself because music is not a subjective subject.
The Hit
Another great story telling single and when you close your eyes, you can see how this story plays out as he tells it. Shyne approaches the song perfect as he spits, “ Look at this nigga outside Justin’s acting silly/ If cops wasn’t all over, I smack him with the milli”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015), I wonder how can you deny Shyne’s story telling? Shyne painted a picture so well, J. Cole, Kendrick, or Drake could not pull this of even if their life depended on it. Kudos to Shyne Po on this
That’s Gangsta
“Hustler, bad motherfucker”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015). Enough said, Shyne boast about what is gangsta and this kept this album going.
Spend Some Cheese
NY at its finest as Shyne rhymes over this tumbling cliff hanging beat to keep the album going. Shyne Knows that he had to make the show go on. This song was not whack but it kept a gap so the album wouldn’t skip
Get Out feat. Slim from 112
Out of all these songs, I use to speculate before I had information, Puff picked this beat out. However, this does sound like Bad Boy in int’s glory days in the late 90’s. Shyne bragging about a typical player life. For instance, he raps “When it comes to hoes, you can’t just have one/ Fucking her friend ain’t an option its a must”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015), Shyne totes player bars. This is a great player song for the 2000's.
The Commission
Best outro ever made. To be honest, If Big is alive, Shyne would be the newest member due to the performance he did on this song. He goes out with a bang and gangster bars like, “ Pop pop pop warning shot, who’s to blame/ Shyne motherfucker don’t forget the name”, (Shyne-Topic, 2015). Shyne Po call’s the shots in the rap game. He proves that he could of carried Bad Boy Entertainement with the house hold name he brought. Even a hard hitting intro and outro made this CD. This song would make Shyne Po King of N.Y
Overall
Hip Hop’s most overlooked album in my opinion. Honestly, listening to this album a little 20 years later to analyze it track by track, Shyne was spitting his hugner and pain on this whole album to let the world know, how things were going. With the trial going on, this is Shyne’s personal diary of taking it from the streets to the industry. As I say this, at age 12, I just looked at this like the best debut from the hottest rapper in the streets to a man making it at hip hop’s most flashiest label bringing the grimey music back to where it belongs. Listening to this in 2021, This is Shyne’s cry for help. Subliminally, I felt Shyne is informing those, “Yo J-Lo and Puff snitched on me” so this is a diary of the trial and what is going on. This is actually one of my favorite gangsta rap albums because this CD takes you to a bumpy road of trials, tribulations, and pain.
According to sources, “Shyne debut charted at #5 on the Billboard Chrts being a contender to Mystikal’s Let’s Get Ready, Nelly’s Country Grammar, Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP, & Bow Wow’s Beware of Dog in 2000”, (Sarter, 2019). Buried in the article, authors mention that Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt only debuted at #26 and Mystikal, Nelly, Em, & Bow Wow were dominating the Billboard charts. I felt that Shyne’s debut is the most overlooked debut of all time. If that album debuted at #5 in 2000 on Billboard, why doesn’t that album get the flowers it deserves. As an all around debut, this would have to be one of the best debut’s I ever head because of the storytelling, production, concept, & topics touched on it are so vivid and bone-chilling record hip hop’s ever heard. Honestly, if he never got locked p, he would of been consistent and would of dominated the rap game for more than a decade. Shyne presented one of hip hop’s most impressive debuts and with gritty lyrics with haunting beats makes this a classic. Next on Shyne, Godfather buried alive is added to his meticulous discography. Shyne covers topics and he does it real well,
Live from the stove top,
Andrew Kenekham AKA Druski Dru
Reference
Sarter, A. (2019) He helped save Jennifer Lopez’s life then he was deported. Retrieved from https://addisonsarter93.medium.com/he-helped-save-jennifer-lopezs-life-then-he-was-deported-81bad3b002
Shyne-Topic(2015) Bang Retrieved from Youtube.com
Shyne-Topic(2015)Get Out Retrieved from youtube.com
Shyne-Topic(2015) Niggas Gon Die Retrieved from Youtube.com
Shyne-Topic(2015) That’s Gangsta Retrieved from Youtube.com
Shyne-Topic(2015) The Commission Retrieved from YouTube.com
Shyne-Topic(2015) The Hit Retrieved from Youtube.com
Shyne-Topic(2015) The Life Retrieved from YouTube.Com
Shyne-Topic(2015) Whatchu gon do Retrieved from YouTube.com
