The Potential of Shyne Po
During the times when Puff Daddy was trying to stay relevant after the Lox & Ma$e left Bad Boy Entertainment; He knew his album, Forever is a wonderful CD but was not enough to hold weight. He decided to sign a young Brooklyn MC by the name of Shyne. As a kid, I thought Shyne along with Black Rob & G-Dep would help Bad Boy stand out in the 2000’s. I was only saying that because I was a huge fan of each artist and Puff Daddy is one of my favorite composers.
The first time I heard Shyne, Puff Daddy had this man spit some gangster lyrics over his track called, Reverse. On the track (Verse 2), Shyne boastfully raps, “ Promise to do a ninja like Nicholas Barnes/ Poppin and Choppin until the day that I am gone”, (Diddy, 1999), Shyne Po pit scare on the competition with his gritty lyrics. Part of the reason that is holding his career and critics back was the similarities he had with Biggie Smalls. In my opinion, voice wise somewhat but they are two different artist. With a guest vocal on Black Rob’s Whoa, A remix to 112’s hit singles, Anywhere & Its Over Now; Shyne was on the way to becoming the New King Of New York. He had the potential, strength, & Charisma to develop a legacy. Let Alone, Total was one of the biggest R&B trio’s that dominated in 1999 who threw Shyne on there single, Sittin home.
Shyne Po had a promising future, then tragedy struck. In 2001, “ Shyne was convicted in March on two assault charges, reckless endangerment, & gun possession for the December 27, 1999 night club shooting”, (Hiatt, 2001). This was unjust and I felt since day one, Shyne was set up by his own label mate and owner, Puff Daddy.
How can Puff do this to his own artist? Shyne not comparing him to Biggie has made one of the best debut’s to gangster rap, which is his self-titled debut and his 1st LP should be labeled the best coke raps on one platform. I will break down Shyne’s first lp here soon but on the meantime, Shyne had the biggest potential I seen in a young up and comer. Not even people like 2005 Jeezy, 2009 Drake, or even a fresh J.Cole never ever impressed me like Shyne did. Learning from Shyne’s mistake, you cannot trust who feeds you sometimes because that same owner can give you up.
Live from The Stove Top,
Andrew Kenekham AKA Druski Dru
Reference
Diddy (1999) Reverse feat. G-Dep, Shyne, Redman, Sauce Money, Cee-Lo, & Busta Rhymes Retrieved from genius.com/Diddy-reverse-lyrics
Hiatt, B.(2001) Shyne sentenced to 10 years in prison Retrieved from MTV.Com/news/1444188/Shyne-Sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison/
