Shyne虽然是一名说唱歌手，但他最出名的并不是他的音乐，而是他的事迹。1979年，Shyne出生在中美州加勒比海的小国伯里兹，原名Jamal Barrow。1986年，Shyne和他的母亲一起迁往了美国的纽约。90年代初，十几岁的Shyne开始在纽约街头的一些商店门口开始了说唱生涯，他的才华被吹牛老爹Sean "Puffy" Combs的Bad Boy唱片公司两名主管发掘，Shyne进入唱片公司开始了正规的说唱发展。当时吹牛老爹的Bad Boy唱片公司正因为巨星Notorious B.I.G.的被刺杀以及Mase的退休而出现了短暂的困境，Shyne就开始被打造成为一名新的帮匪说唱明星，代替Notorious B.I.G.。1999年，在吹牛老爹Sean "Puffy" Combs的《Forever》中，Shyne开始闪光，但是Shyne的道路并没有像Notorious B.I.G.一样辉煌。
1999年12月27日，在曼哈顿的一家夜总会中，一名枪手在车内向夜总会开枪，造成三名正在夜总会享受圣诞假期的人受伤，那个枪手被认为就是Shyne，吹牛老爹Sean "Puffy" Combs及其情妇Jennifer Lopez也被指与Shyne同在涉案车内。几天之后，Shyne被以谋杀未遂的罪名逮捕并起诉。2000年1月5日，Shyne和吹牛老爹一起被法庭传唤。此时媒体早已经开始对此大肆渲染，吹牛老爹也频频的登上头条，吹牛老爹成为了媒体焦点，而Shyne则成为了帮匪说唱新的中心。就在Shyne枪击案审理期间，2000年9月，已经几乎家喻户晓的Shyne在Bad Boy唱片公司发行了首张个人专辑《Shyne》，这张专辑为Shyne和吹牛老爹的唱片公司都创造了可观的回报，《Bad Boyz》和《That's Gangsta》成为了两首出色的打榜单曲，发行首周就踏入专辑榜前五名，最终销量达白金。此后，Shyne和枪击案一直成为了评论家批评的矛头所指，但是相当一部分说唱乐迷却已经把Shyne当作是Notorious B.I.G.和2pac之后帮匪说唱新的图腾。
2001年6月，Shyne的枪击案宣判，Shyne被判处长达10年的监禁。尽管身处监狱高墙之内，但是Shyne的才华依然被许多唱片制作人所关注，Shyne成功的与Def Jam唱片公司签约。2004年，监狱内的Shyne在Def Jam唱片公司发行了个人第二张专辑《Godfather Buried Alive》，并且成功进入了排行榜三甲。
Immortalized by a much-publicized legal skirmish that resulted in a stiff ten-year prison sentence (and an acquittal for co-defendant Puff Daddy), Shyne was well-known among the public before Bad Boy Records even released his debut -- which was, for many years, his only -- album. That album charted well, thanks in part to all the media attention he'd garnered over the years, and he showcased a remarkable talent for rapping despite his young-twentysomething age. The album wasn't an especially memorable work, however, and Shyne remained far better-known for his story than for his music.
Born Jamal Barrow, the young, gifted, and black New York rapper joined Puffy's Bad Boy camp in 1999, shortly before the episode that would define his life, which occurred on December 27th of that year. That night, a shooting incident occurred at Club New York in Manhattan. The details were initially foggy. A shootout at the club led Shyne, Puff Daddy, and Puffy's then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, to flee. Three people were wounded in the shooting. Police then caught up with the fleeing Bad Boys and ultimately charged Shyne and Puffy with numerous crimes: Shyne for attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degrees, one count of reckless endangerment, criminal use of a firearm, and criminal possession of a weapon in the first and second degrees; Puffy for felony gun possession, as well as one count of bribing a witness (with a diamond ring he'd been given by J-Lo).
The court hearings in June 2000 were a media circus -- at the time, Puffy and Lopez were celebrity icons, and Shyne had become notorious overnight despite his lack of recording output. When it was all over and done with a year later, Puffy was acquitted of all charges while Shyne was convicted on two counts of assault (including a first-degree count, for shooting Natania Reuben in the face), reckless endangerment, and gun possession. In the course of the court proceedings, he admitted firing a gun at the club, though he argued that he did so in self-defense. Regardless, he packed his bags and embarked on a ten-year prison sentence (he'd faced up to 25 years in the pen, so it could have been much worse) and looked forward to his parole eligibility in, at the earliest, 2009.
Then there's Shyne's music. Just two weeks after the shooting incident, the Los Angeles Times reported that BMG, the company that owned Bad Boy at the time, was considering shelving Shyne's forthcoming debut album -- and perhaps even severing ties with Bad Boy altogether. Well, that didn't happen as commercial interests trumped ethical considerations. BMG indeed retained its very lucrative ties to Bad Boy, and Shyne's debut album did finally surface on September 26, 2000. The shooting scandal certainly helped garner interest in the release, and the self-titled album peaked at number five on Billboard's album chart. It wasn't a bona fide success, however. Neither of its singles -- "Bad Boyz" and "That's Gangsta" -- was an especially big hit despite the media-circus publicity and a strong marketing push on behalf of BMG, and the album died a quick, quiet commercial death. And that was pretty much the end of Shyne as far as most were concerned -- he was locked away in Clinton Correctional Facility, and his fan base was minimal and forgetful.
Then, four years later, in April 2004, surprise news came that Def Jam had signed the imprisoned rapper to a multi-million-dollar contract after a heated bidding war with Warner Brothers (then headed by former Def Jam CEO Lyor Cohen), and a new album would be forthcoming by the end of the year, as well as an attempt by Harvard law professor and practicing lawyer Charles Ogletree to get Shyne an early work-release discharge. (Echoes resounded quietly of 2Pac's imprisonment, his subsequent signing with Death Row, and his eventual prison release to much celebration.) That reportedly forthcoming album, Godfather Buried Alive, did surface months later in August 2004. Like its predecessor it spun off no major hits and got a weak critical response, though the album did benefit from all the media publicity, debuting very strongly at number three on Billboard's album chart and returning Shyne to the spotlight for a fleeting moment.