Yes, you heard correctly. Shyne may be looking to ink a deal with Cash Money Records.
While in Paris during the weekend to fundraise money to build music resource programs in Brooklyn, Ethiopia, as well as his native country of Belize, Shyne caught up with XXL magazine to discuss the development of his music career since his release from prison in 2010. The former Bad Boy signee was released after serving 10 years for his involvement in a 1999 shooting at Club New York. With his past behind him, Shyne revealed Cash Money’s Baby was among the select people to reach out to him during his sentence and signing with his label is a possibility:
“I’m entertaining it right now. Baby had reached out to me when I was in the pen, when I was about to get out. He said he was into it. We just have to figure it out because I was at Def Jam at the time, so it was hard to make a formal offer,” he said. “When L.A. Reid left Def Jam, I left Def Jam. I’m on my own right now. It got to make sense. Ain’t nothing signed on the line right now.”
Satisfied with being an entrepreneur at the moment, Po regards Lil Wayne as the key person who helped him regain his confidence in his career. Weezy reached out to the rapper this year for a feature on “The Outro” for Tha Carter IV.
“I owe a lot to Wayne for putting me on that record. That was a man gesture on his part, just taking me from the ashes. It took a while for me to find my voice and for me to get back in my rhythm. I’ll be forever grateful to Wayne believing in me and respecting my legacy, respecting what I stand for and putting me on that record,” the 32-year-old remarked. “He didn’t have anything to gain from that. It’s not like I’m the hottest thing on the block right now, but a legacy is a legacy. My first two albums were classics. I honor that dude.”
When asked who else he’d like to sign with, Po’ mentioned Jay-Z as a key person who’s also assisted him in the past.
“Jay actually came to see me on Rikers Island,” he said. “When I got out, a lot of people don’t know that he was the one that negotiated my deal to go to Universal Music Group. He actually put a deal together with Jimmy Iovine. Jay’s always been supportive to me.”
He also stated Kanye West as a person of interest because of “his honesty and ability to be who he is and not being able to conform.”
At the end of the day, when it comes down to signing with YMCMB, Shyne’s uncertain about the technical details but revealed he is definitely an affiliate. “YMCMB is definitely one of my affiliates, from the streets to the music, so anything they want from me they could get from me,” he said.
Check out “The Outro” from Lil Wayne’s The Carter IV below:
