S. Samuel
With 2012 just a week away, former Bad Boy Records rapper Shyne has promised to deliver quality music and a reenergized version of himself heading into the new year.
Citing his adjustment to music-making following nearly a ten-year jail sentence, Shyne said fans can expect new records from him in the near future.
“I spent 10 years in h*ll with murderers, all types of degenerates and cats that want to kill you and all types of crazy things — you don’t just come back,” Shyne said in an interview. “You got to learn that studio again. For me, it’s taking me a while to find my way around the studio again and get my voice back and get everything back. … I feel it’s back and top of the year, you’re going to hear the new music. … I can’t wait [for fans to hear it], but I got to make sure it’s right because they were waiting for so long and then it wasn’t what it was supposed to be. I’m a million times better than that, though. I think the people are going to roll with it.” (XXL Mag)
Recently, producer Ken Lewis hit up SOHH and defended Shyne’s decision to change his rap flow.
“I mixed like 18 songs for him and I produced the first single coming out in December,” Lewis told SOHH. “You know, when he got out, obviously the biggest thing that changed about him as an artist was his flow and he was getting hammered on the blogs for it. But I’ve got to say, I have so much respect for him for just believing in what he’s doing and not changing just because some people say he should change. Imagine if everybody said, ‘I don’t like Drake’s flow, he should change his flow.’ And then Drake changes his flow and you’re like, ‘Did Drake really change his flow because the blogs told him to?’ That would be ridiculous.” (SOHH)
Lewis also said Shyne is well aware of who his true fans really are.
“Just because some people aren’t connecting with what Shyne is doing, everybody is like Shyne should change, but why? Shyne knows who his audience is. He knows who he is trying to reach,” Lewis added. “He’s trying to reach the people in the streets and the jails. Shyne doesn’t give a f*ck if the bloggers don’t like him. To me, I have a ton of respect for him for saying, ‘This is who I am now, this is what I want to do. I want this to be the best version. Love it or leave it.’ He didn’t bow to the pressure and he’s told me, ‘I don’t give a f*ck what those people say.’ Is that supposed to be a bad thing because he has integrity?” (SOHH)
Last week, the rapper said his music content would be different from what his 2000 self-titled LP offered.
“I’m not denouncing Rap, but I honestly don’t listen to a lot of it. My life is too real to listen to that. I can’t really listen to a dude talk about all this gun toting and this dope that he’s selling. But there’s a lot of talented artists out there. I like this A.S.A.P. [Rocky] kid. He’s funky with it, and he’s got a line [on “Wassup”] that says, “I ain’t talkin’ about no money / I ain’t talkin’ about no cars / I ain’t talkin’ bout no diamonds ’cause that sh*t is a façade…” I’m feeling that. There’s a lot of artists out there making good music, but again, I can’t get into too much of it.” (Hip Hop DX)
Check out a recent Shyne interview below:
