Rapper Has Record, Now May Have Deal

Def Jam Records has won one of the music industry’s most unusual bidding wars, quietly signing a lucrative deal with rapper Shyne, who is serving a 10-year prison term and may not be eligible for parole until 2009.

The deal with the Vivendi Universal label, which was described by industry sources Thursday, marks a surprising return for the once-promising rapper and former protege of music mogul Sean “Puffy” Combs. Shyne’s career was derailed by an assault conviction arising from a Manhattan nightclub shooting in 1999. Combs was acquitted in the widely publicized case.

Shyne, whose real name is Jamal Barrow, could release a new recording as early as this fall on a label created for him by Def Jam, likely to be named Gangland Records, the sources said.

Major record companies are under pressure to develop new acts because of the industry’s worldwide sales slump. But the jockeying for Barrow -- including by Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment -- also illustrates the degree to which executives prize acts with the built-in street credibility that comes from hardscrabble backgrounds and run-ins with the law.

“People are desperate for names,” said the chairman of one label that unsuccessfully courted the rapper. Shyne, he said, “is a brand.”

Representatives for Barrow and Def Jam declined to comment. The sources familiar with the deal said he could receive advances totaling as much as $3 million for his first album under the pact, depending on sales.

Insiders have been abuzz about the difficulty of promoting an artist who probably will be unavailable for radio spots, music video shoots and other work that typically accompanies new releases.

Still, the hotly contested signing is considered a major win for Def Jam President Kevin Liles. Sources said he personally made visits to the rapper at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., near the Canadian border. A hit from Barrow would not only revitalize the label’s aging rap roster but enhance the profile of its newly appointed chairman, Antonio “L.A.” Reid.

The 25-year-old rapper had recorded at least 10 songs before starting his prison stint in 2001, according to sources involved in the deal.

There has been speculation in the industry that he has continued to record tracks while in prison, although it is unclear how that would have been accomplished. Def Jam will sort through Barrow’s unreleased material to assemble the new album, according to the sources.

Before his incarceration, Barrow also recorded a self-titled CD that was released by Combs’ Bad Boy Records. Since its 2000 release, the album has sold more than 900,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan data -- a solid first effort.

Label executives said the rapper’s stature had increased since his conviction and they expected enormous demand for any new material.

“When’s the last time [a label] released a brand-new album from a guy who’s incarcerated?” asked one person involved in the deal.

New York authorities said Thursday that Barrow wouldn’t be eligible for parole until October 2009.

But lawyers for the rapper say they are preparing an appeal of the jury’s verdict and hope to win his release by next spring.

Barrow was convicted for his role in a nightclub melee that began with a volley of insults and ended with shots being fired. Three bystanders were wounded. Witnesses identified Barrow as the gunman.

At his sentencing, Barrow’s lawyer tried to convince the judge that his client had suffered greatly in his life. To make his point, he read from one of the rapper’s tracks: “Dear America / I’m only what you made me / Young, black ... crazy/ Please save me/ I’m dyin’ inside / Can’t you see it in my eyes? / I’m hopeless.”

More recently, Barrow’s attorneys filed motions asking a New York judge to set aside the rapper’s conviction, a move rejected in July.

Barrow contended that he received subpar legal representation, alleging his attorneys had a conflict of interest because Combs paid their fees.

In addition, Barrow said that after his conviction he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by a psychiatrist. He contended that the diagnosis could have been an important mitigating factor in his defense.

To Barrow, who grew up in Belize and New York’s Crown Heights neighborhood, his music career appeared bright. After the release of his Bad Boy CD, the rapper renegotiated his record contract, receiving $312,000 in December 2000 and an additional $300,000 in February 2001, court documents indicate.

Relations between Barrow and Combs deteriorated during the trial, with Barrow alleging in a later interview that the Bad Boy impresario had acted like a “snitch” during the proceedings. Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, which owns Def Jam, also now distributes releases from Combs’ Bad Boy label.

In a 2001 interview with XXL magazine, published before jurors reached a verdict in his case, Barrow said: “After I make it through this, man, I’ma be all right.”