Shyne has some serious goals for restarting his career.
The Belize-born MC spoke to MTV News on Friday (April 9) and announced that the launch of his movement begins next week as he drops his new song “Messiah.” MTV News had an early preview of an EZ Elpee-produced track that drops Monday.
Shyne held a press conference in Belize last November, shortly after completing a prison sentence of eight years for two counts of assault as well as reckless endangerment and gun possession in a 1999 shooting (Shyne has maintained his innocence in the incident). He said he hasn’t gotten soft over the years; he’s gotten wiser.
“I make music about life,” he said during the press conference. “One of the greatest musicians was Bob Marley. There was nothing misogynistic about him. But his music, he talked about some harsh realities sometimes. He was tough. I would like to make that type of contribution, that kind of Marvin Gaye contribution, you dig? But at the same time, we curse. At the same time, life is violent. Life is troublesome sometimes. So don’t expect my music to be sanitized. I am just going to talk about what’s going on in the world.”
As you’ll hear on “Messiah,” Shyne is still firm in his words but insists he’s not reckless. Think about the difference between Sonny Corleone and his brother Michael.
“I got the city on my back, pretty women in the sack,” the song begins. “Rollin’ in the Rolls/ Sit, sittin’ in my lap/ This is not a rap, fool, this is not an act/ Welcome to New York, blood, this is where it’s at/ Snitches take a nap with the fishes and the rats/ Buried in the dirt where the witnesses is at.”
In the chorus, he declares: “This one is a go, but r-r-really though/ If you know the code, then y-y-you could roll/ But if you was a foe, then you get peter-rolled/ But keep that on the low, r-r-really though.”
EZ Elpee keeps the track simple but with a threatening synth and bass thump. “You got the crown/ I had to repo that/ Where the East Coast at?/ Mobster music … Nino’s back.
“Tell him to go to school, he don’t wanna go/ Shorty wanna roll, how I’mma tell him no?” he continues. “He just like Po/ God knows it better for him to be like Barack O/ My life ain’t gold/ One foot is in the grave, the other in the hole/ I wish that I could show, he gonna follow me straight to death row/ Nah, I’mma make sure, he ain’t like me/ R-r-really though.”
Shyne’s new LP doesn’t have a release date yet, but he did ink a record deal with Def Jam earlier this year. “Messiah” will drop Monday. No word yet whether it’s the official first single or a warm-up record.