The ongoing tragedy of Shyne

"is it fair, is it equal, is it just, is it right?"


Damn. Moses Michael Levy, aka Jamal Barrow aka Shyne Po, was all set to be released from prison yesterday. The internet was going nuts. "What were people tweetin?" Well, Fabulous declared it a "hood holiday, Wale just pointing out the beatuy of the day, so on and so forth. But then, at the 11th hour, the government pulled some evil, sadistic bullshit on him.

Something wasn't right. When a guy like Shyne Po--a dude whose been given the short end of the legal stick (pause) for the last ten years-- gets out, you know he's out. But all day, he was "about" to be released. What do they just let people out whenever they get around to it? Didn't make any sense.

At the end of the day, center of the world time, the story broke, Shyne got let out, just to be handed over to Federal immigration officials. And he's going to be deported to Belize by the end of the week. It's just not right. They been fucking with him for the last ten years. A ridiculously overblown prison sentence after a trial decided by public opinion, an absurd ruling stripping him of all proceeds from his second album based on New York's Son of Sam law, many, many promised release dates the government continually pushed back, a two and half year probation period effectually ruining any chance of continuing his career as a musician, and now this. He's seen the legal system in a way no white man ever would, and the way we'd all like to think no black man has since 1970.

This is bullshit. Everything about it is bullshit. Racist, extreme, and just unfair bullshit. The poor guy's been locked up for ten years, ten years, he went in at the height of his career, and now right when he gets his first breath of fresh air, we kick him out of the country to send him back to Belize, his birth country but far from his home,

Go here and email the governor of NY, tell him this is bullshit. According to Shyne's family, they've reached out to Patterson, and he's trying to pull strings, but it's a federal matter and his hands are tied. I don't know how Slick Rick's case was any different, but apparently it was.

And to think I was all set to roll out the red carpet, posting all types of crazy Shyne joints. What a shame.