August 15, 2002 14:34

SHYNE STILL A WANTED MAN!

The stars get set to visit the imprisoned rapper in a bid to be part of his future...

JA RULE, Nas and MURDER INC boss IRV GOTTI are set to visit imprisoned rapper SHYNE next week in an attempt to have him sign with the MURDER INC label.

Shyne is serving ten years in Rikers' Island prison in New York after being convicted last year for his part in a 1999 nightclub shooting. He was convicted on two counts of assault as well as reckless endangerment and gun possession following a high profile trial that saw his then friend and guru Puff Daddy acquitted of involvement.

"I'm trying to sign Shyne," Gotti told MTV. "Next Monday, I'm going to Rikers to have a sit-down with [him]. If there's any way that the guy can get an appeal, if he wants me involved, I would love to help him. I would love to get him out, and I would love to have him on Murder Inc."

He added that Nas especially was pushing for them to help the incarcerated star.

"Nas actually has pioneered this, because he was like, 'We need to get some 'Free Shyne' T-shirts.' Nas just got it in my mind hard. Nas is a boss, and if he is like, 'Shyne would make a great addition,' I'm gonna try to
make it happen."

Shyne's lawyer Murray Richman says an appeal for early release for his client was still in the early stages.

"The appeal hasn't been filed as of yet," he said. "We're in ... a motion stage to set aside the verdict somehow. It's not going to be granted. We have to explore every avenue before we can go to the next level. We have to go through A, B and C before we can get to D, E and F. An appeal, it's gonna be time-consuming no matter how you do it. The kid is a good kid, and it's a rough situation he's under. The best-case scenario [if he wins his appeal] would be the opportunity for a retrial. It's not just going to be dismissed."

He added that Shyne had been filling his time in prison "working all the time" on writing songs.

If Gotti and friends do convince Shyne to sign, the move to Murder Inc. may not be smooth. Shyne is still signed Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Recordings label.