LA Reid Inks Shyne To Def Jam, "I Have Come Here To Officially Kick Off Our Partnership"

Island Def Jam CEO LA Reid has officially traveld to Belize to announce the official signing of rapper Shyne to his record label.

Speaking to media, Reid welcomed Shyne as the latest member of Def Jam.

"I have come here to stand by Shyne and to officially kick off our partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group and Gangland Records and so it is really an honour to be here, really very special place. I am here because great people are worthy of travelling many many miles for it and I come here to say that your country is great and I hope you guys know that this is a great man from your country who deserves this kind of respect and who deserves this kind of support. So that is why we are here."
Shyne also confirmed his new partnership and revealed his respect toward Reid.

"It is an honour and a pleasure, not just for me but for Belize. Chairman Reid is on the level of Berry Gordy, Clive Davis, the biggest music men in the history of music, and so to have a partnership with Gangland Records and Island/Def Jam is incredible for me."
Reports earlier this month suggested Shyne would sign to Def Jam.

Multiple sources have confirmed to me that Shyne Po has signed a 7-figure deal with Def Jam.* This ends a bidding war that had industry bigwigs vying for Shyne's attention, flying to Belize, calling and courting, ever since the Brooklyn emcee was released from prison and deported to Belize back in October. As for the logistics, the plan is for Shyne to work out of London, it's a buzzing hip hop hub with all the necessary facilities. Oh, and about that first verse which appeared on an early DJ Khaled album leak (and is allegedly scratched from the final tracklisting)...I'm hearing that Shyne didn't intend that verse to be his first look. After nearly a decade inside, he's allowed a little time to figure out what direction he'll take.

After being deported to Belize last fall, Diddy spoke on his former artist's situation.

"The overall feeling at the end of the day, a lot of people have always asked questions, I've never had any problem with Shyne,"Diddy explained. "I've never had any problem with him, I was looking forward to him coming home and just getting out here and letting people see what I saw. I think it was cut down too early, people never got a chance to see what I saw. The thing that bugs me out is people forget what was going on at the time, y'all was throwing so many stones at me telling me how Shyne sounded likeBiggie. All the cats up here at [New York radio station Hot 97] was throwing stones at me and I was telling them, 'Nah, the kid got something special.' At the end of the day, when everybody go to jail, a lot of people jump on the bandwagon and it was beyond that to me...I never wish bad on anybody, I only wish somebody the best and I hope he gets to come back to the United States, he did his time and deserves to come back."
Check out Master P speaking with SOHH about Shyne below: