L.A. Reid flies to Belize to sign rapper Shyne

 
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L.A. Reid, Chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group, flew to Belize Monday to meet with Shyne.  The rapper was deported to his homeland Belize in Oct. 2009 after serving nine years in prison for weapons charges stemming from a high-publicized 1999 nightclub shooting involving Diddy and Jennifer Lopez.  The two reportedly signed a $1-$5 million deal that will also provide distribution for Shyne’s Gangland Records.
 
“I have come here to stand by Shyne and to officially kick off our partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group and Gangland Records,” Reid said in an interview with 7Newsbelize.com. “So it is really an honor 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 expressed his excitement about the deal.
 
“It is an honor and a pleasure, not just for me but for Belize,” Shyne said. “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.”