This is one of my all-time favorite pieces I wrote for MTV News. I followed the Shyne case for a long time and found a particular fascination by how every year rumors would arise that he’d be released. Brian Hiatt, a great writer and current staffer at Rolling Stone used to be a reporter at MTV prior to my tenure. He wrote the definitive account of Shyne’s sentence, which essentially translated into the rapper doing 10 years behind bars. Over the years I’d cover Shyne’s court appearances and was personally excited the first time I saw him because he was like a unicorn, growing into this mythical figure. Long story short: the day he was to be released, he wasn’t. His lawyer was confused. I didn’t know what was going on. Then, I remembered I had the Vibe issue where Shyne graced the cover in his prison jumpsuit. I left the 1515 office and darted back to Brooklyn and back. I used the info on Shyne’s uniform to call around (maybe first to the prison, then to the feds and finally immigration). Got the scoop about his whereabouts and his potentially being deported. The story did crazy numbers, got picked up on TV by E! and the radio by Hot 97. All in a day’s work.

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