Jailed rapper gets record deal

A rapper who is in prison for ten years for his role in a New York night club shooting involving Sean P. Ditty Combs is expected to sign a $3m (€2.5m) record deal.

Jam Shyne Barrow will sign to the Island Def. Jam label this week, said a source familiar with the negotiations .

The label plans to produce the album with material Shine recorded before he began serving his sentence, the source said.

The prospect of other releases from prison – some rappers have recorded albums over the phone or in visiting rooms – was unclear.

Shyne was jailed in 2001 when he was 19 for his part in the 1999 shoot-out at Club New York.

Three people were wounded in the melee, which reportedly started after a patron insulted Combs, who was there with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez.

Shyne was convicted of gun possession and assault for firing a gun in the crowded club and hitting at least one person. He is not due to be released from a New York state prison until 2009.

The proposed contract includes a stipulation that Shyne’s albums would be released on an imprint called Gangland Records, the source said.