All is not well between Shyne and Def Jam Records. No one has heard about him ever since the label announced his new album Gangland earlier this year which was supposed to drop on May 17th. Rumors of him signing with Cash Money have been prevalent but at least we now know he isn’t on Def Jam anymore. Veteran producer and engineer Ken Lewis who produced 2 songs on the upcoming album and mixed 18 of them lets the cat out of the bag to HHDX:
DX: You worked on Shyne’s album Godfather Buried Alive, and you were also mixing all of his upcoming album, right?
Ken Lewis: Well, I mixed 18 songs for the upcoming album and produced two, but he got dropped from Def Jam [Records], and I haven’t heard from him since.
DX: I didn’t even realize he had been dropped from Def Jam—
Ken Lewis: Yeah, that may not be common knowledge. [Laughs] That might get me in trouble. His release date was splattered as May 17 all over the world, but the day came and went, and I never heard from Shyne again. I don’t really know what happened to him, I just know that as far as I’m concerned, I’m not a part of that record anymore.
UPDATE: After speaking with Def Jam, Ken Lewis has clarified to HHDX that Shyne is still signed to the label.