Shyne won't be allowed to vote during this year's presidential elections, but if he was the exiled rapper wouldn't be backing Barack Obama. "I'd vote for Romney," Shyne told MTV News during a phone interview on Monday before rapping Kanye West's now infamous line from "To the World." "Even though Mitt Romney don't pay no tax, Mitt Romney don't pay no tax."
The Belize-born Shyne has been working tirelessly to get back into the United States since he was deported once he was released from prison in 2009 after a nearly nine year prison bid following a conviction for the infamous 1999 Club New York shooting.
Shyne has spent time in Belize, Paris and Jerusalem, but he has been unable to come back to the U.S., where he grew up and made a name for himself as a rap star. Po says Obama is well aware of his dilemma, noting that he and the POTUS share a mutual friend, Harvard Law professor Charles J. Ogletree. "He knows who I am, he knows what's happenin'," the rapper said of Obama. "He's always talkin' about he listens to hip-hop and his daughter listens to hip-hop. He knows who Shyne is, he knows I'm deported."
The former Bad Boy rapper feels that if he is brought back to America he can help quell the violence in inner-cities like Chicago, where the murder rate has sky-rocketed, by talking to young children and helping to keep them on the right path. He criticizes the Head of State for not lending a hand. "How can he be serious about stopping violence in inner cities and promoting education in inner cities and not using Shyne?" the rapper questioned.
Whether he gets Barack's help or not, the "That's Gangsta" MC maintains that he should be returning to the U.S. shortly. "I should be in America in a couple of months. We working to try and get this visa," he said. "Obama is playing games, he frontin', he better do the right thing."
Since being released from prison, Shyne has become more deeply devoted to the Jewish faith, and went on to suggest that if the POTUS were to assist, it would benefit him spiritually. "Jews is powerful, so if he don't help the jew out he ain't gonna be blessed," he said. "And he ain't doing the right thing. My voice is too powerful."
Earlier this week actress Stacey Dash took a ton of heat for tweeting in support of Mitt Romney. Race has been a definite factor with fans criticizing the African American star for not voting for the first black president, but Shyne doesn't believe the people should vote based on color alone. "I don't believe in all that, if you black you get a pass, nah if you corny, you corny," he said.
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If you aren't familiar with his music, then you probably recognize him from this:
On December 27, 1999, Shyne and then girlfriend Monay Hawkins, who were with Sean Combs and Combs' then girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, were involved in a shooting at a Manhattan club which left three people injured. As a result the 21-year-old rapper, whose debut album was pending release, was charged with and convicted of attempted murder, assault, and reckless endangerment.This led to rumours about Shyne's position at Bad Boy records and doubts about whether his debut album was ever going to be released.
MTV News