Shyne, a resident of New York’s Clinton Correctional Facility, is legally changing his name to Moses Michael Leviy after recently converting to Judaism, reports the New York Post.
The rapper, whose real name is Jamaal Michael Barrow, is now claiming that he is descended from Ethiopian Jews. He reportedly took out a classified ad in The Post to announce his new name.
In related news, the rapper, serving a decade in prison for a 1999 club shooting, plans on challenging a ruling that has frozen his assets, claiming his family is facing financial problems.
Under New York’s revised "Son of Sam Law" – which bars criminals from profiting from their crimes – Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Garson ordered that any money the jailed rapper receives from royalties and record deals be held, until civil lawsuits filed against him by the victims are resolved.
The former Bad Boy recording artist hopes the judge will let his mother dip into a $500,000 advance from a five-album deal he signed with Island/Def Jam in March 2004. "He was the sole support of his family," said his attorney Oscar Michelen. "They’re in very difficult financial circumstances." Michelen also said that Shyne’s new record deal "is in no way related to the crime" and that "the law’s gone overboard."
Attorney Debra Reiser, who represents one of the victims of the 1999 shooting, disagreed. "Those funds are for the crime victims. That’s what the law says," Reiser said. "He’s trying to circumvent the law for his own purposes."
Shyne will not be eligible for parole until August 2009, and at the latest will be released from prison on March 12, 2011.
The rapper, whose real name is Jamaal Michael Barrow, is now claiming that he is descended from Ethiopian Jews. He reportedly took out a classified ad in The Post to announce his new name.
In related news, the rapper, serving a decade in prison for a 1999 club shooting, plans on challenging a ruling that has frozen his assets, claiming his family is facing financial problems.
Under New York’s revised "Son of Sam Law" – which bars criminals from profiting from their crimes – Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Garson ordered that any money the jailed rapper receives from royalties and record deals be held, until civil lawsuits filed against him by the victims are resolved.
The former Bad Boy recording artist hopes the judge will let his mother dip into a $500,000 advance from a five-album deal he signed with Island/Def Jam in March 2004. "He was the sole support of his family," said his attorney Oscar Michelen. "They’re in very difficult financial circumstances." Michelen also said that Shyne’s new record deal "is in no way related to the crime" and that "the law’s gone overboard."
Attorney Debra Reiser, who represents one of the victims of the 1999 shooting, disagreed. "Those funds are for the crime victims. That’s what the law says," Reiser said. "He’s trying to circumvent the law for his own purposes."
Shyne will not be eligible for parole until August 2009, and at the latest will be released from prison on March 12, 2011.
