After nearly 7 years, former Bad Boy artist Shyne is expected to be released from prison this year on good behavior.

According to the New York Post’s Page Six,
the Brooklyn rapper (born Jamal Barrow), who has been incarcerated
since 2001, will exit the jail confines a year earlier than his
expected 2009 release date. He is currently serving a 10-year jail
sentence at Woodbourne Correctional Facility stemming from a 1999 New
York club shooting.

The
rapper was part of a crew accompanying Sean “Diddy” Combs, his then
girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, and bodyguard Anthony “Wolf” Jones when
Diddy got into a beef with another club goer, Mathew “Scar” Allen.
Three people were struck when shots rang out and while Diddy, Shyne and
J-Lo were all arrested after leading police on a short chase, the
charges only stuck to Shyne. Combs and Lopez were free and clear.

The
Puffy protege was convicted after witness Cerise Myers testified that
she saw him pull his gun and begin firing. The rapper spoke out to
media outlets shortly after his conviction alleging that Diddy had
convinced Myers to lie on the stand.

Shyne inked a $3 million dollar deal with Def Jam from behind bars in 2004 and released the album Godfather Buried Alive under the label but album sales were disappointing. No word on whether Shyne plans to return to rapping after his release. Though
slated to be released for good behavior, Shyne hasn’t always been the
model prisoner. In ’05 he was thrown in the hole for two months after
getting into an altercation with another inmate.