Thug Life Army

Hip-hop artist Jamal Barrow aka Shyne, who is incarcerated for taking the rap for the 1999 nightclub shooting at the Club New York in Times Square, is going to challenge NY State's ‘Son of Sam law’.

The rap artist is convicted of gun charges stemming from the 1999 shooting when he was with hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs and then girlfriend Jenny ‘from the block’ Lopez.

Hip-hop mogul ‘Puffy’ was cleared of weapons possession in the case but the hip-hop rap MC Shyne has repeatedly blamed his one-time mentor (Puffy) for his stiff 10-year sentence.

Saying his family's broke, Shyne plans to have his attorney on Tuesday challenge the state's law, which bars criminals from profiting from their crimes.

"He was the sole support of his family," said attorney Oscar Michelen. "They''re in very difficult financial circumstances."

The jailed hip-hop artist and his lawyer are hoping that a Brooklyn Supreme Court justice will allow the rappers mom to dig into a $500,000 advance from a five-album deal the performer signed with Island Def Jam in March 2004.

Barrow's assets - including royalties from his 2004 album, "Godfather Buried Alive" - are frozen until civil lawsuits filed against him by three wounded club goers are resolved.

Michelen said Shyne's record deal "is in no way related to the crime. The law's gone overboard."

But attorney Debra Reiser, who represents a club goer who was shot in the face during the melee, scoffed at Shyne’s attempt to get around the law.

"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."

In June, the rapper Shyne suffered a legal defeat when his bid for a new trial was rejected by a state appeals court. Michelen said Shyne is willing to wage another uphill battle, so his mother won''t have to work to support herself.

"You don''t lose all your rights in prison," Michelen said.

We will keep an eye on this and let you know what happens.