Photo: Instagram
He was in jail for manslaughter!
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Jan 09, 2020
Who is Shyheim?
The Wu-Tang Clan is more than just the core nine rappers — including the late Ol'Dirty Bastard, Method Man, and RZA. Rather, the Wu-Tang Clan includes a collective of affiliates that include artists, DJs, actors, and even producers.
Affiliates of "The Clan" include the late Popa Wu (considered the Godfather of the Clan) and Christ Bearer (who cut off his own penis in a drug-fueled rage, then went on to marry a woman who didn't seem to mind).
Somehow, then, the least controversial member of the Clan's affiliates is Shyheim, even though he did something pretty controversial. Let's look at what we know about this former rapper who was just released from prison.
1. Who is Shyheim? He's one of the more successful Wu-Tang Clan affiliates.
The Wu-Tang Clan, both individually and collectively, is super-successful. Their affiliates, however, have varying degrees of success of their own. Shyheim is one of the more successful Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, having released his first mixtape AKA The Rugged Child when he was just 14 years old, in 1994.
So, for a while, it looked like he had a bright future ahead of him. Then, of course, life took a different turn for him.
2. He was released from prison on January 6, 2020.
Shyheim served a five-year prison sentence, for which he was released on January 6, 2020. He took to his Instagram page on the same day to announce his release.
"Been waiting so long for this moment! Finally free spending time with my daughter @skyedances and family via my personal page @shyheim_rugged #Shyheim #Bottomup," he wrote in the photo announcing his release.
3. Shyheim was first arrested in 2013.
During a police raid in 2013, Shyheim was arrested after cops allegedly found 32 caliber revolver, a Xanax pill, more than 40 glassines of heroin and other drug paraphernalia. At that time, he was hit with charges including second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and the possession of a controlled substance.
The arrest was conducted as part of an anti-gang task force established in Staten Island, NY.
4. But he proclaimed his innocence.
"I really can’t talk about the case, but you know, shit, [it’s] not looking too good right now. But, I [maintain] my innocence, I’m innocent. And that’s that. I don’t really know what else to say: I’m out, I’m okay, I’m healthy [and] I wanna thank everybody for their support. I just got out a couple of hours ago so my mind is all over the place you know what I’m sayin’, but it is some very serious charges, I’m looking at some serious time of course," he said at the time of his arrest.
5. Shyheim then got charged with manslaughter in 2014.
While out on bail stemming from his 2013 arrest, Shyheim crashed into a 1996 Toyota Celica, then fled the scene of the accident. The accident left 29-year-old Felipe Avila of Tompkinsville, NY, dead.
Initially, he was charged with merely leaving the scene of an accident, considered a class D felony in New York. However, ultimately, he pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, and served six years for his crimes.
6. Despite pleading guilty and serving time, Shyheim maintained he was innocent.
"Of course you know the NYPD have a history of not flying straight, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “There’s a lot of illegal stuff that went down in the procedures that wasn’t supposed to take place but my attorneys is on it and you know we gonna fight.”
It's unclear what's next for Shyheim, however. We will definitely keep you posted with all the developments as they occur — especially if Shyheim releases some new music!
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.