Caveat Mentor

Image credit: Dream: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

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Mary J. Blige

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ARTIST Shyne
THE BACK STORY Occasional law-breaker Jamal ''Shyne'' Barrow was an 18-year-old bike messenger who scribbled lyrics on the back of his clipboard when he came to the attention of several labels. He signed with Bad Boy in '98, he told the Washington Post, because he believed Puffy would teach him the business and properly promote his work.
WHAT WENT DOWN Nothing short of a disaster. Before Shyne's self-titled debut was even released, he and his J. Lo-escorting mentor were charged in connection with a Dec. 27, 1999, club shooting in which three people were injured. Puffy was eventually acquitted of weapons charges; Shyne, however, was convicted of attempted murder. Though Shyne grumbled that he'd been ''betrayed'' by the man he once worshiped (he claimed Puffy reneged on a promise to pay his legal bills and let him take the fall in the shooting trial), things were smoothed over a bit when Puffy paid him a surprise jailhouse visit.
THE VERDICT ''Shyne'' only went gold -- not so hot, compared with past Bad Boy releases. And with nine years at Rikers ahead of him, it's unlikely this guy will get another, um, shot. F

ARTIST Dream
THE BACK STORY After seeing this prefab girl group (Ashley Poole, Melissa Schuman, Holly Blake, and Diana Ortiz) at an industry showcase, Puffy signed them to Bad Boy in 2000.
WHAT WENT DOWN Their debut album, ''It Was All a Dream'' (2001), promptly went platinum, thanks to the ''TRL''-riffic ''He Loves U Not.'' Also grabbing some attention was the video for ''This Is Me (Remix),'' in which Diddy danced beside his Dream team and trotted out another white protégé, blink-and-you'll-miss-him rapper Kain.
THE VERDICT Nice try to tap the teen-pop trend, but the girls still haven't dropped their second album, and Melissa has quit in order to pursue acting. Uh-oh. C+