Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-protege Moses 'Shyne' Barrow recalls how disgraced rapper 'destroyed' his life
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Moses "Shyne" Barrow was once a rising star under Bad Boy Records. Now a respected politician in Belize, he opened up about his life-changing experiences with Sean "Diddy" Combs.
In a press conference on Wednesday, September 18, Shyne reflected on how Diddy’s actions during a 1999 New York nightclub shooting "destroyed" his life forever, People reported.
Moses 'Shyne' Barrow recalls night that changed everything
Moses 'Shyne' Barrow's rise in the world of hip-hop was meteoric and promising. In 1998 when he was just 18, he signed with Diddy's popular label Bad Boy Records. But his dreams of making a name for himself took a tragic turn just a year later.
In 1999, he accompanied Diddy and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez to Club New York in Times Square, where a night out turned into chaos.
Gunfire broke out in the club, leaving three people injured, including a woman who was shot in the face. Shyne, Diddy, Lopez, and bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones fled the scene in Diddy's Lincoln, but were apprehended after police pulled them over for running a red light.
A gun was found in the vehicle and all three men were arrested, while Lopez was quickly released.
What followed was a trial that would change Shyne’s life. Diddy and his bodyguard were both acquitted of all charges, with Diddy declaring, “Under no circumstances whatsoever did I have anything to do with a shooting. I do not own a gun nor did I have possession of a gun that night.”
Shyne, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. He was convicted on five out of eight charges and was sentenced to ten years in prison. Upon his release, he was deported to Belize.
Moses 'Shyne' Barrow talks about betrayal and forgiveness
At the press conference, Moses 'Shyne' Barrow did not hold back while expressing his feelings toward Diddy.
He began, “When I was an 18-year-old kid, just wanting to do nothing other than make my mother proud and make Belize proud and be recognized for my talent and take over the world, I was defending him, and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me. He pretty much sent me to prison.”
Though Shyne eventually found it in himself to forgive, it wasn’t easy. “I forgave. I moved on. But let us not pretend as if I was in Miami for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he remarked.
For Shyne, the hurt went deeper as he saw Diddy’s actions as a betrayal of the brotherhood they shared. “This is not someone who I vacationed with and someone who I enjoyed this great, intimate relationship of brotherhood,” Shyne explained.
Despite the scars left by the nightclub shooting and the trial, Shyne chose to move forward. After his release from prison and deportation, Shyne turned to politics. He now serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives.
Fans were shocked when Shyne made a surprise appearance on stage with Diddy in London for a performance in 2023. It seemed like a gesture of reconciliation — but Shyne later clarified that while he had forgiven Diddy, things were still complicated.
“Let’s not lose sight of what the cold hard facts are,” Shyne insisted. “I would not deny attempting to bring the investment to Belize and contribution to education in Belize.”
"This is someone who destroyed my life, and who I forgave, and who I moved on, and for the better interest of Belize because he was in the position at that time to give scholarships and maybe to invest. I would not deny attempting to bring the investment to Belize and contribution to education in Belize," he continued.
"Do I take any joy with what he is going through? Absolutely not. I am different than other people. No one needs to fail for me to succeed," Shyne added.
Diddy’s ongoing legal troubles
The press conference was timely as it came on the heels of Diddy’s arrest on new charges. These include racketeering conspiracy and trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and others. If convicted, Diddy could face 15 years to life in prison.
The disgraced rapper pleaded not guilty at his court appearance in Manhattan and proposed $50 million bail. However, he was denied and immediately sent to jail following the hearing.
