Former Bad Boy rapper Moses “Shyne” Barrow has spoken out following Diddy’s arrest earlier this week on organized crime and sex trafficking charges.
Shyne, the opposition leader in the Belize House of Representatives, shared his thoughts on his former boss’s legal troubles with the media on Wednesday (September 18).
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“When I was an 18-year-old boy, all I wanted was to make my mother and Belize proud, to be recognized for my talent and to conquer the world,” he said. “I defended him and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me. He contributed to that… he basically sent me to prison. That’s the context you always have to describe that (relationship). I’ve forgiven. I’ve moved on. But let’s not pretend I was in Miami for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Shyne is referring to the case of a shooting at a New York City nightclub in December 1999, in which he, Diddy and Jennifer Lopez (the mogul’s girlfriend at the time) were present. Shyne was eventually charged with assault and sentenced to ten years in prison in June 2001. He was finally released in 2009 and deported to Belize.
He continued: “So let’s not lose sight of the hard facts. This is not someone I went on holiday with and enjoyed this great, intimate brotherly relationship with. This is someone who destroyed my life and I have forgiven and moved on with, and in the interest of Belize, because he was in a position at the time to give scholarships and maybe invest. I would not deny that he was trying to bring the investment to Belize and contribute to education in Belize.”
“Don’t make it out to be like he and I are boom-bally. He’s someone who destroyed my life,” he continued. “But am I happy about what he’s going through? Absolutely not. I’m different from other people – nobody has to fail for me to succeed.”
Although Shyne has forgiven Diddy for their shared past, he admitted earlier this year that the 1999 shooting that led to his prison sentence still “sears” when brought up.
Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in New York City earlier this week on sex trafficking and organized crime charges. He was again denied bail on Wednesday (September 18) after a federal judge raised concerns that the controversial music executive could pose a flight risk and intimidate witnesses if released.
Diddy’s legal team put together a $50 million bail package with strict conditions, but the judge was not swayed. The rapper will remain in a federal prison in Brooklyn until his trial.
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