_{Photo: (l-r) Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow and Sean “Diddy” Combs}

by William Ysaguirre

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 25, 2024

The Hulu documentary telling the rags-to-riches life story of The Honorable Shyne premiered to critics’ acclaim last Monday, November 18, but former Bad Boy rapper Moses “Shyne” Barrow’s claim that he was set up to be the fall guy for an infamous 1999 Manhattan nightclub shooting has drawn sharp rebuke from his former mentor, Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Now behind bars on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution in New York City, for which he was indicted in September, rap mogul Combs of Bad Boy Entertainment has reportedly written to Shyne to caution him to “cease and desist” from the accusation that he was made the patsy for the 1999 shooting during an outing that included Jennifer Lopez. Combs said that Barrow’s suggestion that he arranged for him to “take the fall” or that he sacrificed Shyne are “unequivocally false”.

_{Photo: Shyne and Diddy in happier days}

In a recent interview on News5, Grammy award winner Shyne said he has moved on and has forgiven Combs, although he alleged that Combs, “pretty much sent me to prison … everyone was partying and having a great time with Diddy while I was left to rot in prison.” Combs escaped the consequences of the shooting incident that left three persons injured. Shyne said he takes no pleasure in Combs’ present woes.

Shyne spent months in the United States prior to the film’s release promoting the film. He invited viewers to hear from his father himself, and from his mother, that he did not grow up with even a bronze spoon in his mouth. “Coming from a single parent household and everything that I have, I had to endure great suffering and sacrifice to get there”, he recalled.

Shyne was only 21 when he was sentenced to 10 years in a state penitentiary after he was found guilty of five charges, including assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a pistol. Shyne served eight, almost nine years of his sentence before he was paroled and deported to Belize in October 2009. The film also examines Shyne’s path after he was released from prison, his soul-searching pilgrimage to Israel after he had converted to Orthodox Judaism behind bars, and his entry into Belizean politics upon his return to Belize in 2013, under the mentorship of his uncle, Hon. Michael Finnegan, whose parliament seat he sort of inherited when Finnegan retired from politics.

Last Friday, a “source” close to Combs said he was not trying to block the film’s release, but rather to “ensure its accuracy”. Combs’ former bodyguard, Gene Deal, also appeared in the film, describing a strange good luck ritual that Combs performed in Central Park on the way to court before the 2001 verdict on the shooting, which sent Shyne to jail while Combs walked free. Deal said Combs rendezvoused with a man holding a caged bird. He said Puff (Diddy) dropped to his knees when he got close to the man who held a Bible, as he prayed and touched Combs before telling him to let the bird out of the cage. Deal said that when Combs threw the bird into the air, it fell straight to the ground like a brick!