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Shyne finally confirmed what fans already suspected about the his involvement in the infamous 1999 nightclub shooting involving Diddy.
On Wednesday, April 17, Channel 5 in Belize aired a clip of Jamal “Shyne” Barrow's reaction to claims made by Natania Reuben — a victim of the shooting at Club New York in Manhattan. The former Bad Boy rapper, Diddy and his girlfriend at the time Jennifer Lopez were all arrested in connection with the shooting on the night of December 27, 1999. Reuben alleged Diddy is the one who shot her in the face, but only Shyne got prison time. Over two decades later, the artist-turned-politician now admits he was the "fall guy."
"[The allegations] certainly reopens the wounds that I’ve been saying this all along, everyone knew all along that I was the fall guy," he explained. "But my political enemies and, you know, detractors try to make me into, you know, this criminal. But everyone knew that I was a young kid that took the fall. Everyone knew that, that was the story. I’m just saying that I maintained my innocence all this time. I said I was defending myself, I didn’t get into who did what, but the victim is telling you who did what and I understand that there are other witnesses."
Shyne was charged with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment. Meanwhile, Diddy was only charged for felony gun possession and bribing a witness. The case went to trial in 2000. As the trial proceeded, Bad Boy decided to release Shyne's self-titled debut album, which landed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 at the time. The music mogul was eventually acquitted while Shyne was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Upon his release in 2009, Shyne was deported to his birthplace in Belize. He dropped his music career and pursued a career in politics thanks to his father, who served as the country's prime minister at the time.
In 2020, Shyne ran for Leader of the Opposition in Belize’s House of Representatives and won during a general election. Despite his opponents' attempt to paint him as a criminal, the former rapper said he's done everything to put the situation behind him and move on. However, Reuben's accusations along with the recent allegations made by Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones, Cassandra Ventura and other alleged victims have brought back painful memories.