The Story of Diddy and Shyne Barrow: The 1999 Shooting and After

In September 2024 Sean “Diddy” Combs was taken into federal custody on charges of sex trafficking and organized crime and was denied bail.

In view of the rapper’s alleged years of criminal activities – Diddy pleaded not guilty – Moses “Shyne” Barrow reminded the world of another dark chapter in Diddy’s story.

“This is someone who destroyed my life,” Shyne said of Diddy during a September 2024 press conference in Belize.

Shyne spent more than eight years in prison after he, his then-mentor Diddy and Diddy’s then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopezwere involved in a shooting in a New York nightclub in 1999. After an argument broke out, shots were fired and three bystanders were injured.

Shyne was accused of shooting at the injured, although he always claimed to have fired into the air. An injured witness, Natania Reubentestified in 2001 that she saw Diddy fire a gun. Shyne was eventually convicted of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and illegal possession of a firearm, while Diddy was found not guilty on four gun-related charges and on bribing his driver to claim ownership of his gun.

“Everyone knew from the beginning that I was the scapegoat,” Shyne said of the shooting during an April 2024 press conference. “Everyone knew, that was the story. … I maintain my innocence.”

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Keep scrolling to take a look at Shyne and Diddy’s history over the years:

1998

Shyne caught the attention of record producer DJ Clark Kent while freestyling in Brooklyn. Kent then introduced the young rapper to Diddy, who quickly signed Shyne to his label Bad Boy Records.

1999

Shyne’s life was forever changed by the December 27 shooting at Club New York in Manhattan. Diddy, Shyne and Lopez were all initially arrested, detained and charged for their involvement, but the charges against Lopez were quickly dropped.

2001

After a trial lasting several weeks, Diddy was found not guilty of all charges related to the shooting, while Shyne was sentenced to ten years in prison without eligibility for parole until 2009.

2009

Shyne was released from prison in October 2009.

“It’s a blessing that he’s coming home,” Diddy said in an interview on Hot 97 shortly before Shyne’s release, according to CBS News. “I spoke to him a few weeks ago and he sounded like he was in good spirits.”

Four weeks after Shyne’s release, he was deported to his native Belize, despite having spent much of his life in the United States. When he was seven, he moved to Brooklyn to live with his mother, but continued to spend summers with his father in Belize.

After his deportation, Shyne pursued a political career and is currently Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives and Chairman of the Belize United Democratic Party.

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March 2012

Shyne and Diddy were photographed sitting next to each other at a Fashion Week show in Paris.

“You can’t overstate the cultural significance of Shyne and Diddy’s reconciliation,” Shyne said in a statement to XXLMag at the time. “You know I’m serious when it comes to these hammers, so unfortunately, this could have ended like this Tupac And LARGE. But what if Tupac and BIG had split up and reconciled like this? Let’s celebrate this moment as a historic event and victory for hip-hop and Afro and Latin Americans who are trained to erase each other. It’s a new day! L’chaim!!!”

April 2012

Shyne spoke about his time in prison during an appearance on 7 News Belize.

“The whole process was devastating. Ten hours in custody is ten hours too many. So there is no quick fix for turning a human being into an animal for ten years,” he said. “When I got out, I didn’t even realize how hurt and devastated I was because I ignored the pain and destruction I had suffered.”

He also remembered how difficult it was when his mother came to visit him.

“My mother couldn’t look at me. She started shaking, got up and went to the bathroom. I couldn’t handle it because if I cried in front of her, it would ruin her life,” he explained. “If I cried in front of the prison guards, they would think I was weak. So I went back to the yard, lifted weights, smoked a cigar and acted like nothing had happened. How do you recover when you get out of a situation like that?”

August 2012

Despite the apparent reconciliation, Shyne took aim at Diddy in his diss track “You’re Welcome” and addressed the events that led to his incarceration.

“I need to know how my accomplice could get witnesses to sacrifice me just so he could get away free? / That ain’t streetable,” Shyne rapped. “But he ain’t from there, that ain’t slander / That’s what they fear, the whole truth, I swear.”

November 2022

Shyne announced that Diddy had agreed to fund a full scholarship for a Belizean student to attend Howard University in the United States.

“Education has always been very important to my dear brother Diddy and so, with that in mind, I have asked Diddy to make Belize a part of his philanthropic support for his alma mater, Howard University, so that at least one student from Belize will have the privilege of attending one of the most prestigious HBC universities in the United States,” Shyne said in a statement to Loop Caribbean News at the time. “I thank Diddy for always supporting my efforts to help Belize in any way he can.”

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March 2024

The 1999 shooting made headlines again, the same month Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided in connection with a sex trafficking investigation. Natania Reuben appeared on News Nation to claim that Diddy and not Shyne shot her in the face that fateful night.

“I am willing to have a doctor remove part of the 9mm bullet from my face so they can use it as evidence in this trial if necessary,” she said. “Who better to tell you what happened than the person who was hit right between my eyes?”

April 2024

Shyne responded to Reuben’s new comments on the shooting in a press conference.

“It opens wounds when you hear the victim say Diddy shot her,” he said. “I’ve done my best to put it behind me and move forward, but it opens wounds again that I said that all along. Everyone knew all along that I was the scapegoat, but my political enemies and critics tried to make me out to be this criminal, but everyone knew I was a young boy who took the blame. Everyone knew that was the story. … I maintain my innocence. … I’m relieved that people are telling the truth: that I didn’t shoot those people.”

September 2024

Shortly after Diddy was taken into federal custody on sex trafficking and organized crime charges, Shyne was asked about his past with the music mogul during a press conference in his home country of Belize. Shyne stated that he had “no business relationship” with Diddy, although they previously provided scholarships together for Belizean students.

“We must not lose sight of the hard facts. This was not someone I went on holiday with and [with whom] I enjoyed this great, close brotherly relationship. He destroyed my life and I forgave him… for the good of Belize,” Shyne said. “Because he was in a position at the time to give scholarships and maybe invest. I wouldn’t deny that I tried to bring the investments to Belize.”

Shyne also said that Diddy “testified against him” during his 2001 trial.

“I defended him and he turned around, called witnesses to testify against me and basically sent me to prison,” he said. “It is in this context that you have to describe this relationship as well.”

Despite her painful history, Shyne said he was “absolutely [does] He said he felt neither “joy nor satisfaction” about Diddy’s arrest, as he would not wish imprisonment on even his “worst enemy.”