Former Rapper Shyne Says He Hopes Diddy ‘Is Able To Reform’

Shyne has come forward to express his support for his former mentor, Sean “Diddy” Combs, after the Bad Boy Records founder’s arrest.

The former rapper, who was convicted over an infamous club shooting that involved Diddy and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, said he hopes the embattled rapper is “able to reform and fix himself.”

Shyne has undergone a remarkable transformation since his stint behind bars, trading in his mic for a life of spiritual reflection and public service.

In a chat with Page Six while promoting his upcoming Hulu documentary, “The Honorable Shyne,” the rapper-turned-politician said he hopes his former mentor, Diddy, is “able to reform and fix himself.”

“That’s not what I want from the universe. I don’t say to myself, ‘Yeah,’ you know, ‘it’s your turn now!’ Like, that’s not the type of person that I am,” he said, adding that Diddy “has to deal with his debt to the universe.”

Shyne, born Jamal Barrow, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2001, following a 1999 Manhattan club shooting incident that involved Diddy and his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez.

Diddy and Shyne went on trial in 2001, and although one of three victims who sustained injuries claimed Diddy accidentally shot her, only Shyne was convicted of assault and reckless endangerment.

Shyne seemingly took the fall for the infamous shooting scandal as he refused to rat on Diddy despite being pressured to do so.

Speaking on the circumstances that surrounded the case at the time, the “Bad Boyz” rapper claims he believed he was protecting Diddy and being true to his training on not “getting my friends in trouble.”

“I grew up [being told] to not get my friends in trouble,” he explained. “And that’s what it really boiled down to, integrity about character.”

He noted that he believed he was protecting Diddy but claims the “Coming Home” rapper “got witnesses to testify against me, to say that basically I was this uncontrollable person that was acting in a depraved manner, which was the furtherest from the truth.”

Shyne added that he did not feel he could speak out against Diddy because it would “break the code of honor, which is that you don’t get people in trouble.”

As part of his promotion for his “The Honorable Shyne” documentary, Shyne made an appearance on the “Tamron Hall Show,” where he also talked about the shooting incident that led to his prison sentence.

Looking back on the moment, Shyne reiterated his claim that the music mogul set him up as the fall guy. However, he has since let go of the grudges he once held against Diddy.

“I moved on, and I healed,” Shyne said. “I didn’t see him shooting, but I know that he made me take the fall. I know that he called witnesses to testify against me.”

Meanwhile, a rep for Diddy has rebuffed Shyne’s allegations, distancing the Bad Boys Records founder from claims he allowed Shyne to take the fall for the shooting incident.

They stated that the rapper “categorically” denies the “unequivocally false” allegations, “including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to ‘take the fall’ or ‘sacrificed’ him by directing witnesses to testify against him.”

Diddy also praised Shyne regarding his new career path as a politician but maintained that he was disappointed that his former label rapper chose to raise the dust on a forgotten issue.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Barrow has chosen to revisit these allegations,” the rep added, per TMZ, “Mr. Combs trusts that responsible journalism will weigh both the established legal outcomes and Mr. Combs’ positive, longstanding support for those he has worked with.”

Diddy is currently locked behind bars at the metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn following his September 16 arrest outside a luxury hotel in Manhattan.

He faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution and is set to begin facing trial in May 2025.

Shortly after Diddy was arrested, Shyne, who serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, shared his thoughts on his arrest and claimed he “destroyed” his life in a press conference.

“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,” Shyne claimed back in September after Diddy’s arrest.

“This is someone who destroyed my life,” the politician said, per Billboard. “And who I forgave and who I moved on and for the better interest of Belize, because he was in a position at that time to give scholarships and to maybe invest, I would not deny attempting to bring the investment to Belize and contribution to education to Belize.”