Ex-Rapper 'Framed' in Infamous 'Diddy' and J Lo Club Shooting Opens Up About 'Betrayal and Forgiveness' After 8 Years Behind Bars
A former rapper spoke out against Combs after being the disgraced star's 'fall guy' in 1999.
Nov. 18 2024, Published 3:11 p.m. ET
A former rapper from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' dark past is breaking his silence following the music mogul's shocking downfall.
RadarOnline.com can reveal how Shyne, born Jamal Barrow, who was once Combs' protégée, found himself being the "fall guy" after a shooting occurred while out with the music mogul and his then-girlfriend Jennifer "J Lo" Lopez.
In 1999, Combs was at a Manhattan club with Lopez when he was involved in a shooting.
Barrow was just 19 years old and about to see success in the music industry when he found himself in the middle of a club shooting in New York City while out with Combs and Lopez in 1999.
The chaos began when Combs got into an altercation with another man, and shots were fired. The shooting left three bystanders injured, as Combs and Barrow headed to trial.
While one of the victims claimed Combs had accidentally shot her, only Barrow was convicted of assault and reckless endangerment and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Shyne, born Jamal Barrow, spent eight years behind bars while Combs was set free.
Barrow, who has an upcoming Hulu titled The Honorable Shyne, doesn't hold a grudge when it comes to the rapper who currently sits in prison.
He told Page Six: "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."
Barrow added: “I grew up [being told] to not get my friends in trouble, and that’s what it really boiled down to, integrity about character.”
Barrow is now a politician, and doesn't want revenge when it comes to Combs.
However, while Barrow believes he was protecting Combs, he also claimed the Bad Boy Records founder “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".
Barrow, who is now a Belize politician, previously noted in a press conference: “This is someone who destroyed my life, and who I forgave.”
Despite the claims against Combs, his team shut them down.
They shared: "Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow’s allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to ‘take the fall’ or ‘sacrificed’ him by directing witnesses to testify against him. These claims are unequivocally false.
"It is unfortunate that Mr. Barrow has chosen to revisit these allegations. 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.”
Combs is currently being detained at a detention center in Brooklyn, awaiting trial in May.
Combs, 55, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while he awaits his trial date of May 5 2025 for racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
The hitmaker's time behind bars, however, has not been uneventful. Federal agents reportedly stormed his jail cell and seized his handwritten notes intended for his legal team.
Combs' defense attorney Marc Agnifilo claimed the confiscated material contained the star's handwritten notes to his legal team, which outlined defense witnesses and strategies for his upcoming trial.
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Agnifilo explained: "This search and seizure are in violation of Mr. Combs' [constitutional] rights.
"The targeted seizure of a pre-trial detainee's work product and privileged materials – created in preparation for trial – is outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantive due process violation..."
Since his arrest, more has been discovered about Combs' alleged sex parties, which were known as "freak-offs".
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