"At one point I thought he was the devil" - Shyne talks about what led to the deterioration of his relationship with Diddy

Rapper-turned-politician Shyne Barrow sat for an interview with Stephen A. Smith on the latter’s show on November 14 to discuss politics and his experience with Sean “Diddy” Combs, among other topics. Shyne shared how he was weary of the rapper, who is now in custody as he awaits his trial date.

In a one-hour interview that is available on The Stephan A. Smith Show YouTube channel, Shyne shared that Diddy refused to pay reparations. He also said:

“For years I’ve been saying what a creep I thought he [Diddy] was, destroyed my life, at one point I thought he was the devil but because of the power of Diddy which is so loud, as far as pop-culture icon, nobody listened. So I moved on. I pivoted my life to healing, to forgiveness and to taking accountability for what I can control.”

Burrow then shared that he could not control what someone else did to him, including “not wanting to pay reparations, not wanting to make right,” so he moved on. He went on to call himself the “sacrificial man” who “took the fall.”

For the uninitiated, Barrow was a part of Diddy’s entourage since the beginning of his hip-hop career, and he was also mentored by the Bad Boy Records mogul.

He ended up serving a 10-year sentence after being involved in a nightclub shooting in 1999 that also implicated Diddy and Jennifer Lopez. Diddy was acquitted following the incident.

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“Yeah, I forgave him”- Shyne claims to have moved past what happened with Diddy in interview with The Hollywood Reporter

As Diddy faces racketeering conspiracy, pr*stitution, and s*x trafficking charges, Shyne sat for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month as he promoted his The Honorable Shyne Hulu documentary.

Speaking about how he had moved past the shooting incident and his relationship with Diddy, he said in the interview:

“[Diddy] did things to me and to my family that destroyed my life. I’m living a different life now. So I would not agree with anyone saying, ‘Hey, let’s tell the Diddy story,’ and I’ll tell you about how I was victimized. I wanted to tell the Shyne story.”

He continued:

“Yeah, I forgave him. I have forgiven everyone that has hurt me. But that doesn’t mean that I’m part of their lives. Or you continue in a direction where you expose yourself to be hurt again.”

Despite being imprisoned early in his career, his artistry still took off with industry legends like Jay-Z and Dr. Dre offering him record deals. Baller Alert also reported that Jay-Z also visited him on Rikers Island once.

He also spoke to Tamron Hall for an interview this month to express that he wished Diddy was more helpful as he received his sentence. Shyne said:

“I wish I was his brother in 2000 when we were on trial. My mom never received any support from him when she was struggling, and he never tried to console her tears.”

Diddy now awaits his trial, which is scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.