Moses “Shyne” Barrow sat down with Cam’ron on Talk With Flee to discuss his role in the 1999 New York City nightclub shooting that led to his conviction for first-degree assault and a 10-year prison sentence.
The former Bad Boy Records rapper recalled how his mentor, Sean “Diddy” Combs—who was also a suspect at the time—got into a heated altercation with a Brooklyn crew he knew, particularly Matthew “Scar” Allen, before things turned violent.
According to ABC News, witnesses testified that Allen yelled at Diddy, “I’m going to kill you!” moments before gunfire erupted.
“They were not people to underestimate. They were not people to take for granted,” Barrow told Cam. “So when they started saying they gonna pop your top, and I saw someone reaching for a weapon, I acted in self-defense.”
He continued, “But they wasn’t my problem. It was Puff’s problem. He was the one that was arguing with them, and I was just being a good friend because I saw a danger.”
As reported by ABC News in 2001, Barrow’s attorney Ian Niles confirmed his client had a firearm in the club, saying Shyne fired two shots into the air after someone from Allen’s crew shot first. “This was an incident precipitated by ‘Scar,’” Niles stated, maintaining that Barrow acted in self-defense.
Shyne told Cam his decision that night came down to survival. “And I always, at that point, preferred to be tried by 12 than carried by six,” he said, referring to facing a jury over losing his life.
In Hulu’s documentary The Honorable Shyne, Barrow claimed he was “absolutely set up to be the fall guy” in the shooting. A representative for Combs later called those accusations “unequivocally false.”
“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,” the rep said. “These claims are unequivocally false.”
“Mr. Combs was acquitted of all charges related to the 1999 Club New York incident and has consistently maintained his innocence,” the statement added. “He cannot accept or condone any characterization of his actions as ‘demonic’ or ‘malicious.’”
Speaking with Stephen A. Smith last year, Barrow said he has since forgiven Combs—but still believes the mogul “destroyed” his life.
