Shyne

Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow; November 8, 1978), best known by his stage name Shyne, is a Belizean politician and former rapper. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the leader of the Belize United Democratic Party. Barrow was born in Belize City, but moved to New York City as a child and began to rap as an adolescent. He is perhaps best known for his 2000 singles, "Bad Boyz" and "Bonnie & Shyne" (both featuring Barrington Levy). He also wrote and performed on a number of studio albums for other artists, such as The Notorious B.I.G.'s posthumous Born Again, Mase's Double Up, Puff Daddy's Forever, Usher's Confessions, and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV, among others.

Shyne and his mother lived in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East Flatbush, where after being discovered freestyling in a barbershop, he became a rapper. On the verge of releasing his debut album under Combs' Bad Boy Records, on the evening of December 27, 1999, he went to a New York City nightclub with his former mentor/label boss, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Combs' then-girlfriend, singer/actress Jennifer Lopez. An argument broke out in the club between Combs and another man; gunshots followed with three bystanders injured. In June 2001, he was convicted of assault and unlawful possession of a weapon, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His eponymous debut album was released in September 2000, going gold the following month. He continued to record music while incarcerated, eventually releasing his sophomore studio album, Godfather Buried Alive, under Def Jam Recordings in 2004.

While serving his prison sentence, Shyne became interested in Judaism, becoming observant – practicing Orthodox Judaism, and officially changed his name to Moses Michael Levi Barrow in 2006. After he was released from prison in late 2009, he was deported to Belize. In 2010, he moved to Jerusalem, where he spent his time studying the Torah up to 12 hours a day. He returned to Belize in 2013, and was appointed the Belize Music and Goodwill Ambassador, charged with the sustainable development of the music industry in Belize, and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop it.

Shyne was elected to the Belizean House of Representatives in the 2020 general election, as a member of the center-right United Democratic Party. He became the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives and the leader of the United Democratic Party, in both June 2021 (until September 2021) and February 2022.

His life was explored through the November 2024 Hulu/Andscape documentary, The Honorable Shyne.