Rapper Shyne Barrow Says Sean “Diddy” Combs “Destroyed” His Life

A former rapper on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records is speaking out amid the music mogul’s arrest.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow—who was Diddy’s protégé during the ’90s and is now the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives—recently addressed his association with the 54-year-old, calling him “someone who destroyed my life.”

“When I was an 18-year-old kid—just wanting to do nothing other than make my mother proud, make Belize proud and be recognized for my talent and take over the world—I was defending him,” Shyne said in a Sept. 18 press conference in his native country. “He pretty much sent me to prison.”

Shyne was previously convicted of first-degree assault for a 1999 New York nightclub shooting involving himself, Diddy and another guest. He served nine years in prison, while Diddy was acquitted of all charges after testifying in court that he acted in self-defense.

Upon his release in 2009, Shyne was deported back to Belize, where he currently lives.

“This is not someone who I vacationed with and someone who I enjoyed this great, intimate relationship of brotherhood,” Shyne told reporters of Diddy, noting that he only reconciled with the Grammy winner in recent years “for the better interest of Belize because he was in the position at that time to give scholarships.”

The 45-year-old added, “I would not deny attempting to bring the investment to Belize and bring the contributions to education.”

Shyne’s press conference came two days after Diddy was arrested in New York on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.