On Monday, September 16, 54-year-old Sean “P Diddy” Combs, was arrested in Manhattan, following a grand jury indictment.
He was taken to court the following day and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
For over a decade, several individuals have accused Combs of sexual misconduct, assault and abuse, among other things. Among them are Combs’s former girlfriend Cassie Ventura and, earlier this month, Dawn Richard, a former member of Combs’s group Danity Kane.
In March, Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles homes were raided where video recordings, narcotics, 3 AR-15 rifles and 1,000 bottles of baby oil were seized.
Combs was denied bail on Wednesday and is being detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center described as a horrific institution, plagued by violence, chronic understaffing, a lack of medical care and unsanitary conditions.
That same day, Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow, leader of the Opposition of Belize who was once signed to Combs Bad Boy record label, spoke openly to reporters on the arrest of his former mentor.
Shyne migrated to the US, where he was later brought to the attention of Combs when he was just a teenager.
The music mogul immediately signed Shyne to a multi-million-dollar record deal. Unfortunately, Shyne went to prison before the release of his debut album.
His incarceration stemmed from a December 27, 1999, incident while in the company of Combs and Combs’s then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez at a nightclub.
An argument broke out between Combs and another individual, followed by a shooting where three bystanders were injured. In June 2001, Shyne was convicted of assault and sentenced to ten years in prison. Combs was acquitted.
Combs went on to release Shyne’s 2000 debut album to critical acclaim, featuring the hit single “Bad Boyz.”
Shyne was released from prison in October 2009 and deported to Belize.
Last Wednesday, Shyne said; “When I was an 18-year-old kid, just wanting to do nothing other than make my mother proud and make Belize proud and do what all of us want to do, be recognised for our talent and take over the world, I was defending him, and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me.”
“He pretty much sent me to prison…yes, I forgave. I moved on,” he added.
“This is someone who destroyed my life, and who I forgave, and for the better interest of Belize, because he was in a position at that time to give scholarships and to maybe invest. I would not deny attempting to bring the investment to Belize and gcontribute to education,” Shyne said.
Shyne said however, that he took no joy in what Combs was going through.
Last April, Shyne was in Saint Lucia at the behest of Saint Lucia’s opposition leader Allen Chastanet.
While walking through the streets of Vieux Fort, I asked him about his relationship with his former music mentor, Combs.
“We talk and I actually just got off the phone with him last night,” Shyne said.
In June of 2022, Shyne had reunited with Combs at the BET awards.
“I’m really here for Diddy.” “That’s the only reason I’m here, to celebrate Diddy with his Lifetime Achievement Award,” he told Vibe Magazine.
Shyne, during his visit to Saint Lucia, told me he was speaking the truth regarding his early music.
PHOTO: Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow interacting with young people in Vieux Fort.
Experience Is a teacher!
After what (you allege) he did to you, you still support him. This means you are an accessory to a crime!
Some mentors are a guardian to some and a nightmare for others; in the end it is all about the lesson!
From the moment Diddle started going after girls younger than his kids, this alone was questionable. Just considering the fact that his money gave him the leverage to pick almost any woman he wanted.
“Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters.”
– VICTOR HUGO
Lesson learned – always be careful with the company you keep – they will do either one of two things help you or destroy you. Wisdom is the principle thing, discretion is a preserver and understanding is a keeper.
However, when all is said and done as my grandmother used to say – [time will certainly tell as the longest rope has a definitive end.] [The truth is, we all will certainly reap as we have sowed – the way of the universe.] – therefore sow good seeds 24/7.
Free world boss Diddy.