On Dec. 27, 1999, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jennifer Lopez, and Jamal “Shyne” Barrow—Combs’ protégé at the time, who purported to be the disowned son of the prime minister of Belize—went to a Manhattan nightclub. When they left, three people had been injured by gunfire (one had been struck, nonfatally, in the face), and Combs, Lopez, and Shyne were placed under arrest.
A witness said that Combs and Barrow had waved pistols in an argument with another patron, and that Barrow had fired his. A stolen 0.9-millimeter handgun was found in Combs’ SUV, though police determined it hadn’t been discharged in the club. (Combs’ driver claimed his boss had tried to bribe him into taking responsibility for the weapon.) Lopez was released that evening, and after a short trial in which Combs was represented by Johnnie Cochran, so was he. Barrow, arrested with a gun that matched shell casings found in the club, was found guilty on three counts of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He claimed he’d been acting in self-defense.
This past Tuesday, after serving about nine years of his sentence, Barrow—who has since changed his name to Moses Michael Leviy, in an apparent Jewish conversion—was set to be released. There was a snag, however, when it was reported that officials were considering deporting Barrow to Belize—official word has yet to come on their decision. There’s a fair amount of anticipation for Shyne’s next move—his seething, gold-certified 2000 self-titled debut is something of a gangsta-rap cult classic.
Shyne isn’t the only mushmouthed Diddy charge to have fallen from the limelight, though he is, of course, the only one who can blame his sudden change in music-biz fortunes on imprisonment. Here, a quick look at Diddy’s four most prominent protégés (not counting the greatest of them all, Notorious BIG, nor the least interesting, Da Band) and what they’re up to now.
Protégé No. 1:
Ma$e
High point:
1997
Signature songs:
”
Feel So Good
,” ”
Lookin’ at Me
”
Where is he now:
He’s alternated between retirements (during which time he became a pastor) and would-be comeback albums.
Protégé No. 2:
Shyne
High point:
2000
Signature songs
: ”
Bad Boyz
,” ”
That’s Gangsta
”
Where is he now:
An undisclosed facility in western New York state, it seems, as his immigration status is determined.
Protégé No. 3:
G-Dep
High point:
2001
Signature songs:
”
Special Delivery
,” ”
Stay Up
”
Where is he now:
Still rapping. His
MySpace page
has several new songs worth hearing, including “King of Harlem” and the poignant “Stay Up.” Enough to make you hope for a comeback, though it’s not likely.
Protégé No. 4:
Loon
High point:
2003
Signature song:
”
How You Want That
”
Where is he now:
He has quit rap to become a student of Islam.
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