Rapper Shyne to be freed from prison today

Shyne, the rapper who was jailed for a high-profile NYC club shooting incident involving P. Diddy and Jennifer Lopez, is set to be released from an upstate New York correctional facility after serving over eight years.

Shyne, born Jamal Barrow and now known as Moses Michael Leviy, has been in prison since 2001. Over the years there has been speculation that Shyne took the fall for higher-profile stars, and Shyne does seem to harbor some animosity towards Diddy, who did not serve time in relation to the incident:

“How do you call a witness to testify against your comrade? That don’t make no sense. If I’m telling you that [the club bouncer] is lying, and you saying ‘Well hey, she’s helping me’ — I’m facing 25 years. You looking at probation,” Shyne explained in an interview with MTV.

“Those types of things are unacceptable. You don’t have to hold my hand, you don’t have to do nothing. But don’t try to hurt me. That’s intentional,” he added.

Diddy called into Hot97 recently and expressed excitement at Shyne’s impending release.

“It’s a blessing that he’s coming home…I spoke to him like a couple of weeks ago and he sounded like he was in good spirits. I know he can’t wait to get home. I know he is definitely going to heat the whole scene up. He was definitely one of [many] talented young artists that I had the pleasure to work with. I’m quite sure he’s been using his time wisely and has some heat.”