Shyne Says Call With Diddy Is "Figment of Sean Combs' Imagination"

Two years after budding MC Shyne was sentenced to a decade in prison for the 1999 New York nightclub shooting that seriously injured two victims, he was dropped from Bad Boy by the man who escaped a guilty verdict in the case: Sean Combs. Shyne has since spoken out against Diddy, saying his former mentor betrayed him during the trial by hiring lawyers who didn't work to their full potential and supporting the testimony of witnesses Shyne believes weren't telling the truth (Diddy has denied these claims).

So when the Daily News quoted Diddy as recently telling Hot 97 he had spoken to Shyne who was "in good spirits," the now 30-year-old rapper was shocked. "I want it known that this supposed conversation is a figment of Sean Combs' imagination," he says in a statement. "He never spoke with me, he never visited me nor would I ever accept a phone call or visit from him. The only way I would do either of those things would be if he stepped up and did the right thing for the victims of the incident."

A $130 million civil lawsuit filed by victim Natania Reuben against Combs and Shyne is still pending in Brooklyn, New York. Shyne has maintained that he only fired a gun in Club New York on December 27, 1999 in self-defense after his crew (which included Diddy's then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez) were involved in an altercation with a man named Matthew "Scar" Allen. Shyne didn't take the stand during his trial, and served eight years for assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession. "I never meant to hurt nobody — I was afraid for my life," Shyne said at his sentencing in 2001. He has since changed his name to Moses Levi and remains in custody as officials decide whether he will be deported to Belize, where his father is the prime minister.

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Song Stories

“Weird”

Hanson | 1997

Accomplished tunesmith Desmond Child co-wrote "Weird" with the three brothers that make up Hanson. Credited for dozens of cuts, including songs by Kiss, Cher, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, Child told Rolling Stone that "Weird" holds a special place in his heart, "because it's about being different--and I grew up poor, I grew up being Latin, I grew up being gay, and now I'm fat!" The song was included on Hanson's 1997 album Middle of Nowhere, which sold more than ten million units.

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