Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Rapper Shyne's New Incarnation As An Orthodox Jew
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 11, 2010
Modified Nov 11, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 11, 2010
Modified Nov 11, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The rapper Shyne, who served nine years for an infamous 1999 nightclub shooting incident, is making a media splash with big interviews on his new turn as an Orthodox Jew. That's right—born Jamal Barrow in Belize and raised in Brooklyn—Shyne has legally changed his name to Moses Levi and is living in Jerusalem. He told the NY Times, "My entire life screams that I have a Jewish neshama [soul]," and said to the Jerusalem Post, "I’m a guy that has simcha [joy] and kedusha [holiness] in a prison cell with rats running - and walking - around."
Shyne, who is releasing a new album next year, was deported because he never became a U.S. citizen during his time here (he's trying to get citizenship with a plea to Governor Paterson), explained to the Times being an Orthodox Jew amid the blingy rap lifestyle isn't discordant, "There’s nothing in the Chumash that says I can’t drive a Lamborghini," and "nothing in the Halacha about driving the cars I like, about the lifestyle I live." He discussed the 1999 shooting—which became a tabloid sensation because he was with mentor Puff Daddy (as Diddy was known back then) and Puffy's girlfriend Jennifer Lopez—he says he was shooting in the air to break up the dispute (but didn't address whether he took the fall for Diddy, who was cleared of charges). Shyne further described the situation to the JP:
“Someone shot at me outside a studio about a month before the nightclub thing, and I got a gun. It was a terrible mistake, but I had post traumatic stress disorder...
“So 30 days later, I’m in the club with Combs and [then-girlfriend] Jennifer Lopez and there’s an argument between him and this guy, who I knew for a fact was a stone-cold murderer from Brooklyn. I knew there wasn’t going to be too much talking before he pulls a gun out. The next thing you know, someone who was with the guy from Brooklyn pulls the gun, and I was just defending myself.”
Shyne also said he liked Orthodox Judaism for the order: "All these rules, rules, rules. But you know what you have if you don’t have rules? You end up with a bunch of pills in your stomach. When you don’t know when to say when and no one tells you no, you go off the deep." Here's video of him speaking with the JP:
Tagged
hip hop
jerusalem
orthodox judaism
P. Diddy
rap
shooting
shyne
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
NYC music in October: The Strokes, a Blink-182 cover band, and Polish experimentalism
An excellent and diverse month of concerts are in store for October.
By
Hank Shteamer
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 11:15 a.m. ET
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
There is now an (un)official verification process for those who can claim the title of city resident.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
There is now an (un)official verification process for those who can claim the title of city resident.
By
Hannah Frishberg
In the mood for a pastoral autumn experience? Try Queens.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
October is spooky season at the movies in New York City
By
Emma Stefansky
At the Museum at FIT, an argument for dolls as the ultimate fashion influencers
By
Quinn Moreland
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .