Review: ‘The Honorable Shyne’ on Hulu – A Documentary Following Diddy’s Former Friend Transitioning into Politics

In The Honorable Shyne, a new documentary now streaming on Hulu, the rapper reveals how his life has changed since the 1999 shooting in a New York City club that led to his incarceration. Has he reconciled with Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was acquitted at trial in 2001, while Shyne received a 10-year sentence? Not exactly. While Combs now sits in federal custody awaiting trial on new charges of sexual assault, and Jennifer Lopez – Combs’ former girlfriend, who was also in the club that night back in 1999 – is making movies about her marriage before filing for divorce, Moses “Shyne” Barrow today serves as Opposition Leader in the House of Representatives of his native Belize, and hopes to become the country’s next Prime Minister. The Honorable Shyne, directed by Marcus A. Clarke (Blood Brothers: Malcom X & Muhammad Ali) and executive produced by Talitha Watkins, includes appearances from Charlamagne Tha God, Faith Evans, DJ Khaled, and N.O.R.E., in addition to extensive new interviews with Shyne.

The Gist: It’s quite a leap to go from being an MC in New York City to becoming an elected official in Belize. But in The Honorable Shyne, the rapper and politician describes the path of his life as somewhat preordained. Born in Belize City to Frances Myvette in 1978, Shyne’s father, Belizean politician Dean Barrow, was not really in the picture. Myvette says Shyne resented his fractured relationship with his dad, especially after Myvette moved them to Brooklyn while he was still a teen. After developing a reputation as a “hoodlum” and lots of running in the streets, Shyne eventually got shot, which refocused him on education. He started writing raps, and by the mid-1990s, labels like Def Jam and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment were listening.  

“A bidding war?” N.O.R.E. exclaims in The Honorable Shyne. “Without a record?! Who the fuck gets that?!” The doc’s midsection revisits the New York City hip-hop scene of the 1990s, which was awash in big money and bold plays for status. N.O.R.E., DJ Khaled, and Charlamagne Tha God all remember Shyne as a star on the rise, and the excitement that led to his signing with Bad Boy and the standout 2000 single “Bad Boyz.” That promise got derailed by the 1999 shooting at Club New York, and the resulting trial; “Puff wouldn’t pay my bail,” Shyne says now, and he maintains that while he never snitched, it was he who made the biggest sacrifice. He served 8 ½ years in prison, where he also converted to Orthodox Judaism. And though he continued to release music while incarcerated, Shyne says it was tough seeing everyone succeed on the outside, Diddy and Jay-Z and the rest. 

“I put that stuff in a box of destiny,” Shyne says as the doc turns to his life today in Belize, where he represents the country’s United Democratic Party as its opposition leader. “All of that stuff was meant to happen.” The Honorable Shyne also gets a few quotes from Dean Barrow, who admits his failure to be present in his son’s early life, and other Belizean politicians, who see in Shyne’s political rise a mix of nepotism and legitimate hard work. (Dean Barrow is himself a former UDP leader and prime minister.) And though Shyne and Diddy performed together at the BET Awards in 2022, the doc includes an addendum that addresses the more recent allegations against Combs, and where their relationship now stands. “What’s shocking is that finally it’s all coming to light and people believe it. Because when I said it, everyone was partying and having a great time with Diddy, while I was left to rot in prison. You know, nobody really cared.” 

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Sean Combs’ current legal troubles inspired the new TMZ documentary The Downfall of Diddy. And I Got a Story to Tell is a 2021 documentary about another rapper from the hotbed of 90s New York hip-hop, Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, whose flow Shyne’s used to get compared to back when he was first part of the Bad Boy family.  

Performance Worth Watching: Barrington Levy is a great interview in The Honorable Shyne. The reggae vocalist and Jamaican dancehall legend has sharp memories about working with Bad Boy, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Shyne to record the “Bad Boyz” single in 1999.

Memorable Dialogue: Shyne has mastered the politician’s ability to speak about past adversity with notes of acceptance and resilience. “I didn’t have a proper relationship with my dad growing up. There were hurtful things said, which I know my father regrets. But I was able to move on. What I didn’t have is what I personally didn’t need in my design. I was meant to be. I was meant to withstand the elements.”

Sex and Skin: Nothing here.

Our Take: “As excruciating as it was, I did that. I sacrificed my entire career, and life, and family, to be someone with integrity, with honor, with character, with humanity.” If that sounds a little like the root of a stump speech, then yeah, it probably is. In The Honorable Shyne, the contrast between Shyne the older, wiser politician and Shyne the hotheaded and hungry rapper can often be pretty stark. But that his evolution occurred in the manner it did is itself downstream from the 1999 club shooting that derailed the rollout of his debut record. 

Shyne makes a strong case that the rapper took the fall because of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ money and influence. But if the incident had never happened, would Shyne have ascended to a different kind of hip-hop infamy? Would he ever have converted to Judaism? Would he have still eventually settled in Belize, and built up his political career? The Honorable Shyne is at its best when it fills in the gaps between the sensationalism of the 1999 incident, Shyne’s time in prison, and who he was by the time of his release. And what emerges is a portrait of a guy whose motivations and decisions have always been his own, even though the careers and job titles changed.

Our Call: Stream It. The Honorable Shyne presents an interesting arc of hustle and reward in the hip-hop game, the emergence of a stunning setback, and a resulting following chapter – that of politician – that maybe nobody but Shyne himself really saw coming.

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.