Shyne Net Worth Estimate
Shyne net worth is estimated at or slightly above $2 Million. The rapper turned politician has sources of wealth both from his music career and from his political activities, but it is not currently known how much of Shane’s wealth comes from his music and residuals and how much from his salary and position as a member of the Belizean House of Representatives.
Who is Shyne?
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Shyne is both a rapper and a politician. He is perhaps best known musically for the singles “Bad Boyz” and “Bonnie & Shyne” which were released in 2000. While he was born in Belize, and currently lives in that country working as a politician, Shyne grew up in New York City where he discovered and developed his love of rap music.
Shyne’s Career
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Shyne is a man of many talents, both artistic and political. Though even in his political career he draws on his extensive experience in the music industry. Unfortunately circumstances conspired to keep him from reaching the heights of rap success like Riff Raff or Sauce Walka.
Shyne’s Music Career
Shyne’s interest in music and hip-hop culture began during the time he lived with his mother in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was initially discovered by Imani Hayley while freestyling in a barbershop.
The aspiring rapper was quickly taken to a meeting with Sean Combs at Bad Boy Studios. Allegedly Combs signed him on the spot, offering him millions of dollars as well as three cars and two houses as a signing bonus. The initial contract was intended to be a five-album deal and caused a minor media kerfuffle.
Shortly after that Shyne began growing his name and recognition by appearing on several recordings by his fellow label-mates at Bad Boy Entertainment. These included the album Double Up by Mase, and a “Sittin At Home” remix by Total. Finally, Sean Combs himself featured Shyne on his album Forever.
The rapper’s career launched with the release of his eponymous album Shyne in 2000. It was recorded prior to Shyne’s arrest (see Time in Prison, below) and in spite of (or perhaps because of) the media attention on his trial and incarceration the album charted in Billboard’s number five spot, selling more than 900,000 copies.
Shyne broke off ties with Sean Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment over the events that led to his arrest and incarceration but remained popular and sought after by labels while in prison. Eventually he signed with Def Jam Records, where he was allegedly offered a contract for $3 million.
This led to Shyne releasing Godfather Buried Alive, his second album. Part of this album was drawn from material Shyne recorded prior to his imprisonment, and another part of it was recorded with Shyne performing over the phone using his prison privileges.
Godfather Buried Alive hit the number one position on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts and sold nearly half a million copies.
After his release from prison, Shyne began rebuilding his rap career. However the rapper would never again release a full length album, as complications from his deportation and travel restrictions imposed on him by his status as both a felon and a deported person made negotiations fraught. It even led to the premature end of his association with Def Jam Records.
He did release several singles, however.
On the trip to Jerusalem where he completed his Orthodox Judaism conversion, Shyne collaborated with Matisyahu. Matisyahu is a Jewish-American reggae and rock musician. The two produced a single called “Messiah” which was released in 2010 in April, followed by “Roller Song” later that same year.
This was the beginning of a very close relationship between Shyne and Matisyahu. The duo spoke frequently of further collaborations and called one another best friends. They were brought together by their shared faith in Judaism and love of music. Shyne even made a guest appearance at the Matisyahu concert staged with HaDag Nachash in 2011.
The duo have not released any joint projects since that time, however. Shyne’s next musical guest appearance was on Lil Wayne’s platinum selling album Tha Carter IV. The album was released in 2011 and was Lil Wayne’s ninth studio release. Shyne appeared as a guest on the track “Outro”.
Later that year Shyne claimed that a deal with Cash Money Records was a possibility, though no such partnership ever materialised. Shortly thereafter the rapper reconciled with Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, over ten years after the incident that landed him in prison.
In 2012 Shyne attempted to return to relevance with the release of his mixtape Gangland. The project called out Rick Ross’s blasphemous and insensitive mixtape Black Bar Mitzvah. It also called out Drake, a Jewish-Canadian rapper, and included diss tracks targeting 50 Cent, DL Supreme, and Puff Daddy.
Shyne’s use of diss tracks would continue in the near future. He entered into a feud with Game, a West Coat rapper, and dissed him in both “Bury Judas” and “Psalms 69 (Guns & Moses)”. Both of these tracks also incorporated elements gleaned from Shyne’s study of Judaism.
In the end, Shyne’s career never achieved the promise his early days in the industry foretold. In December of 2012, Complex Magazine listed Shyne on its list of hip-hop and rap stars that suffered the “30 Worst Fall-Offs in Rap History,” placing Shyne at number twenty-three on that list.
Shyne continued his interest in Judaism, however, and began exploring outreach that would perhaps place him on the path to a different career. In 2012 the rapper travelled to Ukraine, for a conference on inter-religious understanding hosted by Kyiv. Shyne was a featured speaker on the program.
The conference, called Global Winds of Change: Religions’ Role in Today’s World; The Challenges in Democracies and Secular Societies, brought together representatives and members of many faiths from across the globe to discuss how religion might fit into modern society.
Shyne’s Career in Politics
Since his forced return to Belize Shyne has become increasingly involved in the political life of the country. Perhaps this can be seen as him following in his father’s footsteps. In any case, the rapper has become a politician, working to improve his country.
He was appointed as the Belizean Ambassador of Music, responsible for sustainably developing the music industry in that country. Shyne has personally invested hundred of thousands of dollars in this cause.
Both Shyne and his father are members of Belize’s United Democratic Party. The UDP is one of the two strongest political parties in Belize and is classified as being centre-right in its political positioning. The party is currently led by Patrick Fabre, who succeeded Shyne’s father Dean Barrow in the post in 2020.
Shyne was nominated to stand as candidate for the House of Representatives in the city he was born in, Belize City. He specifically represents the Mesopotamia constituency within the city.
On 11 November in 2020 Shyne won the seat and took up his place in the political regime of Belize. He currently stands as Leader of the Opposition, after the UDP lost the general election in one of its worst results in the history of the party. Shyne’s was one of only 5 winning seats.
Shyne: Early Life
Shyne was born 8 November 1978 as Jamal Michael Barrow, the son of Dean Barrow and Frances Imeon Myvett. His parents were not married at the time. Shyne’s mother soon relocated to the United States, living in Brooklyn, New York.
Shyne split his time between living with his father (who eventually became elected prime Minister of that country in 2008) in Belize and with his mother in Brooklyn. Before he was eight he lived in Belize with his father and regularly visited his mother. After that point he moved in with his mother and spent summers in Belize with his father.
Shyne’s Personal Life and Family
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Shyne’s father, Dean Barrow, is a Belizean politician who led the country as its Prime Minister from 2008 until recently in 2020. He enjoyed three terms in office. Shyne’s mother, Frances Imeon Myvett, is the sister of one of Dean Barrow’s long-standing political allies and colleagues, Michael Myvett.
Shyne is currently married to a woman named Catherine, but in the past the rapper dated international mega-star Jennifer Lopez.
Time in Prison
On 27 December 1999 Shyne was involved in a gunfire incident at a Manhattan Club. Also present and possibly involved were Shyne’s then-boss Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. Shyne was charged with, and eventually convicted of, assault, attempted murder, and reckless endangerment.
This was just prior to the release of his debut album. The timing was terrible and Shyne’s arrest did not do his career any favors. New York’s laws made it almost impossible for him to make record deals and accrue income from his existing work.
On 1 June 2001 Shyne was handed a sentence of ten years time in prison. He began serving his sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility. The prison was a maximum security one in Dannemora.
Shyne spent much of his time in prison fighting for parole, for access to his frozen assets, and to the right to make new record deals. It was during this time that Shyne began to more seriously study the Torah and Judaism, consulting with rabbis who regularly visited the prison.
The rapper identified with he religion and the idea of being an Israelite. His interest began when he was thirteen and he learned that his great-grandmother has come from Ethiopia. The rapper and politician has since speculated that she may have been on of the Beta Israel, or ancient Ethoipian Jewish people.
This interest and introspection would continue throughout Shyne’s time in prison, and eventually culminate in his conversion to Orthodox Judaism. He formally converted in Jerusalem in 2010, shortly after his prison time ended. It was then that he formally changed his legal name to Moses Michael Levi Barrow.
Shyne was eventually released from incarcerations after serving over nine years of his ten-year sentence. Upon his release he was immediately deported back to Belize.
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Shyne’s Social Media Influence
Shyne maintains a public facebook page under the username @OriginalShyne. The account has over seven thousand followers, but it has not been updated since 2016. The page mostly features a few pictures of Shyne and several sound cloud links to various tracks, both by Shyne and other rappers.
On Twitter the rapper and politician also goes by @OriginalShyne. This account has over 113 thousand followers, though he himself is only following just over a thousand accounts. Many of the posts are retweets of relevant political news stories, as well as pictures of Shyne at various events and media appearances.
Shyne has a respectable following on Instagram at 330 thousand followers. His bio lists him as Opposition Leader for the Belize House of Representatives, a Grammy Award Winning Writer, a publisher, a performer, and a Philanthropist. Most of the images he posts are of him appearing as a speaker at political events, on media talk shows, or in opportunity shots with constituents.
At this time it does not appear that Shyne has an account on LinkedIn. There are companies on the site that share his name, including a career advice marketplace and a waterless car washing service, but the politician and rapper does not appear himself. If this changes we will update this site to let the fans know!
TikTok
Shyne does not appear to have a presence on TikTok. There is a hashtag that is the same as his name, but it does not appear to have any connection to him either as a rapper or as a politician. If Shyne does open an account on TikTok some day we will be sure to update this section with that information.
Shyne: Height, Weight
Shyne is estimated to top a full 5 feet 11 inches in height (180 centimetres) and his weight is currently though to be around 170 pounds (77 kilograms). Shyne has black hair.
Shyne Net Worth & Bio Summary
| Name | Shyne |
| Real Name | Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow) |
| Age | 44 |
| Place of Birth | Belize City, Belize |
| Occupation | Politician, Rapper |
| Net Worth Estimate | $2 Million |