RUTHFULLY YOURS

Rapper Shyne Becomes an Orthodox Jew By Boyce Watkins, PhD

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

The rapper Shyne is an interesting brother. He’s interesting because, in 1999, he was one of the hottest new rappers on the scene, destined to have the career that artists like 50 Cent have had since that time. He was even greater than 50, primarily because his deep, rumbling and nasal voice brought the Notorious B.I.G. back to life. I liked Shyne’s style more than 50 Cent and knew he was going to be one of the great ones.

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A second reason Shyne is interesting is because he was the victim of poor choices by himself and others when he was sent to prison, after a shooting in a night club. That night, he was out and about with Diddy/Puffy/Puff Daddy/Sean Combs (he has all kinds of names) and Jennifer Lopez. All most of us know is that someone got shot, Shyne went to prison and his relationship with Diddy has been dead ever since. This case was a reminder to young black men of how being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people can ruin everything you’ve worked hard for over the years.

A third reason that Shyne is interesting is that his father, Dean Barrow, is the Prime Minister of the country of Belize. That’s not the typical connection you see for most rappers. A lot of rappers act like they come from royalty, but Shyne really does. Well, not quite royalty, but you get the point.

The fourth reason Shyne is intriguing is that the New York Times is now reporting that the rapper has become a strict Orthodox Jew. He lives in Jerusalem and seems proud of the fact that he practices the faith regularly and religiously. Shyne, formerly named Jamaal Barrow, has even changed his name to Moses Levi, which he might believe to be more fitting with his newfound faith.

A coming to God is common among prison inmates, where the challenges of prison life chew away at your soul like a flesh-eating virus. The loneliness, pain and traumatic confrontations with broken dreams push quite a few inmates to reach to a power that is strong enough to help them deal with this overwhelming psychological hurdle. Typically, black prison inmates reach for something more traditional, like Islam or Christianity. Shyne went looking for something a little different.

It appears that in spite of losing the most productive 10 years of his life, Shyne is well on his way to finding himself. I also expect that even though he never became the artist we expected him to be, he will one day have an interesting life story. Perhaps even one day, we’ll be hearing him again on the radio, but I suspect he has bigger ambitions than that.