Former Bad Boy Records rapper Shyne, aka Moses Michael Levi Barrow, has lost his bid for reelection in the Belize House of Representatives.
As reported by Channel 5 Belize, Shyne has been unseated by United Democratic Party member Lee Mark Chang in the Belize general election. Shyne conceded defeat to his fellow political party member Chang in a press conference on Wednesday.
"The people have spoken; congratulations to Lee Mark Chang—he’s now the new area representative of Mesopotamia, and I wish him well," he said. “I was confident; that was the interaction I was having with the people, but they made a decision to go in another direction, and I respect that."
Shyne was born in Belize City but moved to New York City as a child, where he pursued a rap career that came to a screeching halt when he was arrested for his alleged involvement in a shooting alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez.
He dropped two albums while behind bars but turned his focus to a political career in Belize by 2020.
He was elected to the Mesopotamia seat in Belize City for the center-right United Democratic Party in 2020 and also served as the Leader of the Opposition.
Upon conceding his defeat, he said that he would resign as Leader of the Opposition once a new leader had been elected.
"Obviously you can’t be a leader of the United Democratic Party once you’re not a member of the House, and I would not want to be appointed as a senator or anything to hold on to the leadership," he said. "The people have spoken here."
