Shyne freed in Belize; mother and father welcome him at airport

Shyne Jamal Barrow is back in Belize. He arrived at two-forty this afternoon at the Philip International Airport where he was met by family, fans and the media. The famous rapper began his journey after six this morning when he left the detention center in Buffalo New York in the company of a U.S. Marshall. After stops in Houston he landed as scheduled. News Five Jose Sanchez reports from the P.G.I.A.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting
The prodigal son returns. Born Jamal Barrow, commonly known as Shyne, the son of Prime Minister Dean Barrow, inhaled his first breath of freedom after nine years of incarceration for a club shooting in New York. That taste of freedom coincided with his homecoming at the Philip Goldson International Airport this afternoon. More than the usual number of cameramen and photographers were waiting to get a glimpse of him as he exited the Continental flight. Fans were also waiting to see the rapper who changed his name to Moses Michael Leviy.

DJ Busch, Shyne Fan
“To witness Shyne getting his freedom, that’s my main thing for being out here.”

Jose Sanchez
“As a man who is into music, what does this really mean for you?”

DJ Busch
“Right now everything means to be for Shyne being out of jail is just the freedom. The celebrity status, we know Shyne before he has blown up to be on the TV and everything because he was a youth from King’s Park. But now my main thing out here is to just see him out and free. That’s all I’m based on right now; to see him out with my two eyes and see that he’s free.”

Jose Sanchez
“When we’re out, should we expect to hear some of Shyne’s music in the clubs this weekend?”

DJ Busch
“Well, I’ve never stopped playing Shyne. From ever since I have not stopped playing Shyne. I bought one of his original albums from Diddy’s album and from then I was a fan of Shyne.”

Berrisford Frazer, Shyne Fan
“Fi see wah Belizean come home wid stats, wid enough stats and den we want si ah get wah break now and mek wi big ah up fi Belize and den afta dat now we could go from deh and mek wah lee money. Ih good fi di economy anyway.”

Robert Vellos, Shyne Fan
“The guy Shyne I knew him from Chicago when I was over there, never paid much attention to him but he’s a Belizean and I’m so proud that at least he came back home and we greet him with a lot of dignity and I hope and pray that he can push his career in Belize. I know he will not do as good as he did in the states but he will survive here because people really like him and he’ll be doing good here in Belize.”

Jose Sanchez
“Do you think this time will allow him and his father to restore the relationship they didn’t have for all the years he was out there in the states?”

Robert Vellos
“Well I presume so. I think family closeness means a lot and I guess his father would be glad enough to help him do anything in his life to progress.”

Barry Flowers
“Just to support, just to see the guy.”

Jose Sanchez
“You listen to his music?”

Barry Flowers
“All the time.”

Jose Sanchez
“Which particular song is it that you like?”

Barry Flowers
“Bad Boys.”

Jose Sanchez
“Was this the same way your process happened when you returned to Belize?”

Berne Velasquez, Deportee and Shyne Fan
“Nah it wasn’t the same process. Shyne is a giant and that man has had some great accomplishments and for him to get the publicity that he has gotten, man it’s not no catwalk. He has done what it takes to get it. So you can’t expect Shyne to be treated the way that any deportee would be treated.”

Jose Sanchez
“As a musician yourself, are you hoping to meet Shyne?”

Berne Velasquez
“Definitely, it will be cool to meet Shyne. I’m sure we’ll meet. We didn’t get a chance to meet in America but in small Belize hopefully we will.”

Shyne emerged from the plane in a Harvard Law School sweat shirt and a pair of headphones around his neck. The rapper sported a full head of parted hair. He was hugged first by his godmother then his manager and others including one of his attorneys, Oscar Michelin, followed by Pulu Lightburn. Emerging to meet him at the stairs of the VIP room was his mother Imeon Myvette. She escorted him inside for the processing of his freedom on Belizean soil. After greeting with his father in the privacy of V.I.P. area, Shyne’s uncle, Michael Finnegan, gave the media an update on his status.

Michael Finnegan, Shyne’s Uncle
“Shyne is home. He wants to say how happy he is to be home and to be a free man. He would love to have a conversation with the media but because he was legally advised by Professor Ogletree, he must not speak to the media because he doesn’t want to prejudice his situation any at all with the US government or with the Belize government. So he asked me to ask you that he don’t want to disrespect you the media, but please to understand what is going on. You could see the tears in his eyes as they hugged and the romantic situation in there especially with his Grandmother and with his father, with his younger brother Anwar, they hugged and neva want let go one another.”

Jose Sanchez
“Will there be a family dinner tonight with everybody, father included?”

Michael Finnegan
“No, there will be no—we are not a formal kind of people so we will play it by ear. His residence at my place is two weeks away from completion so he has rented a complete floor at Radisson Fort George Hotel. So every room on a floor was taken by him whether ih wah use it or noh use it. He said that after going through the eight and a half years he has gone through, he needs some privacy, he needs noh to deh round nobody, he needs just to sit down in isolation and contemplate his life. And I think that we need to respect that. If you notice, he has lost an extreme amount of weight.”

Jose Sanchez
“As uncle what were your first words to him?”

Michael Finnegan
“I seh come yah old bwai. That’s all I said to him cause when he was small and di raise up wid me I used to call ah old fart. So come yah old fart, come yah old bwai. Dat dah di way we greet one another when we talk on di phone. But he’s in good spirit, he is in good health but he is a bit frail.”

Shyne, in the company of his brother Anwar, left the airport in a red Ford Expedition towards the Youth Hostel on the Western Highway where he gave a pep talk to youths. Like the prodigal son, the former bad boy, returned home to open arms. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.