Shyne's fantastic voyage in Israel

“We live in a world where we have to use guns,” he said in response to a question about how he reconciles his new Hasidic lifestyle with a violent video. “I see guys at the kotel [Western Wall] with machine guns every day, there’s nothing contradictory about that. They wrap themselves up in tefillin [phylacteries] and then go up to the Wall and pray. I don’t see why it should be shocking that I’m a Hasid but I have a video with weapons in it.”

Born in Belize as Jamal Michael Barrow, Shyne was a rising star in New York’s gangsta rap scene until he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a club shooting. Upon his release in 2009, he was signed by a leading U.S. hip-hop label and has since been working on his comeback. Wednesday’s premiere in Jerusalem featured videos without nudity but with rifles, cigar smoke and numerous discreetly muted expletives. A few scenes show the 34-year-old rapper decked out in skullcap and fringes. “I never professed that I’d make religious music or that I would be the next Mordechai Ben David,” he said, “That’s not what I do. I make music for the masses. ” ‏ Now he even aplied for israeli citizenship.