It's time for a deep dive into this infamously contentious celeb relationship. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re exploring the history between Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Tupac Amaru Shakur.
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00:00Dwayne Davis, also known as Keefy D, says that rapper Sean Diddy Combs was also involved in
00:05that murder of Tupac Shakur. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're exploring the history between
00:10Sean Diddy Combs and Tupac Amaru Shakur. You know what I mean? It's between me and him,
00:15and only he knows. Part 1. A tale of two coasts.
00:20Before Diddy and Tupac were household names, there was already a long-standing feud between
00:25the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop scenes. Hip-hop can be traced back to the early 70s when
00:36it emerged from block parties in the Bronx. With the music genre rooted in New York,
00:40the East Coast scene prided itself on being the top dog.
00:49As the 80s transitioned to the 90s, though, the West Coast started to find its voice,
00:54becoming a formidable contender to the East Coast's crown.
01:02Despite this growing rivalry, some called for unity. Near the turn of the decade,
01:07songs like Stop the Violence came from the East Coast, while the West Coast echoed with
01:11We're All in the Same Gang. Tensions began to escalate in 1991 when Suge Knight, Dr. Dre,
01:22Dick Griffey, and D.O.C. founded the West Coast label Death Row Records.
01:32With hit albums like The Chronic and Doggystyle, the West Coast was gaining the respect it had
01:36sought for so long. As the West Coast reached a turning point, so did the East Coast, as Sean
01:42Puffy Combs founded Bad Boy Records. Having recently been fired from Uptown Records,
01:51the artist who would soon be known as Diddy established himself as a music mogul,
01:55bringing on talent like Christopher Biggie Smalls Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G.
02:06Despite being born in New York, Biggie spent some time in Los Angeles,
02:10where he befriended another rising rapper named Tupac Shakur. Introduced through a drug dealer,
02:14Biggie would crash on Shakur's couch in California. Shakur also visited Biggie in New York.
02:20They just had a lot of fun around each other. At one point, Biggie asked Shakur to be his manager.
02:24Shakur suggested he stick with Diddy, saying, quote,
02:27"'He will make you a star.'" Regardless, their friendship wouldn't survive the East-West
02:32rivalry. While in New York on November 30, 1994, Shakur dropped by Quad Studios with an entourage,
02:38including rapper Randy Stretch Walker. Confronted by three men in the lobby,
02:43Shakur was shot multiple times.
02:50Although it seemed like a robbery, Shakur grew suspicious when Diddy and Biggie arrived on the
02:55scene with James Jimmy Henchman Rosemond, the latter of whom had called him to Quad.
02:59Shakur became convinced that Bad Boy had set him up.
03:02I used to share my experiences in the game and my lessons and my rules and
03:06my knowledge on the game with him. You know what I mean? He owed me more."
03:10Following the shooting, Shakur was sent to prison for sexual abuse in early 1995.
03:15Diddy visited Shakur during his incarceration, claiming Bad Boy wasn't behind the shooting.
03:19This did little to ease Shakur's suspicions. The beef reached a boiling point in August 1995.
03:25After seeing Shakur in prison, Suge Knight headed to the Source Awards.
03:29First of all, I'd like to thank God. Second of all, I'd like to thank my whole Time Tempo family.
03:34Accepting Motion Picture Soundtrack of the Year,
03:37Knight threw shade at Diddy, who seemingly took the high road in another speech.
03:40I'd like to tell Tupac to keep his guards up. We ride with him.
03:45Only a month after Knight received booze at the Source Awards, his friend Jai
03:52Big Jake Robles was murdered while leaving a birthday party.
03:55Knight blamed Diddy, who was also in attendance.
03:58After Knight secured his release from Rikers Island,
04:00Shakur officially joined the Death Row family.
04:06Part 2. Changes
04:08Whether or not Bad Boy was behind Shakur's shooting, he was now the enemy.
04:13Shakur fired lyrical shots at Diddy, Biggie, and Bad Boy with his diss track Hit Em Up.
04:23Some theorized that Biggie referenced Shakur in the song Long Kiss Goodnight.
04:33While war had been declared, Shakur didn't come off as phased. Having survived multiple
04:38shootings and incarcerations, a part of Tupac seemed to think he was invincible.
04:42Shakur's luck ran out in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. After getting into a fight with gang
04:48member Orlando Baby Lane Anderson at the MGM Grand, Shakur headed to a nightclub with Suge Knight.
04:53At a stoplight, a Cadillac pulled up to their vehicle. Shots were fired,
04:57with Shakur getting hit four times.
05:00But police still have no leads on a suspect or motive.
05:02Six days later, Shakur died in the hospital. In February 1997, Diddy and Snoop Dogg,
05:08himself a West Coast artist, appeared on The Steve Harvey Show together.
05:12Ain't no East Coast, West Coast beef.
05:14That's real. We ain't come here to talk about nothing behind us. We come to talk about what's
05:18ahead of us.
05:19Both also held a press conference, pleading to end the rivalry between the East and West Coasts.
05:24Snoop said,
05:24"...I don't want to talk about yesterday. I want to talk about tomorrow.
05:28We've got to come together, shake hands, call for peace, and move forward."
05:32We're here to make a difference, you know what I'm saying? So we want y'all to stay in school
05:35and keep y'all heads in y'all books.
05:36The violence didn't stop, however. On March 9,
05:39that same year, Biggie was fatally gunned down in Los Angeles.
05:42Los Angeles police are investigating the shooting death of rapper Notorious B.I.G.,
05:47also known as Biggie Smalls.
05:48With many believing Bad Boy assassinated Shakur, Biggie's shooting was seen as retaliation.
05:53Tupac and Biggie's deaths were the climax of the East-West rivalry,
05:57with more artists calling for peace over the following years.
06:00Part 3. Who Shot Ya?
06:02Animosity between the East and West Coasts has died down since the 90s.
06:06With Tupac and Biggie's murders going unsolved for years, though,
06:09a shadow of doubt continued to loom over both coasts.
06:12We know who's responsible for this. The problem we have with this case
06:16is we don't have anyone willing to come forward and testify to it.
06:19In a 2002 Los Angeles Times article entitled Who Killed Tupac Shakur,
06:24investigative reporter Chuck Phillips suggested the shooter was Orlando Anderson,
06:27who died in 1998. Phillips also implied that Biggie put a $1 million hit on Shakur,
06:33supplying the murder weapon.
06:35While Anderson and Biggie had denied involvement, the article renewed interest in the case.
06:39The LA Times retracted the article in 2008 after Diddy accused the outlet of
06:44falsely connecting him to Shakur's death. Diddy stated,
06:47quote,
06:47"...it is beyond ridiculous and completely false,"
06:50calling the Times, quote,
06:51"...irresponsible."
06:52We don't even entertain nonsense, my brother.
06:54So we're not even going to go there with all due respect.
06:57Phillips nonetheless stood by his statements until his death in January 2024.
07:02A year before Phillips' passing,
07:04the authority seemingly reached a breakthrough in Shakur's murder.
07:07It has often been said justice delayed is justice denied.
07:12It's a quote we hear often and for many, many years.
07:15On September 29, 2023, the Las Vegas police arrested Dwayne Keefe D. Davis, Anderson's uncle.
07:21A grand jury indicted Dwayne Davis on one count of murder with a deadly weapon.
07:26It wasn't the first time Davis' name had come up in Shakur's case.
07:29In 2011, LAPD Detective Greg Kading, who had investigated Biggie's murder,
07:34published a book alleging that Diddy offered Davis a cool million to take out Shakur and Suge Knight.
07:40Murders are related in the sense they both were a result of the conflict
07:44that was going on between the two different record labels.
07:47While Davis had been on the authorities' radar,
07:49the gang leader managed to avoid incarceration until he started openly talking about Shakur's
07:54This included a 2019 tell-all memoir, which paved the way to his eventual arrest.
08:00Davis' trial is set to commence in March 2025.
08:03Despite Davis' past claims that Diddy was involved,
08:06the Las Vegas police have never considered him a suspect.
08:09I just don't see any proof of it. I don't see it leading anywhere other than the real story,
08:15which is that the murder took place with Orlando Anderson.
08:18Despite Davis' past claims that Diddy was involved,
08:21the Las Vegas police have never considered him a suspect.
08:24Many doubt Diddy's connection given the lack of evidence.
08:27Davis isn't the most reliable or consistent witness either.
08:30Likewise, it's difficult to back up the theories that Suge Knight ordered Biggie's assassination.
08:35In any case, Diddy and Knight haven't wiped their hands of any legal trouble.
08:39Following a hit-and-run in 2015, Knight was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
08:44Developing news now, former rap mogul Suge Knight is headed to prison for voluntary manslaughter.
08:48Parole won't be on the table until October 2034.
08:52Meanwhile, Diddy was arrested in September 2024 amid widespread
08:56accusations of abuse and sex trafficking.
08:58Over 100 have taken legal action against Diddy.
09:02A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City.
09:09Today, he's been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York.
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09:29While Diddy is facing charges for his alleged history of sexual misconduct,
09:33that doesn't mean people have forgotten about the Tupac conspiracy theories.
09:36Fellow rappers like Eminem, J.I.D., and 50 Cent continue to point fingers at Diddy.
09:41But I ain't trying to beef with him,
09:42cause he might put a hit on me like Kiffy D, get him.
09:44Crime scene investigator Cheryl McCollum,
09:46who worked on Shakur's case, also believed Diddy played a role.
09:50Somebody close to him knows his whereabouts on that day, that time, and that location.
09:56Tupac's family has pushed to reopen the case,
09:59although his stepbrother Mopreme Shakur says,
10:01It is not about that guy specifically, it's about justice for my brother.
10:10That said, Mopreme doubted Diddy was quote,
10:12100% honest when he denied involvement.
10:15Whatever future investigations uncover, Diddy survived longer than Tupac or Biggie.
10:20In this business though, sometimes you either die a legend,
10:23or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
10:26What's one misconception about you?
10:28There are no misconceptions about me.
10:30What are your thoughts on Diddy and Tupac's history? Let us know in the comments.
10:33We wouldn't even get into nonsense like that, you know what I'm saying?