DINH DOONG

A spine-tingling clip of Tupac Shakur casting suspicion on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ alleged role in a shooting incident has resurfaced, stirring intrigue online following Combs’ recent legal troubles.

Combs, 54, was apprehended at a hotel in New York City on September 16 and subsequently held without bail on serious federal accusations including s:e:x tr@fficking, racketeering, and transportation for prostitution. Denying all allegations, Combs’ lawyer has stated that the Bad Boy Records founder is “an innocent man with nothing to hide”.

In light of Combs’ detention, many are revisiting the influential figure’s past interactions with fellow artists, noting his guidance of younger talents such as Usher, now 45, and Justin Bieber, 30.

Social media has also seen a resurgence of interviews with the late rapper Tupac.

The legendary artist was ambushed and shot five times during a heist at Quad Studios in Times Square on November 30, 1994, a mere two years before his own life was tragically cut short in Las Vegas. In a Vibe magazine interview from April 1995, Tupac hinted at Combs’ alleged involvement in the assault.

Recently tweeted footage from that interview shows Tupac being questioned about Combs’ – then known as Puff Daddy – potential connection to the attack. “It’s between me and him, and only he knows,” Tupac claimed, reports the Mirror.

On the day of the ambush, Tupac had planned to feature on a track by Little Shawn but had reservations regarding his safety prior to entering Quad Studios.

In the interview, Tupac recounted the harrowing incident: “As we’re walking up to the building, somebody screamed from up the top of the studio,” he said. “It was Little Caesar, Biggie’s sideman. That’s my homeboy. As soon as I saw him, all my concerns about the situation were relaxed.”

Despite feeling reassured, the atmosphere changed dramatically for Tupac and his entourage upon entering the building.

Approaching the elevator, he encountered a group of men he initially thought were associated with Biggie, but the situation took a dangerous turn. “Even Biggie’s homeboys love me, why don’t they look up? I pressed the elevator button, turned around, and that’s when the dudes came out with the guns – two identical 9 mms. ‘Don’t nobody move. Everybody on the floor. You know what time it is. I was, like, ‘What should I do?’”

The rapper, whose birth name was Lesane Parish Crooks, suffered five gunshot wounds, including one that grazed his skull, in the ensuing chaos. After the gunmen escaped, Tupac, despite his severe injuries, managed to make his way upstairs via the lift.

He continued: “I’m limping and everything, but I don’t feel nothing. It’s numb. When we got upstairs, I looked around, and it scared me.”

Tupac revealed that he was suspicious of Combs and Biggie Smalls’ reactions after he was attacked. “Nobody approached me. I noticed that nobody would look at me,” he said, recounting the moment he entered the studio after the incident.

“Andre Harrell wouldn’t look at me. I had been going to dinner with him the last few days. He had invited me to the set of New York Undercover, telling me he was going to get me a job,” Tupac added. “Puffy was standing back too. I knew Puffy. He knew how much stuff I had done for Biggie before he came out.”

However, in 2008, Combs vehemently denied any knowledge of the attack. “The story is a lie, it is beyond ridiculous and completely false,” he stated.

“Neither the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during, or after it has happened.”

Tragically, Tupac was shot four times in the chest by a man in a white Cadillac on September 13, 1996, and died six days later.

Back in 2018, Combs reacted to Eminem’s provocative jab in his track Killshot, which alluded to Combs in relation to Tupac’s death. Eminem rapped: “Kells, the day you put out a hit’s the day Diddy admits that he put the hit out that got Pac killed, ah!” referencing the notorious 1996 drive-by shooting which led to Tupac’s death.

Later in the piece, however, Eminem backpedalled, noting: “And I’m just playin’, Diddy, You know I love you.”

Yet, Combs didn’t ignore Eminem’s suggestive lyrics and retorted during a deleted segment from the Joe Budden YouTube podcast. Gracing the show as a guest, Combs ambiguously yet starkly addressed the contentious lyric, saying during the podcast that the issue with Eminem had been quietly resolved offstage and stating: “He said, ‘There’s nothing to say about it’. It’s in my hands. He wild.”

Moreover, igniting more controversy, NME highlighted that rapper Jay Electronica became involved while having his own altercation with Eminem, posting a bold warning related to the insinuations against Diddy, tweeting: “How dare you accuse Diddy of killing Tupac…You best tread carefully, Son, before I come tear your ivory tower down like Sulaiman done the Templar Knights.”

Combs was taken into custody on Monday, September 16, in New York City, facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. Having been refused bail on several occasions, he is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn.

Combs has entered a plea of not guilty to all charges and maintains his innocence. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, spoke to the media outside the courtroom on Tuesday, September 17, asserting: “Mr Combs is a fighter, he’s going to fight this to the end. He’s innocent. He came to New York to establish his innocence. He’s not afraid, he’s not afraid of the charges.”