Following revelations that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is facing more than a hundred allegations of sexual abuse at his infamous parties, the disgraced rap mogul’s alleged ties to Tupac’s murder have come under scrutiny.
The producer’s dramatic fall from grace is detailed in DailyMail.com’s latest hit podcast The Trial of Diddypresented by Marjorie Hernandez, Daily Mail West Coast News Editor.
In the second episode From the hit show, Greg Kading, one of the investigators assigned to Tupac’s murder, breaks down the renewed spotlight on Diddy’s alleged connection to Tupac’s infamous 1996 murder.
Diddy, pictured with Notorious BIG in California in the 1990s, has long been accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rap rival Tupac Shakur
Tupac was murdered in 1996, leaving Diddy “in fear for his life,” according to our new podcast
Hernandez explains that in the 1990s, a split between Diddy’s Bad Boy Records on the East Coast and Marion “Suge” Knight’s Death Row Records on the West Coast dominated the hip-hop industry.
Hernandez opens in the podcast: ‘Tupac Shakur had accused his former friend, Bad Boy’s flagship artist Biggie, and Diddy of shooting and robbing him on November 30, 1994 at Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan.
“Many believed that Diddy and Bad Boy were somehow involved in the attack.
Shakur even openly accused Biggie and Puffy of having prior knowledge of the shooting, something they both denied.
“The Quad Studios shooting sparked the infamous and deadly East Coast-West Coast rivalry that would ultimately claim the lives of Tupac and Biggie within months of each other in drive-by shootings in 1996.”
Tupac’s murder occurred on September 13, 1996, when he was shot on the Las Vegas strip in a car driven by Suge Knight.
Six months later, while leaving for a party in LA after the 1997 Soul Train Awards, Biggie was shot and killed.
Tupac’s murder occurred on September 13, 1996, when he was shot on the Las Vegas strip (pictured) in a car driven by Suge Knight.
Greg Kading, one of the detectives assigned to Tupac’s murder, joined DailyMail.com’s The Trial of Diddy podcast this week to discuss the rap mogul’s alleged link to the case
“The deaths of both men have shocked the industry. Diddy now feared for his life,” Hernandez said.
Retired LAPD homicide detective Greg Kading investigated the murders of Tupac and Biggie. He says Combs hired members of the infamous Crips street gang in 1995 during a stop on the Summer Jams tour in Anaheim, California.
Prominent Crip members at the time included Duane “Keefe D” Davis and his cousin, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
As Kading explained, “Keefe D dealt both PCP and cocaine from Los Angeles to another drug dealer, a New York figure, a man named Eric Martin.
“They called him Zip. And Zip was a very well known drug dealer, hustler and shot caller in New York who happened to have ties to Puffy Combs’ father.
“And after Puffy’s father died, Zip took on a sort of play uncle figure from Puffy Combs. And he also became close to Christopher Wallace and Faith Evans and was even the godfather of Christopher Wallace’s son. So that was the connection.
“Keefe knew a drug dealer, that drug dealer was affiliated with Puffy and Biggie and that’s how the introduction happened when Puffy said he needed some security on the West Coast because of all the problems he was having with Suge Knight and Death Row Recordings.
The deaths of Tupac and Biggie (pictured together) sent shockwaves through the music industry
“His friend Zip, his play uncle, said, hey, I have just the perfect people for you. I know some gang members who can handle that kind of work. I’ll introduce you to them. And that’s how the association came into existence.’
Hernandez explained that after Tupac’s death, ‘Keefe D – along with three others – were identified as the suspects in the getaway car.
“Keefe D told investigators it was his cousin, Baby Lane, who shot and killed Tupac and shot Suge Knight.
Nearly thirty years later, after Tupac’s murder, Keefe D was arrested and charged with murder in Nevada.
Prosecutors allege that Davis was the mastermind behind Shakur’s shooting, and that he is the only remaining person from the alleged suspect vehicle still alive.
Prosecutors filed interviews with Keefe D, who claimed Diddy offered him $1 million to kill Tupac, and court documents show police asked if Combs was “playing.”[ed] a role in this case?’ to which Keefe replied, “Yes, I think so.”
Former LA gang leader Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis is accused of masterminding the Tupac shooting. Davis will arrive in Clark County District Court on November 7, 2023
Hernandez explained on the podcast, “Davis said that Puffy contacted him about Pac’s death, and that Combs “reached out to ask if the South Side Crips were responsible for Shakur’s death by asking, ” Is that us?’ [Keefe D]beaming with pride, answer[ed]’Yes.”
With the eyes of the hip-hop world on the rivalry, Kading said that “Puffy would have known he was being targeted when he came to the West Coast.”
“And when things got really bad, Keefe D said he met Puffy at Greenblatt’s in Hollywood on Sunset Strip,” he said.
‘Puffy took him aside and made it clearer, more emphatic. Hey, I really need you to fix this problem. Because you know what, I’m a dead man if you don’t. That was kind of the essence.’
“According to Keefe D, and here I am giving this warning. This is a conversation where I think there are emotions going on, desperation and fear,” Kading said.
And Keefe D says he offered him a million dollars. And of course Keefe D won’t turn that down. So that was the kind of song that was thrown out there.”
Kading claims Southside Crips gang member Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson (left) was responsible for Tupac’s death while Wardell Fouse (right) shot Biggie
Hernandez also hosted journalist Gerrick Kennedy, who noted that when it comes to Diddy’s place in the music world, he was someone who had “tentacles over so much” of the industry.
“He’s got so much of it in his hands that it’s actually dizzying to start thinking about how to untangle yourself from, if today you wanted to say, I don’t want to listen to anything that Puff had anything to do with. What are you going to play?’ he said.
Now, with the eyes of the world on Diddy’s alleged crimes, Hernandez concluded, “Over the years, he achieved international success and became a bona fide A-lister and mogul, mingling with politicians and dignitaries around the world.”
But controversies, multiple lawsuits and arrests still followed the hot-headed Diddy. Yet he continued to avoid prison and other, sometimes fatal, consequences that befell others closest to him.
“It would ultimately become a two-minute viral video of Diddy repeatedly abusing Cassie to put a crack in Comb’s protective bubble – and what some say revealed the Bad Boy for who he really is.”
Follow The Trial of Diddy now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every week.