Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs alleged links to the murder of late rapper Tupac have resurfaced following the disgraced music mogul’s arrest last month.
Combs, who is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York and over 100 allegations of sexual abuse (a combination of criminal and civil suits) , has long denied having any involvement in Tupac’s death in 1996. Tupac passed away six days after a gunman shot him four times in the chest at a stoplight in Las Vegas.
In a new podcast series, Greg Kading, one of the investigators assigned to Tupac’s murder, examines the renewed spotlight on Combs’ alleged connection to Tupac’s infamous murder. He begins by noting how a rivalry between Combs’ Bad Boy Records on the East Coast and Marion ‘Suge’ Knight’s Death Row Records West Coast dominated the 1990s Hip Hop world.
Combs was the manager and mentor of Tupac’s rap rival, the Notorious B. I.G. , who was also tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997, at the age of 24 – less than one year on from Tupac’s murder in September 1996. The host of the podcast explains how Tupac once accused his former friend Biggie and Combs of shooting and robbing him in a 1994 attack.
“Many thought Diddy and Bad Boy were somehow involved with the attack. Shakur even openly accused Biggie and Puffy of having prior knowledge of the shooting, something they both denied,” Marjorie Hernandez states on the podcast. “The Quad studios shooting sparked the infamous and deadly East Coast vs West Coast rivalry that would ultimately cost Tupac and Biggie their lives in drive-by shootings within months of each other in 1996.”
Retired LAPD homicide detective Greg Kading investigated both Tupac and Biggie’s murders in the 1990s. Speaking on the podcast The Trial of Diddy, Kading alleged Combs hired members of the street gang Crips for protections during a stop of the Summer Jams tour in Anaheim, California in 1995. Prominent Crop members at the time included Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis and his nephew, Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson.
Keefe D arriving in court in 2023 after being charged with the murder of Tupac (
POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Kading claims: “Keefe D was dealing both PCP and cocaine from Los Angeles to another drug dealer, a figure out in New York, guy named Eric Martin. They called him Zip. And Zip was a very well-known drug dealer, hustler, shot caller out in New York who happened to be affiliated with Puffy Combs’ dad.
“And after Puffy’s dad died, Zip kind of took over as kind of like a play uncle figure for Puffy Combs. And also he became very close with 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 was how the introduction happened when Puffy said that he needed some security on the West Coast because of all the problems that he was having with Suge Knight and Death Row Records. His friend Zip, his play uncle said, hey, I’ve got just the perfect people for you. I know some gang members out there that can handle that kind of work. Let me introduce you to them. And that’s how the association began.”
Host Hernandez then tells listeners that following Tupac’s murder, ‘Keefe D – along with three others – were identified as the suspects in the escape vehicle. ‘Keefe D confessed to investigators that it was his nephew, Baby Lane, who fired the fatal shots at Tupac and Suge Knight. Almost three decades post Tupac’s assassination, Keefe D was apprehended and is now facing murder charges in Nevada.
Prosecutors claim that Keefe D was the brains behind Shakur’s shooting, and he is the only surviving individual from the alleged suspect vehicle today. Interviews of Keefe D were submitted by prosecutors, where he claimed that Combs offered him $1 million to kill Tupac. According to the podcast, court documents reveal that when police asked if Combs “play[ed] a role in this thing?”, Keefe D replied: “Yeah, I think he did.”
Combs performing alongside Tupac and Biggie in 1993 (
Getty Images)
Hernandez continues to claim: “Davis said Puffy contacted him about Pac’s death, and that Combs ‘reached out wondering if the South Side Crips were responsible for Shakur’s death by asking, ‘Is that us?’ [Keefe D], beaming with pride, answer[ed], ‘Yes.’” Kading adds how Combs would have “known that he was targeted when he came to the West Coast” so met up with Keefe D when “things got really bad”.
Kading claims: “Puffy called him aside and made it more pronounced, made it more emphatic. Hey, really need you to take care of this problem. Because, you know, I’m a dead man walking if you don’t. That was kind of the gist.’ According to Keefe D, and this is where I give this caveat. This is a conversation where I think there’s emotions going on and desperation and fear. And Keefe D says that he offered him a million dollars. And of course, Keefe D is not going to turn that down. So that was the kind of number that was thrown out there.”
For many years it looked like Tupac’s family would never see justice but the Las Vegas Police Department made a significant move on July 18, 2023, by executing a search warrant at a residence in Henderson, Nevada, linking the premises to their longstanding probe into the murder of Tupac Shakur. Mystery unravelled as it turned out the property was owned by Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis’ wife.
This led to Keefe D’s arrest on September 29, 2023, with subsequent charges of murder placed against him; he professed his innocence when he pleaded not guilty on November 2, 2023. Fast forward to November 7, 2023, and Judge Carli Kierny of the Clark County District Court pencilled in June 3, 2024, for Keefe D’s trial commencement.
A flicker of hope for Davis came on January 9, 2024, when a judge granted his $750,000 bail along with house arrest during a court status hearing. Yet, despite the bail approval, Keefe D stayed confined within the walls of the Clark County Detention Center. Come February 20, 2024, during another status check, it led to an agreement to push back the trial to November 4, 2024.
Combs has always denied having any involvement in the murders of both Tupac and Biggie. During a radio interview in 2023, Combs was questioned about Tupac’s death but quickly shut down his interviewers, saying: “We don’t talk about things that are nonsense, we don’t entertain nonsense, with all due respect, but I appreciate you as a journalist asking, thank you.”
The rapper was arrested on Monday, September 16, in New York City, and is facing serious allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering. Despite several attempts, bail has been denied, and Combs is now locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn.
Pleading not guilty and maintaining his innocence, Combs is standing firm against the accusations. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, confidently addressed the media outside the courtroom on Tuesday, September 17, declaring: “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.”