Sean 'Diddy' Combs tried to ambush Suge Knight with guns, his trial heard. What to know about the hip-hop heavyweights' feud.
If Diddy succeeded, he could have reignited a long-running beef between the East and West Coast hip-hop communities.
Last week, Cassie Ventura, Diddy's ex-girlfriend, testified at his trial in Manhattan that he left his rented mansion in LA during a " freak-off" in 2008, after learning that Suge was at a diner nearby.
Cassie said Diddy and other men covered their heads, grabbed guns, and drove to the diner.
On Tuesday, David James, Diddy's former personal assistant, testified that he drove him and a trusted security guard to the restaurant, but Suge left before they arrived.
"It was the first time I realized my life was in danger," James said, adding that he quit soon after the incident.
Here's what to know about the feud between Suge and Diddy.
Suge and Diddy were at the centre of the '90s hip-hop rivalry linked to the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.
Hip-hop originated in 1970s New York City, but by the '80s and '90s, multiple rappers, including Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, emerged on the West Coast.
A rivalry soon emerged between Suge's Death Row Records on the West Coast, which he co-founded in 1991, and the East Coast's Bad Boy, founded by Diddy in 1993.
In 1994, Tupac Shakur, a West Coast rapper, survived being shot five times at Quad Studios in Manhattan during a robbery.
Tupac believed the Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie) of Bad Boys Records and Diddy were involved, which they denied. In response, Tupac joined Death Row Records in 1995, and the it released his diss track "Hit 'Em Up" in 1996, which targeted Diddy, Biggie, Bad Boy Records, and other East Coast rappers.
In 1996 and 1997, respectively, Tupac and Biggie were killed in drive by shootings.
Both crimes remained unsolved, with many speculating without evidence that Diddy and Suge were involved, which they both deny. In 2023, Duane Keith "Keffe D" Davis, a former leader of a California street gang known as the South Side Compton Crips, was charged with murder, with prosecutors alleging he organized Tupac's death.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told People in 2024 that Diddy was never considered a suspect for Tupac's murder.
After Tupac and Biggie died, rappers on both sides, including Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Nas, and Ice Cube, attempted to cool down tensions between the two rap communities.
Suge is serving a 28-year sentence for manslaughter
The beef faded from the public eye, and major stars like Dre and Snoop Dogg left Death Row Records in 1996 and 1998, respectively, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2006. In 2022, Snoop became its new owner.
Suge is in prison in San Diego, after he was charged over the fatal hit-and-run of Terry Carter, a business associate, while on the set of the 2015 movie "Straight Outta Compton." In 2018, Suge pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
Despite his feud with Diddy, Suge told NewsNation's show " CUOMO" in September 2024 that he was not celebrating his rival's arrest.
"I don't jump and cheer for no Black man or any other human being going to prison," Suge said. "That man has kids, and whatever affects him definitely affects his kids."
Suge alleged at the time that Diddy was sexually abused by other people in the industry and said Diddy repeated that abuse on other people.
Legal representatives for Diddy declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider. Legal representatives for Suge did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
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