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Business Insider
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Sean 'Diddy' Combs tried to ambush Suge Knight with guns, his trial heard. What to know about the hip-hop heavyweights' feud.
The sex-trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs heard that the hip-hop mogul planned to ambush his long-term rival, Marion "Suge" Knight, with guns at an LA diner in 2008. 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.
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Suge Knight: A rap rivalry
It's the rivalry that has defined hip-hop for a generation. And, according to many in law enforcement, it has claimed the lives of at least two of rap's brightest stars. Sean "Diddy" Combs vs. Marion "Suge" Knight. Their names are synonymous with the explosion of hip-hop, and the bad blood between the two moguls emerged as a central pop culture plotline of the 1990s. Inside the music industry, their respective record labels – Combs' Bad Boy Records and Knight's Death Row -- vied for market share. On the streets of cities like Los Angeles and New York, their personas clashed and their allies fought as part of what came to be known as the battle between the East and West Coast rap scenes. In the East, Combs stood tall. Bad Boy Records boasted the top talent of the Notorious B.I.G. – aka Biggie Smalls – and, authorities said, often hired members of the Crips street gang for security. In the West, it was the domain of Knight and Death Row Records, which, police said, had long-standing connections with the Crips' rivals, the Bloods. Atop the Death Row roster was Tupac Shakur. The grudge between Combs and Knight was a key focus of testimony Tuesday at Combs' ongoing sex-trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan, in which Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. On the stand, Combs' former personal assistant, David James, said one night in 2008, he spotted Knight and his entourage eating at Mel's Diner in Hollywood. He testified that Combs, upon hearing that, wanted to confront the rival group. The grudge between Combs and Knight was a key focus of testimony Tuesday at Combs' ongoing sex-trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan, in which Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. On the stand, Combs' former personal assistant, David James, said one night in 2008, he spotted Knight and his entourage eating at Mel's Diner in Hollywood. He testified that Combs, upon hearing that, wanted to confront the rival group. "I was really struck by it. I realized for the first time, being Mr. Combs' assistant, that my life was in danger," James testified. A short time later, he gave his notice and left the company. The enmity between Knight and Combs was fueled by insults – perceived, real and even put to lyrics – and in the era of hip-hop getting hot in the mainstream, the two groups feuded on stage, and in the streets. Taking the stage at the August 1995 Source Awards in New York City, Knight hurled a thinly-veiled insult at Combs, publicly taunting Combs for allegedly stealing the spotlight from the artists whose music he produced. In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up," which called out Biggie, Combs and Bad Boy by name, and bragged about sleeping with Biggie's wife. The song further inflamed the feud. "The East Coast, West Coast rivalry led to a lot of bad blood between Suge, Death Row, and Puffy and Bad Boy. Both were big at the time," said retired NYPD Det. Derrick Parker, the first cop assigned to investigate crime in the hip-hop world. Parker was known on the streets as the "Hip-Hop Cop." "As soon as these guys started to become big in the industry, they started aligning themselves with certain people – they started bringing in the gangs, people affiliated with the gangs, and then came the diss records," Parker said. "The beef between them started to go on wax, on records, on tapes, on music. And it just got worse," Parker said. "And the beef got louder and louder, it got more problematic, more violent." The rivalry turned deadly in the fall of 1996. On Sept. 7, Shakur was riding around Vegas in a BMW driven by Knight when a fusillade of gunfire rained down on them. Six days later, Shakur was dead. The only man ever arrested in connection with the killing has previously alleged that Combs requested the murder: Duane "Keffe D" Davis told police Combs put a bounty on the lives of his rivals, Knight and Shakur. Combs has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing and has never been named as a suspect or a person of interest by authorities in connection with the homicide. Davis, in police interviews, the pages of his own co-authored memoir and in media appearances, has previously told a different story - one he now denies. "I'll give anything for those dude's heads," Davis said Combs told him months before Shakur's death, according to a police report on their interview with Davis in 2008. His accounts of alleged conversations with Combs came during interviews with police in 2008 and 2009, obtained by ABC News, and later in on-camera interviews and the 2019 memoir with his name on it, "Compton Street Legend." Amid mushrooming violence and tensions between the two groups, Combs worried about "retaliation" and "began to solicit Davis to kill Knight and Shakur," according to the police report on Davis' 2008 interview. More than once, Combs repeated the offer, Davis alleged: summoning him at a Hollywood eatery, Combs "again told Davis he [Combs] needed to get rid of Knight and Shakur. Combs offered Davis $1,000,000 to handle the problem. Davis remembers Combs being very afraid of Knight," the report said. Tensions had already begun boiling over months before Shakur's killing when a fight broke out between a number of Bloods and Crips over a coveted Death Row medallion. Among the scuffling group was Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson, according to police interviews and grand jury testimony. It was an act of "war" between the two groups that would warrant "retaliation," a Crip affiliate testified before Davis' indicting grand jury. On Sept. 7, 1996, gang members and glitterati alike convened in Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson fight. In the crowds, Shakur and Knight caught sight of Davis' nephew and identified him as the would-be medallion snatcher, according to prosecutors. A brawl ensued. That beatdown gave Davis and his crew "the ultimate green light" to take revenge, his memoir said – and which prosecutors have quoted. Paired with the request he said Combs had made, vengeance for his nephew was a "double whammy," motivating him to seek out Shakur and Knight, according to the memoir. Davis, behind bars and awaiting trial for orchestrating Shakur's killing, now insists he is "innocent." In his first interview since being arrested in September 2023, Davis told ABC News in March that he's "never read" the memoir ascribed to him, and only confessed to his purported role in the crime because he was getting paid to lie. His trial for Shakur's murder is set for February 2026. He has pleaded not guilty. Six months after Shakur was killed, Biggie Smalls was gunned down in Los Angeles, in what detectives have theorized was orchestrated revenge for Shakur's murder. Smalls was killed after leaving through a rear entrance of an overcrowded awards afterparty that was also attended by Combs. The rapper and the mogul were in separate cars. The hip-hop icons' back-to-back deaths would punctuate years of escalating hostility and traded barbs between the groups. "The rivalry between the gangs was all part and parcel of that East Coast-West Coast war," Parker said. "This was how the rap world was. It was very violent, very turbulent at that time. That beef between them marked the hip-hop scene for more than a generation." Knight is currently in prison, serving a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter stemming from a 2015 fatal hit-and-run. That case is not connected to Combs, Shakur or Smalls. He did not respond Tuesday to questions about the Combs trial.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fans React To Ed O'Neill Revealing He Has A Black Wife And Daughter Via TikTok
Social media has opened the door for fans to learn many things about their favorite celebrities that they otherwise may not have known. This week, fans reacted to actor Ed O'Neill appearing in a TikTok with his daughter and learning that she was…*GASP! Black. In the video, his youngest daughter, Claire, stands in front of the camera and mouths the opening to 2Pac's hit diss record 'Hit 'Em Up.' Eventually, the Modern Family star pops into the frame and joins the late West Coast rapper in saying, 'That's why I f**ked your bi**h, you fat motherf**ker.' According to Claire's caption, the video was all his idea; while it was likely meant to just be funny, the 78-year-old actor may not have realized that he was about to break the internet. 'Wait a minute!!!!!????????' one fan wrote on X. 'Al Bundy has been Married… With Children to a Black woman this whole time?!?!?' they added, referencing his breakthrough role on the FOX sitcom. Another fan quoted that tweet and wrote, 'Ed O'Neil having a black wife is surprising as hell.' TikTok commenters also reacted to the fact he has a Black daughter, writing, 'Him having black kids makes SO much sense.' The majority of comments raved about the fact his real-life daughter's name is Claire since his daughter in Modern Family had the same name. Watch the TikTok below. Claire's mother is none other than Catherine Rusoff, who also appeared on Children. The couple has been married since 1986 and has two children together, Claire and her older sister, Sophia. Rusoff herself is also biracial. O'Neill's most recent acting work was playing the Donald Sterling role in Clipped, a Hulu miniseries focusing on the Los Angeles Clippers franchise. He has also appeared on Family Guy, The West Wing, Wreck-It Ralph, and more. More from Duane "Keefe D" Davis Sheds Tears While Claiming His Innocence In 2Pac Murder Keefe D Gives First Televised Interview Since Arrest For Tupac Shakur Murder Ma$e Was A Bigger Fan Of 2Pac Than Biggie When First Signed To Bad Boy
