A recently resurfaced interview with Tupac Shakur has ignited discussions online, revealing the late rapper’s suspicions regarding Sean “Diddy” Combs’ potential involvement in a shooting that took place two years before Tupac’s unresolved murder. This comes in the wake of Diddy’s arrest on September 16 at a New York City hotel, where he faces multiple federal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering, which he vehemently denies.
Fans are reflecting on Diddy’s connections in the music industry, notably mentoring stars like Usher and Justin Bieber, while revisiting the infamous 1994 Quad Studios shooting in Times Square, where Tupac was shot five times. In a 1995 interview with *Vibe* magazine, following that traumatic incident, Tupac suggested that Diddy, then known as Puffy Daddy, may have played a role in orchestrating the attack.
The viral interview clip, circulating on Twitter (X), features Tupac being asked about Diddy’s possible ties to the November 30, 1994 shooting. “It’s between me and him, and only he knows,” Tupac remarked cryptically.
Before the Quad Studios incident, Tupac had expressed concerns about his safety while heading to the recording session for Little Shawn’s track. In the *Vibe* interview, he recounted feeling reassured upon seeing Little Caesar, a close associate of Biggie. “As soon as I saw him, all my concerns about the situation were relaxed,” he said. However, the atmosphere shifted when he noticed a group of men he initially believed were Biggie’s security.
Tupac recalled, “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. Run your s—. I was like, ‘What should I do?'”
Born Lesane Parish Crooks, Tupac was shot and severely injured in the surprise attack, with a bullet grazing his skull. After the gunmen fled, he and his crew made their way upstairs via the elevator.
Reflecting on the aftermath, Tupac stated, “I’m limping and everything, but I don’t feel nothing. It’s numb. When we got upstairs, I looked around, and it scared the s— out of me.” He suspected that insiders like Diddy and Biggie might have known about the attack in advance, noting their strange behavior when he arrived at the studio. “Nobody approached me. I noticed that nobody would look at me,” he said.
Tupac also felt a chill from industry figures, including record executive Andre Harrell. “Andre Harrell wouldn’t look at me. I had been going to dinner with him the last few days,” he shared. “Puffy was standing back too. I knew Puffy. He knew how much stuff I had done for Biggie before he came out.”
In 2008, Diddy strongly denied having any prior knowledge of the incident, labeling the accusations as “a lie” and “beyond ridiculous.” He asserted that neither he nor the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. had any awareness of the attack before, during, or after it occurred.
Tupac was tragically killed on September 13, 1996, after being shot four times in the chest during a drive-by incident in Las Vegas.