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During an interview with The Art of Dialogue, Tupac's brother, Mopreme Shakur, said Sean "Puffy" Combs contacted him to explain that he had no involvement with Tupac's death. Mopreme told The Art of Dialogue podcast, "The boy Puffy called me, though! Puffy called me back in the day. He was like, I just want you to know I ain't have nothing to do with your brother's..." During their conversation, Morpreme said Puffy furthered to say, "I know who you are, but we never met, and I just want to call you man to man to let you know that I didn't have nothing to do with your brother's death." He explained that the call from Puffy came after the LA Times published the article "An Attack on Tupac Shakur Launched a Hip-Hop War" in 2008. The article suggested that the initial beef between the two entertainment entities started because Puffy, also known as Diddy, and his late artist Biggie Smalls set up Tupac to be robbed and shot while working together in a studio in New York.
The article reads, "Now, newly discovered information, including interviews with people who were at the studio that night, lends credence to Shakur’s insistence that associates of rap impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs were behind the assault. Their alleged motives: to punish Shakur for disrespecting them and rejecting their business overtures and, not incidentally, to curry favor with Combs." While Tupac was very vocal about his belief that Biggie and Diddy were behind him being robbed and shot five times at the Quad Studios in 1994, the LAT took down the article. It retracted the claims in the story under the belief that its sources were no longer reliable.
Nevertheless, the 1994 shooting of Tupac is deemed the start of the most severe feud in hip-hop, which likely played a role in the demise of Tupac and Biggie Smalls. Death Row and Bad Boy Records never restored a positive relationship following the Quad Studios shooting. Tupac released a diss track, "Hit Em Up," about Bad Boy Records, and Suge Knight publicly called out Puffy on national television at the 1995 Source Awards, among other things. Neither organization was considered safe during the feud when performing and working out of town in the other's territory.
For years, rumors surfaced that Puffy may have played a role in Tupac's death, and Suge Knight possibly ordered the hit on Biggie Smalls. While speaking to The Art of Dialogue, Mopreme said he feels that Puffy needs to be investigated for his younger brother's death, partially because the person in custody for the murder, (Keefe D), has made several statements about the former Bad Boy Records CEO, in connection to Pac's death. Tupac's older brother said, "He, in his own admissions (Keefe D), mentioned other people...Yes, Puffy being one of them. I don't know where that's going to lead, but I do believe there were accomplices. And I don't think all of them have been looked at." The Art of Dialogue followed up on Mopreme's response with information Keefe D gave him about Diddy during an interview. The podcaster said Keefe D told him, "When he was around Diddy, he (Diddy) made a comment about putting a hit out on Tupac and Suge." The former gang member also alleged that he and his gang used to provide Puffy with paid protection when he came to Los Angeles. Yet, Keefe D's current indictment is based on his eyewitness account that his fellow gang member shot Tupac from the back seat of a vehicle Keefe was in.
Mopreme contends that after years of speculation and theories about why Tupac Shakur was killed, he and his family are beyond ready for closure. To watch Mopreme's interview, click the link. To follow this story and other news, click the link to become a Volume 82 site member.
Related Story: Suge Knight will not testify about Tupac's murder. Click the link.