Diddy's links to Tupac murder suspect Keefe D revealed

Following revelations that Sean 'Diddy' Combs is facing over 100 allegations of sexual abuse at his infamous parties, the disgraced rap mogul's alleged links to the murder of Tupac have come under scrutiny. 

The producer's dramatic fall from grace has been detailed in DailyMail.com's latest hit podcast The Trial of Diddy, hosted by Marjorie Hernandez, Daily Mail’s West Coast News Editor. 

In the second episode of the hit show, Greg Kading, one of the investigators assigned to Tupac's murder, dissects the renewed spotlight on Diddy's alleged connection to Tupac's infamous 1996 slaying. 

Hernandez explains that in the 1990s, a beef between Diddy's Bad Boy Records on the East Coast and Marion 'Suge' Knight’s Death Row Records on the West Coast dominated the Hip Hop industry. 

Hernandez opens in the podcast: 'Tupac Shakur had accused his one-time friend, Bad Boy’s flagship artist Biggie, and Diddy with shooting and robbing him on Nov. 30, 1994 at Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan.

'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.

'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.' 

Tupac's murder came on September 13, 1996, when he was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip in a car driven by Suge Knight. 

Six months later, as he was leaving at a party in LA after the 1997 Soul Train Awards, Biggie was shot and killed. 

'Both men’s death shook the industry. Diddy was now in fear for his life,' Hernandez said. 

Retired LAPD homicide detective Greg Kading investigated the Tupac and Biggie murders. He says Combs hired members from the notorious Crips street gang in 1995 during a stop of the Summer Jams tour in Anaheim, California. 

Among the prominent Crip members at the time was Duane 'Keefe D' Davis and his nephew, Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson.

As explained by Kading, '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.' 

Hernandez explained that after Tupac's death, 'Keefe D - along with three others - were pinpointed as the suspects in the get-away car.

'Keefe D told investigators it was his nephew, Baby Lane, who shot and killed Tupac and shot at Suge Knight.

Nearly 30 years later after Tupac’s murder, Keefe D was arrested and is facing murder charges in Nevada.

Prosecutors allege Davis was the mastermind behind Shakur’s shooting, and he is the lone remaining person from the alleged suspect vehicle alive today.

Prosecutors submitted interviews of Keefe D, who alleged Diddy offered him $1 million to assassinate Tupac, and court documents show cops asked if Combs 'play[ed] a role in this thing?' to which Keefe responded, 'Yeah, I think he did.'

Hernandez explained in the podcast: '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.’' 

With the eyes of the Hip Hop world on the rivalry, Kading said that 'Puffy would have known that he was targeted when he came to the West Coast.' 

'And so when things were really getting bad, that's when Keefe D says that he met with Puffy at Greenblatt's up in Hollywood on Sunset Strip,' he said. 

'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,' Kading said. 

'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.' 

Hernandez also hosted journalist Gerrick Kennedy, who noted that when it comes to Diddy's place in the music world, he was someone who had 'tentacles across so much' of the industry. 

'He has his hand on so much of it to the point that it's actually dizzying to start to think about how can you untangle yourself from, if you today wanted to say, I don't want to listen to anything that Puff had anything to do with, what are you gonna play?' he said. 

Now, with the eyes of the world on Diddy's alleged crimes, Hernandez concluded: 'Over the years, he gained international success and became a bonafide A-lister and mogul, mixing with politicians and dignitaries all over the world.

'But controversy, multiple lawsuits and arrests still followed the hot-headed Diddy. Yet, he continued to avoid jail time and the other, sometimes deadly, consequences that befell others who were closest to him.

'In the end, it would be a two-minute viral video of Diddy repeatedly abusing Cassie to put a crack in Comb’s protected bubble - and what some say revealed the Bad Boy for who he really is.'

Follow The Trial of Diddy wherever you get your podcasts now. New episodes release every week.