Did Diddy Order the Hit on Tupac — Then Profit From Biggie's Death? | The Reckoning Documentary Breakdown

Summary

Podcast Summary: “Did Diddy Order the Hit on Tupac — Then Profit From Biggie’s Death? | The Reckoning Documentary Breakdown”

Podcast: The Downfall of Diddy
Host: Tony Brueski
Date: December 12, 2025
Episode Focus: Analysis and discussion of the Netflix documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” exploring allegations that Sean “P. Diddy” Combs was linked to the murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., and subsequently profited from the tragedies.

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Overview

In this episode, Tony Brueski dives deep into the controversies surrounding Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, focusing especially on old and new allegations presented in the Netflix documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning.” The podcast examines the possibility that Diddy ordered the hit on Tupac Shakur and then benefited from Biggie Smalls’ death, breaking down the central claims, discussing contrasting testimonies, and highlighting the enduring mysteries and complexities in hip-hop’s darkest chapter.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Setting the Stage: Hip-Hop’s Losses (03:00–05:40)

• The Era: Tony evokes the mid-1990s, recalling the seismic shock of Tupac and Biggie’s murders, noting how their massive stardom was unique and less fragmented than today (“They were bigger. There were less options… It was different.” [04:28])
• Tragic Timing: Both were killed within six months, “silenced within six months of each other. Tupac Shakur in September of 1996. Christopher Wallace, Biggie, in March of 1997.” (04:11)
• Context: The murders persisted as unresolved tragedies for nearly 30 years, living “in a fog of speculation, conspiracy, and convenient silence.” (05:26)

Tupac and Biggie’s Original Friendship (06:37–08:45)

• Deep Bond: Tony details how Tupac and Biggie originally shared a genuine friendship, not just an industry acquaintance (“They went from nothing to something at the same time. That creates a bond.” [07:53])
• Mentorship: Tupac even acted as a mentor to Biggie, letting him stay in LA and providing guidance (“Biggie even asked Tupac to manage him. Tupac declined, told him to stick with Puff, said it would be better…” [08:20])

The Rift: The Quad Studios 1994 Shooting (09:24–11:30)

• Incident: A pivotal event was Tupac’s 1994 shooting at Quad Studios in NYC. He was ambushed, shot five times, and when he reached the studio, found Puff and Biggie already there.
• Seed of Distrust: This incident irreparably damaged the relationship, with Tupac convinced Biggie and Puff were complicit (“What matters is that Tupac believed it. And that belief set the next two years on fire.” [11:15])

East/West Feud Escalates (11:31–12:37)

• Hip-Hop War: The feud, which began as marketing but escalated into real hostility, was inflamed by media and highly personal attacks, including Tupac’s infamous “Hit ‘Em Up.”

The Most Explosive Allegation: Did Diddy Solicit a Hit? (12:39–15:56)

• Keefe D’s Claims: The podcast outlines the documentary’s key claim: that Duane “Keefe D” Davis, a known gang figure now awaiting trial for Tupac’s murder, alleged Combs made statements in the mid-90s offering a million-dollar bounty on Tupac and Suge Knight (“he would give anything for Tupac and Suge Knight’s heads… a million-dollar bounty for their deaths.” [13:13])
• Alleged Details: Keefe D claims the money was never paid but the message sent, placing Combs at the narrative’s center as a catalyst.
• Diddy’s Response: Emphasizes that Combs “has never been charged,” “vehemently denies any involvement,” and that Keefe D now claims his proffer was made under duress.

Quote:

"These are the allegations. We are going to talk about it. I'm not saying he did or didn't do any of these things... here's what other people are saying; here's what the facts are." — Tony Brueski [05:58]

Suspicion and Hindsight: Kirk Burroughs’ Testimony (15:57–18:35)

• Inside Bad Boy: Kirk Burroughs, former Bad Boy co-founder, claims Diddy was jealous of Tupac and Biggie’s bond and details oddities in Bad Boy operations—including separate car rentals surrounding Tupac’s Vegas murder (“the days before Tupac’s death included unusual activity…” [15:57]).
• Aftermath Allegations: Burroughs says Combs called Keefe D “happy as hell” after Tupac’s death and hints at indirect orchestration rather than direct involvement.

Biggie’s Death: A Preventable Tragedy? (16:16–19:44)

• London Trip Canceled: Testimony asserts that Biggie would have been out of harm’s way in London if Diddy hadn’t canceled the trip to keep him in LA for “exposure” at the Soul Train Awards ([16:16]).
• LAPD Perspective: Former detective Greg Kading asserts bluntly, “Combs ushered Biggie to his Death,” and accuses Diddy of hindering police investigations ([18:11])

The Funeral & Profiting Allegations (19:44–24:37)

• The Funeral Cost Controversy: Burroughs claims Combs made Biggie’s estate pay for an extravagant funeral, turning it into a PR event — "He was gonna make the funeral to be a recoupable charge to Biggie in death..." ([20:49])
• Disputed by Family: Wayne Barrow, Biggie’s estate co-manager, publicly denied this, insisting Bad Boy Records handled the expenses and the documentary is “full of lies.”
• Opaque Accounting: Tony notes that, regardless, “recoupable expenses” could have been hidden in contracts and balance sheets, making it hard to verify either side’s claim.

Aftermath: Diddy Steps Into the Spotlight (24:38–29:00)

• Commercial Success: Mere months after Biggie’s death, Combs releases “I’ll Be Missing You,” a Biggie tribute, which becomes a massive hit, catapulting Diddy to solo superstardom.
  • “The grieving best friend dancing all the way to the bank.” (26:58)
• Business-as-Usual: Tony notes that while Biggie’s estate made money posthumously, Diddy “became the center” of the label and the public mourning, profiting greatly from the narrative.

The Ongoing Debate (29:05–30:40)

• Diddy’s Denial: Diddy’s representatives call the documentary “a hit piece,” threaten legal action, and Netflix stands by the film.
• Unanswered Questions: With so many major witnesses now deceased, “What we’re left with is testimony, journals, recordings, and the increasingly difficult task of separating grief from calculation.” (29:52)
• The Ultimate Question: Did Sean Combs “lose a friend or remove a problem?” Tony reflects on the enduring ambiguity and competing narratives.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Industry’s Culture:
  • “Manipulation might be a little bit better. And manipulation only works when you’re the one pulling the strings.” — Tony Brueski [09:10]
• On the critical Quad Studios incident:
  • “That moment broke something that never got fixed.” — Tony Brueski [11:08]
• On Diddy’s possible motives:
  • “For a man whose entire skill set was control…watching his biggest star develop a genuine creative kinship with a rival label’s icon was apparently intolerable.” — Tony Brueski, referencing Kirk Burroughs [09:05]
• On Combs’s funeral controversy:
  • “He was gonna make the funeral to be a recoupable charge to Biggie in death…Sean doing a big show looked good on him, but he’s not gonna tell the world that Biggie was gonna pay for it. That’s what makes it weird.” — Tony Brueski, paraphrasing Kirk Burroughs [21:25]
• On posthumous profiteering:
  • “The grieving best friend dancing all the way to the bank.” — Tony Brueski [26:58]
• Summary Reflection:
  • “Two voices that could have defined a generation…silenced within six months of each other and one man allegedly standing between them, then standing over them, then building his empire on the graves.” [30:13]

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Important Timestamps

• 04:00–05:40 — Setting up the scope and shock of Tupac and Biggie’s deaths.
• 09:20–11:30 — The Quad Studios shooting and the birth of deep suspicion.
• 13:13–14:50 — Keefe D’s explosive allegations about Combs soliciting a hit.
• 16:16–17:30 — The cancellation of Biggie’s London trip and his forced stay in LA.
• 18:11 — LAPD detective Greg Kading’s blunt assessment.
• 21:25–23:55 — The funeral cost debate and questions of record label ethics.
• 26:58 — The pivot from tragedy to commercial hijacking with “I’ll Be Missing You.”
• 29:52–30:37 — The ultimate question regarding Diddy’s legacy and the impossibility of resolution.

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Conclusion

Tony Brueski unpacks the swirling rumors and documentary allegations against Sean Combs in the unsolved murders of Tupac and Biggie, balancing testimony, denials, and ongoing questions of ethics, control, and legacy. Despite compelling stories and archival footage, the mystery endures—all while Diddy remains a polarizing titan in hip-hop. The episode closes by acknowledging the documentary leaves viewers with the same dilemma: “Did Sean Combs lose a friend or remove a problem?”

Listeners are invited to weigh in and keep the conversation alive in the uncertain search for truth.

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Transcript

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U S T.com SpinQuest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. Is Hidden Killers with Tony Brusky here now? Tony Bruski. Tell you what, in 1996, when I was playing on my Windows 95 computer in my parents basement, listening to my boombox and hearing the announcement on a local radio station that actually had a live DJ at the time announcing the death of Tupac Shakur, I did not think that all these years later, three decades later, I would be sitting here in my studio talking about who killed Tupac. You would have thought 30 years ago we would have figured this out. But we have not. And here we are. I'm actually back in my basement. Different basement, different state, different place. But my. It's funny because when I was a child and I was playing TV or radio station, it's kind of crazy to think 30 years later I'm in my basement playing TV and radio station, playing podcaster and YouTuber. This time there's more audience than my cat, that we'd be, we'd be still talking about this. It's a weird, weird thought. But two of hip hop's greatest voices were silenced within six months of each other. Tupac Shakur in September of 1996. Christopher Wallace, Biggie, Notorious B.I.G. biggie Smalls in March of 1997. These were two of the biggest stars. And I know we say that all the time for, for those of you who weren't around back then or were too young to remember the, the level of, of stardom of some of these people back then compared to what's out there today. It was different. They were bigger. There were less options out there. I guess you could say in terms of what people are choosing to listen to, it was less segmented. There wasn't Spotify, there wasn't, there wasn't anything on demand was like what's on the radio and what are you buying at the record store? These two were bigger than life. And to have both of them murdered within six months of each other was frickin nuts. In almost 30 years, those murders have lived in a fog of speculation, conspiracy, and convenient silence. Until now. Netflix documentary Sean Combs the Reckoning doesn't claim to solve the cases, but it does something arguably more damning. It presents a narrative where Sean Diddy Combs sits at the center of both tragedies, not as a grieving friend, but allegedly as a catalyst. And then, according to the film, he built an empire on the ashes. These are the allegations. We are going to talk about it. I'm not saying he did or didn't do any of these things. We're gonna talk about the allegations have been made. Allegations to which he denies vehemently. Okay, so this is all a hit piece. It's all bullshit. It's all blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, we know, we know you say, Diddy, you didn't have anything to do with. Here's what other people are saying did happen. So thank you for sharing that you think this is all bs. Here's what other people are saying, here's what the facts are. We will let them settle where they will. While we do that, we're gonna go through all this in the comments section on YouTube. Please give me your thoughts. Where do you think this all settles in reality? Let me know. Hidden Killers with Tony Bruski is what you search to find us on YouTube. While you're there, please hit subscribe if you're listening to us on Apple podcasts in the review section. Would love a few kind words if you got a few seconds. Leave us a quick review. We greatly appreciate that. Okay, to understand how this story works, you have to start before there was beef, before the coats and the coasts went to war. Huh? East coast, west coast, it was a hip hop war. You're on their side or the other side. You're for us or against us, basically, because here's the part that gets lost in the mythology. Tupac and Biggie, they were actually friends, real friends, prior to the semi manufactured east coast west coast hip hop war. And we'll talk about the manufacturing of this in just a moment. They weren't just industry friends who nod at each other at the award shows. These guys came up together. They went from nothing to something at the same time. And if, I mean, think about your own life, think about whatever it is you do. I mean, if you've been doing it for a while, there are folks that came up with you, folks that you go, yeah, we were going through the same stuff at the same time. That creates a bond, that creates a trust, that creates a sometimes lifelong relationships because you're able to relate and remember specific moments in time like only people in those specific scenarios, in those specific windows can. The kind of friends who crash at each other's places and freestyle in the backyard. When Biggie was still hustling, still trying to get his foot in the door at Bad Boy Records, Tupac was already a star. He took Biggie under his wing, let him stay at his crib in la, cooked him steaks, gave him career advice. According to people who were there. Biggie even asked Tupac to manage him. Tupac declined, told him to stick with Puff, said it would be better for the career in the long run. Can you imagine what a different story this would be? That's the kind of bond that they had. And according to Kirk Burroughs, Bad Boys co founder and one of the documentary's most damning witnesses, that bond made Sean Combs deeply uncomfortable. Sean was insanely jealous of Biggie and Pac's friendship. Burrow states in the film. For a man whose entire skill set was control, controlling artists, controlling narratives, controlling money, watching his biggest star develop a genuine creative kinship with a rival labels icon was apparently intolerable. Biggie had organic talent. Tupac had organic talent. Combs, by Burrow's account, and by anybody who's ever listened to his Sean Combs record, or Diddy or Puff Daddy or whatever the fuck he was calling himself at any given time. Organic might not be the right word. Manipulation might be a little bit better. And manipulation only works when you're the one pulling the strings. Then came November 30, 1994, Quad Recording Studios in Times Square. Tupac was there to record a guest verse, a $7,000 payday he needed for legal bills. He'd been called to the studio by Little C's who was affiliated with Biggie. When Tupac arrived, he was confronted by three armed men in the lobby. He was shot five times, beaten, robbed of his jewel. And when he made it upstairs, bleeding, he found Biggie and Puff already inside the building. That moment broke something that never got fixed. Tupac became convinced that Biggie and Combs knew what was coming. Whether that was true or not, and the documentary does not claim to prove it. What matters is that Tupac believed it. And that belief set the next two years on fire. What happens next is hip hop history weaponized. Tupac signed to Death Row Records, allied himself with Suge Knight and declared War hit him up wasn't just a diss track, it was a destination. He called Biggie up by name. Mock Puff claimed to have slept with Faith Evans. The East Coast west coast rivalry stopped being competition and became something closer to a blood feud. Media coverage amplified every shot. And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, according to the documentary, Sean Combs allegedly made a move that would shape everything that followed. The film features audio from duane Keefe D Davis 2008 proffer session with Law enforcement A proffer is a legal arrangement. You give information and your own statements generally can't be used against you. It's not immunity, but it's protection. In that session, which the documentary plays, Keefe D, a former leader of the south side Compton Crips who is currently awaiting trial for Tupac's murder. To this day, he's away like that's coming up in 2026 makes an explosive claim. According to KFC D. About a year before Tupac was killed, he was at a party with Combs, a room full of Crips. And in that room, Keefe D alleges Combs made a general announcement he would give anything for Tupac and Suge Knight's heads. On a separate occasion, Keefe D claims Combs offered a million dollar bounty for their deaths. The money, according to Keefe D, was never paid, but the MA allegedly was sent. Combs has never been charged in connection with Tupac's murder. He's never been named as a suspect by Las Vegas authorities. He has reportedly repeatedly, rather enforceably, denied any involvement. Keefe D himself has since claimed the proffer was made under duress. But the documentary presents these allegations as part of a larger pattern, a portrait of a man who witnesses claim operated through intimidation, manipulation and plausible deniability. Kirk Burroughs adds contacts from inside Bad Boy. He kept journals during his years at the Label. Daily notes, expense records, observations. Those journals are shown in the documentary for the first time. And according to Burroughs, the days before Tupac's death included unusual activity. Separate car rentals for travel from New York to Las Vegas, where Tupac will be killed right after the Mike Tyson fight. Burroughs doesn't claim to have proof of conspiracy, but he now says with the clarity of hindsight, he believes Combs had a lot to do with the death of Tupac. On September 7, 1996 in Las Vegas, Tupac had just watched the Tyson fight. He knocked out Bruce Seldon. He was riding with Suge Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside their car at a red light. Someone in the Cadillac Opened fire. Tupac was hit four times. He died six days later. He was 25 years old. The corner of Cobalt and Flamingo in Las Vegas. It's just there a few weeks ago, actually. One of those weird moments where you're driving around with your 13 year old daughter and go, hey, you know what this intersection is? According to Kefe D's own public statement, statements he made in interviews and in the 2019 memoir, long after the Proffer, his nephew Orlando Anderson was in that Cadillac. Keefe D himself has admitted to being present. His trial for Tupac's murder is currently scheduled for 2026. And then came the aftermath. According to the documentary, after Tupac was killed, Combs allegedly called Keefe D and was happy as hell. Keefe D claims he was promised money. That never materialized. What did materialize was the continued escalation of tensions and the death of Biggie Smalls six months later. Here's where Burrow's testimony gets particularly pointed. After Tupac's murder, the west coast was hostile territory for anyone connected with Bad Boy. You just, you didn't want to be there. Not a good spot to be. Everyone knew that. According to Burroughs, Biggie knew that he was uncomfortable being in Los Angeles. Burroughs had arranged Biggie's first European press tour, a trip to London to promote his upcoming album, Life After Death. The timing wasn't just promotional. It was strategic. Get Biggie out of harm's way. But according to Burroughs, at the last minute, in Sean Combs ultimate wisdom.

[Emin]

He.

[Tony Brusky]

Canceled the London trip. He allegedly wanted Biggie to stay in LA for the Soul Train Awards, wanted to be seen on the West Coast. Despite the danger, Burrow says Biggie didn't want to stay. But Combs allegedly overruled him. Now you can say maybe Sean Combs didn't fully grasp the dangers that were presented at that moment in time too Biggie to himself, to anybody, and then learned a very horrible way. I don't know. But on March 9th in 1997, Biggie had attended the Soul Train Awards two days earlier. He'd gone to a Vibe magazine party that night. In the early hours of the morning. Leaving the party, his SUV stopped at a red light. A car pulled up alongside and someone opened fire. Biggie was hit multiple times and he was 24 years old. That's the age he will be for all of eternity. Former LAPD detective Greg Kading, who investigated both murders, appears in the documentary. His assessment of Combs role in Biggie's death is blunt. Combs ushered Biggie to his Death. Kating also suggests that Combs was a hindrance to the investigation afterward, allegedly unwilling to open doors that might lead to questions about Tupac. No one has ever been arrested for Biggie's murder. The case remains officially unsolved, but the documentary's framing is clear. According to its witnesses, Biggie was kept in a dangerous place by a man who allegedly had every reason to know how dangerous it was. And then came the pivot. The part of the story that, if the allegations are true, transforms tragedy into something approaching sociopath. Sociopathy. Nine days after Biggie was murdered, his body was laid to rest in a massive funeral in Brooklyn. Thousands of fans lined the streets of Bedford as the procession wound through his childhood neighborhood. Lil Kim was there. Faith Evans was there. Mary J. Was there. And Sean Combs was there, front and center, the grieving best friend. According to Kirk Burroughs, Combs had promised the biggest funeral for Biggie that New York has ever seen. And he delivered. But when Combs allegedly saw the bill, the price tag for the biggest funeral New York has ever seen, according to Burrows, he made a decision. Uh, we'll let Biggie's estate pay for this funeral. Even though he planned it, he put it together. He's benefiting from it. It's becoming more of a look at me event. I'm the grieving best friend. Oh, yeah, Biggie's dead event. He can pay for it, though. He was gonna make the funeral to be a recoupable charge to Biggie in Death Burrow states in the documentary. Sean doing a big show looked good on him, but he's not gonna tell the world that Biggie was gonna pay for it. That's what makes it weird. So I had this question, actually. I was doing a morning show in Green Bay, Wisconsin, this last week talking about this case, and the question came up, isn't that normal? Is. Isn't like, someone normally pay for their own funeral? And the answer? In some cases, yeah. I mean, a lot of them, yes. But that's if you plan it, you pick out the. The. What? You're gonna do the price. You're the one who's approving all of it. This is like, okay, we're gonna put on this grand, crazy event. It's gonna be super expensive, you know. No, no expenses, too much. Oh, and by the way, you're gonna pay for it. Oh, you didn't agree to that. Well, tough shit. That's basically what the allegation is. That's not how funerals work. Especially when the funeral ends up being a Giant PR campaign for the not dead person. Now it's important to note that the allegation has been disputed. Wayne Burrow, who co managed Biggie's estate alongside his mother Valletta Wallace until her death, earlier went on the Breakfast Club after the documentary aired. He denied the funeral claim entirely. According to Burrow, Diddy and Bad Boy Records paid for everything. He says he reviewed every royalty statement personally alongside Valetta Wallace and funeral expenses were never applied or appeared. Biggie Son King comes also pushed back sharing Burrows denial and calling the documentary full of lies. So there's that now. Yes, it is just, you know, Bad Boy paid for it. Okay, but I think we're missing a bit of what, what's being said here. Recoupable expenses. So how was that listed as a line item? Was it ever listed as a line item, as a recoupable offense? Or was it listed as something else? Or were those charges built into other things that no one would ever quite catch on? I don't think it's like, let's see here, let's go through all the expenses here versus royalties. Cuz this is what they do. I mean they're gonna go through expenses, touring expenses, all that versus royalties and all that. And then you get to a number of what you are owed from the record company and sometimes that's a negative figure and you don't get paid anything because your expenses are more than what you're actually making. Because a record company, they get recouped from all that shit. I mean, depending on your agreement. I can't imagine this is a very good one. So basically it could have been in there. That's what one of them is arguing, the other saying. Bunch of bunk. I guess the records should just speak for themselves now, shouldn't they? Maybe they should be looked over and in some sort of investigative way more than just a bunch of people speaking up in a documentary. Maybe, maybe. Maybe a federal investigation or something of that nature might be appropriate to narrow some of that down. Was that a crime? I don't even know if that would be a crime. But it would answer some questions. Something to look at if one ever is so inclined to try and figure out what exactly happened here to either they're clear. Sean Combs. Which good. If you had nothing to do with it. Maybe it's time. Maybe it's time there's a more thorough investigation on this and we can clear you once and for all. Or maybe they'll find some information out. I don't know. Yeah, two competing narratives. Burroughs Says the funeral was charged back to the dead man's estate. Burrow says it wasn't Burroughs and Barrow, two different people, by the way. I know it's a little confusing. Burroughs, Barrow, sound very similar. The documentary notes that any such transfer would likely have been structured in a way that wouldn't appear on standard royalty statements. Ta da. Essentially hidden from Biggie's family. But there's no definitive proof either way. What isn't disputed is what happened next. Less than three months after Biggie was buried, Sean Combs released I'll Be missing you. Oh, check it out, check it out, you know. A tribute to his fallen friend. Featuring Biggie's widow, Faith Evans. The Group 112 built on a sample of the Police's Every Breath youh Take, Every move you make. I think Sting even appeared at the VMAs and sang it with him. The song dominated the summer of 1997. I remember playing it on the radio. Even stations that didn't play rapper played this song. They did. That's a fucking hit. It spent 11 weeks at number one. It became one of the best selling singles of the decade. It won a Grammy for best Rap performance by a duo or group. And it transformed Sean Combs from a successful producer and label head into a household name. Sean Combs did not have songs prior to that. He was a producer. You heard him in the background. I like this to all the ladies in the. You heard him in those, you know, little background, little background. He was always there dancing in the videos, making his little. Yeah, can't stop, won't stop, right? But suddenly there he is dancing at the VMAs next to Sting, the grieving best friend. The grieving best friend dancing all the way to the bank. And I mean, look, he's running a business, he's running a record label. I think everybody's like, well, shut it down. Your friend's dead. You can't make money anymore. Naturally, Bad Boy's gonna make a ton of money off of Biggie after he's dead. It. It. You'd be an idiot not to. And why wouldn't you? The money is going to the estate too. I mean, it's not like his estate didn't continue to make money as well. How much of that money he should have been getting versus what he was getting, that's in question a little bit. But it continued to be business as usual for Bad Boy, except the the star of the label was no longer anyone other than Sean Combs. The documentary doesn't explicitly say Combs profited from Biggie's death. It doesn't have to. It just presents the timeline. The allegations about the bounty. The claim that Biggie was kept in the in Los Angeles against his wish. The assertion that the funeral was charged back to his estate. And then the tribute song. It's kind of hard. Would you nod around? No, you're in heaven. Smile. I broke into the song when the police song was playing the other day in the car with my daughter. And she's looking at me like. Like what? Then I started dancing. I took my hands off the wheel. She's like, dad, you're going to cross. It's okay. Puffy's got the wheel now. And I broke into Carrie Underwood. Jesus, take the wheel. But I said, puffy, take the wheel. Okay, I'm kidding. I didn't do that. Anyway, you gotta insert some levity here. Cause this is such a dark freaking story. The grieving brother performance at the MTV Music Video Awards with Sting joining him on stage. The entire machinery of public mourning allegedly leveraged into a solo career. No Way out was Combs first debut album came out in July. In 1997, it sold over 7 million copies. It won the Grammy for Best Rap Album. The man who allegedly played a role in the circumstances of Biggie's death, according to the documentary's witnesses, was now positioned as his greatest champion. Every interview was an opportunity to memorialize. Every performance was a tribute. If the allegations in this documentary are true, and again, Diddy denies every last inch of it, it represents one of the most calculated acts of public manipulation in music history. Not just exploiting tragedy, allegedly manufacturing the conditions for tragedy, and then rebranding yourself as its chief mourner. Combs has denied all of it. His representatives have called the documentary a hit piece. His legal team has sent cease and desist letters trying to get it removed from Netflix, claim it contains footage that was never authorized for release. Netflix is stood by the film. Keefe Deeb's trial is scheduled for 2026. If it goes forward, some of these claims may be tested under oath. But many of the people who could contradict or confirm the documentary's allegations are dead. Tupac is dead. Biggie is dead. Valetta Wallace died earlier this year. What we're left with is testimony, journals, recordings, and the increasingly difficult task of separating grief from calculation. The documentary ends with a question it can't answer. Did Sean Combs lose a friend or remove a problem? What it can show is a pattern. Witness after witness describing a man who allegedly used people until they were no longer useful, who allegedly made promises he had no intentions of keeping, who allegedly positioned himself at the center of other people's talent and tragedy. Kirk Burroughs put it simply, you've abused everyone and used, used most everyone. Two voices that could have defined a generation. I don't say could have. They did. They could have done a lot more, though. Silence within six months of each other and one man allegedly standing between them, then standing over them, then building his empire on the graves. What do you think? Is it all bunk or is it something? Tell me in the comment section on YouTube if you're not already there. Search Hitting Killers with Tony Brusky on Apple Podcasts if you're listening to us right there, please leave us a review in the review part. Really appreciate that. Hitting Killers with Tony Bruski. That's our channel. You can find us. And if you're already there right now, if you're already on the podcast channel, yeah, please, there was a review. We really do appreciate those kind words. Helps us be discovered by other folks looking for the same content that you're enjoying right now too. So thank you for that. Seriously. Really means a lot. Until next time, I'm Tony Brusky. We will talk again. Want more on this case and others? Then press subscribe now and don't miss a moment of true crime coverage from Tony Brewski and the Hidden Killers Podcast.

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