Combs And Rosemond Deny New Tupac Allegations

P Diddy

Sean 'Diddy' Combs has denied those new allegations that he knew an attack against rival hip hopper Tupac Shakur was planned before it happened.

The 1994 shooting of Tupac is seen by many as a catalyst in the at times violent hip hop feuding which led to another shooting of Shakur two years later - that time fatal - and the subsequent murder of Diddy collaborator the Notorious BIG. Allegations have been made in the past about other hip hop types being involved in the 1994 attack on Shakur, or at least about them being aware of it before the event, though Phillips says his latest investigations into the affair have given those rumours new credibility, though he admits that Diddy possibly only knew of plans to "rough Shakur up", and possibly did not know the plan was to shoot him in what seemed very much like attempted murder.

But Combs denied everything Phillips claimed yesterday, quickly issuing a statement denying the allegations against him and criticising the LA Times for publishing them. The statement read: "The story is beyond ridiculous and is completely false. I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story".

The boss of hip hop firm Czar Entertainment, Jimmy Rosemond, who is also accused by Phillips of having prior knowledge of the attack on Shakur (and of having a more proactive role in organising it), also issued a denial yesterday. He told AllHipHop.com: "In the past 14 years, I have not even been questioned by law enforcement with regard to the assault of Tupac Shakur, let alone brought up on charges. Chuck Phillips, the writer who in the past has falsely claimed that the Notorious Biggie Smalls was in Las Vegas when Tupac was murdered and that Biggie supplied the gun that killed Tupac - only to be proven wrong as Biggie was in New Jersey recuperating from a car accident - has reached a new low by employing fourth-hand information from desperate jailhouse informants along with ancient FBI reports to create this fabrication".

The Czar chief concluded: "I simply ask for all rap fans and fans of Tupac to analyse this fiction for what it is along with Phillips' motives behind it. I am baffled as to why the LA Times would print this on its website when a simple and fair investigation would reveal that the allegations are false. I am currently consulting with my attorneys about my legal rights regarding this libellous piece of garbage".

It remains to be seen whether any libel action follows - it probably won't, though a libel case on this whole issue might answer some of those eternally unanswered questions about hip hop's lowest hour.