1995435 words · 2 min
Sean "Puffy" Combs on the Night at Quad Studios
He held Tupac up, prays for him, and is no "thug": How Bad Boy head Sean Combs rejected any blame for the New York attack in Vibe in 1995.
Original: Statement by Sean Combs, titled “Sean PUFFY Combs on the NY Shooting” in the archive · Vibe · 1995
In his Vibe interview, Tupac Shakur had indirectly implicated Bad Boy’s leadership. Sean “Puffy” Combs used the same magazine for his response: he had not abandoned Tupac that night, but held him up-and had nothing to do with the attack.
Held Up Instead of Abandoned: The Night at the Studio
Combs described the night like this: He had been shooting Biggie’s video for Warning that day and came to Quad Studios afterward to drop by Biggie’s session with Junior M.A.F.I.A. In the reception area, he greeted Andre Harrell and Little Shawn. Then Tupac came out of the elevator: shot, with some blood on his head, his hand on his groin, limping slightly.
Combs rejected the accusation that Tupac had been left alone. Everyone had been with him: Harrell immediately called for an ambulance, while he himself and a friend held Tupac up and calmed him down. Tupac, however, “brought the theatrics.”
Whoever Lives as a “Thug” Must Die as a “Thug”
The interview had gotten a lot of people into trouble, Combs said, because it left open whether he, Biggie, and Harrell had been involved. Combs emphasized that he would never deliberately harm anyone and had no dispute with Tupac. Whoever lives as a “thug” must also die as a “thug”; he himself was not one.
Even so, he was praying for Tupac, was writing him a letter, and wanted to speak with him in person. Of everyone, he said, he was the easiest to forgive.
A Visit to Rikers Island and an Escalating Rift
According to widely reported accounts, Combs visited Tupac on Rikers Island before the interview was published to assure him that Bad Boy had nothing to do with the robbery. Tupac interpreted the visit as a provocation. Biggie’s song Who Shot Ya? deepened the rift in 1995, even though Biggie always maintained that the track was not aimed at Tupac. In February 1997, Combs and Snoop publicly called for a truce; a month later, Biggie was shot dead.
No Evidence, No Charges
No involvement by Combs in the Quad robbery was ever proven. Duane “Keffe D” Davis claimed in his 2019 memoir that Combs had put out a hit for the crime in Las Vegas-Davis later called the book fiction. Combs was never charged in connection with this (as of October 2026).
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