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Sean "Diddy" Combs and 50 Cent's feud goes back to the latter's 2006 diss "The Bomb," in which he accused Combs of being involved in Biggie's murder
50 Cent is just as well known for his music as he is for his outspoken drama with other rappers in the business, and one of his most famous feuds is with Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The "In da Club" rapper and Combs first began feuding when the former released his 2006 diss track, "The Bomb," in which he accused Combs of having something to do with the 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. Combs has since denied the accusations.
In the years since, the two have gone back and forth with each other, with drama building up as they both represented rival vodka brands. However, in 2024, their feud came to a head when Combs' house was raided in March 2024 by the Department of Homeland Security amid a slew of lawsuits alleging the rapper sexually abused and trafficked men and women, which Combs has denied.
50 Cent has spoken up since then, claiming that he had suspected Combs' alleged illegal behavior for some time. After the "I'll Be Missing You" rapper was arrested in September 2024, 50 Cent announced his documentary about Combs' alleged abuse case was already in the works at Netflix after getting greenlit earlier in the year.
“This is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far,” 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, and director Alexandria Stapleton said in a statement to PEOPLE.
From how it began to how it's escalated, here's everything to know about 50 Cent and Combs' feud.
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Sean Combs presents 50 Cent with the Best Video Award at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
In the 1990s, 50 and Combs were both rising in the hip-hop industry, and often spending time around the same people who encouraged them to work together. 50 helped ghostwrite on Combs' 2001 hit "Let's Get It," and his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lopez, encouraged the rapper to work with 50 as well, he told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2024.
50 Cent added that the two mainly had a working relationship rather than a friendship. "I wouldn’t call it a friendship because there wouldn’t be disappointment between us if we didn’t speak to each other," he said.
He said he "didn’t ever party or hang out with him," explaining that he viewed him as a "businessperson" who sometimes took the credit for tracks he didn't necessarily produce.
"He’s been able to take advantage of the business and the creatives in it," 50 Cent said. "I don’t have any interest in doing that. I actually fall under the creative. So I just didn’t take to hanging out with that."
In 2006, 50 Cent released a diss track against Combs titled "The Bomb," in which he insinuated Combs had something to do with Biggie's 1997 murder.
"Who shot Biggie Smalls? We don’t get ‘em / They gonna kill us all ... Man, Puffy know who hit that n----," he rapped.
Combs has repeatedly denied the accusations, as well as ones that allege he had something to do with Tupac Shakur's 1996 death.
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P Diddy and 50 Cent in February 2004
Combs became the face of Diageo's Ciroc vodka in 2007 and had been working with the company until January 2024, when they settled a lawsuit Combs filed alleging racism within the brand. Diageo and Combs parted ways, with the former taking full ownership of Ciroc.
In 2016, 50 partnered with Effen Vodka, telling PEOPLE, “When I'm out and there's nightlife, it’s what I drink."
A year later, 50 sold his shares of the company for $60 million, per VIBE, however, he continued to compare it in relation to Combs' deal.
“Puff’s is not even vodka. It’s grapes [and] says ‘made with vodka,’ you know what I’m saying?” 50 Cent said in a 2018 interview on the Drink Champs podcast. “[Effen] is made from wheat from Holland and distilled five times so it’s a lot less sugar, it’s the right way. And then later when you have a headache because you finished your full bottle of Ciroc. … I told you I was smarter.”
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Paris Hilton, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and 50 Cent attend a party hosted by 50 Cent at The Hard Rock in Las Vegas, NV on Sept. 8, 2007.
In the same interview, 50 Cent claimed that a conversation he had with Combs years back made him feel a "little uncomfortable" when the rapper told him he'd take him shopping.
He recounted the incident again in a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, recalling how it changed his view of the rapper moving forward.
“He asked to take me shopping. I thought that was the weirdest s--- in the world because that might be something that a man says to a woman,” he said. “And I’m just like, ‘Naw, I’m not f------ with this weird energy or weird s---,’ coming off the way he was just moving. From that, I wasn’t comfortable around him.”
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Sean Combs and 50 Cent attended Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy Awards party at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Feb. 7, 2004, in Los Angeles, CA.
Despite 50 Cent's comments against him, Combs claimed in a 2018 appearance on The Breakfast Club radio show that 50 "loves me."
"Y’all can’t see that he loves me? You really think that’s hate? You know he loves me," he said.
Combs went on to jokingly beg 50 Cent to be his friend so that he could share some of his tips for acquiring his wealth.
"Me and him could be friends, but he doesn’t want to be my friend," he said. "I wanna be his friend so I could teach him everything I know so he could become a better money-getter since I’m the number one money-getter in the world."
Combs joked, "Yo, 50 please be my friend. 50 you’re breaking my heart. Curtis, please be my friend. Please."
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50 Cent, P. Diddy, and Jay Z performing at Screamfest ’07 in Madison Square Garden on August 22, 2007, in New York City.
Combs' legal troubles began in November 2023 when his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie, accused him of rape and sexual assault. He denied the allegations, and the two settled the lawsuit the following day. 50 Cent joked about Combs parting ways with some of his partnerships at the time, writing on X (formerly Twitter) that he would be willing to take his place.
A few months later, Combs faced turmoil again when his Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided by HSI. 50 commented on the situation on X, claiming that he believed whatever Combs was being accused of was true.
"Now it’s not Diddy do it, it’s Diddy done," he wrote. "they don’t come like that unless they got a case."
Two months later, CNN released a video matching a description of a 2016 incident in a hotel room in which Combs could be seen kicking and abusing Cassie. The video seemed to mark the last straw for 50 Cent, who had already announced he was shopping around a documentary on the rapper and the allegations around him.
“First, he denied that it even happened, and then the tape comes out — so that means everything that n---- says is a lie,” 50 Cent told The Hollywood Reporter. “When someone watches that, if they have a daughter and they can imagine her being under those circumstances, that s--- is crazy. Like, they let him get away with it."
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images
50 Cent attends the “Power Book II: Ghost” Season 4 New York City premiere on June 6, 2024 ; Sean Combs attends the Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons honoring him on January 25, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California.
In lawsuits filed against Combs, he was accused of throwing parties in which he allegedly facilitated sex trafficking. In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, 50 Cent said he never attended those parties, and always felt something was "uncomfortable" about them.
"I’ve been very vocal about not going to Puffy parties and doing s--- like that,” 50 Cent said, referring to Combs’ moniker. “I’ve been staying out of that s--- for years. It’s just an uncomfortable energy connected to it.”
He added that while some of his peers in the hip-hop industry may view his openness with his opinions on Combs to be "snitching," he wasn't shy to share them.
"It’s not uncomfortable for me to say what I said because I’ve been saying this s--- for four years, five years. I been telling you, “I don’t fuck with him. I don’t like the way he moving. This is a little crazy.”
JC Olivera/Getty Images; Rebecca Sapp/WireImage/Getty Images
50 Cent attends the premiere of Starz’ “BMF” Season 2 at TCL Chinese Theatre on Jan. 5, 2023, in Hollywood, California ; Sean “Diddy” Combs attending Reel To Reel: Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story at The GRAMMY Museum on Oct. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles.
Following Combs' September 2024 arrest, 50 Cent said in a statement to PEOPLE that he felt it was important to bring the stories of those allegedly impacted by Combs to the screen.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives," the statement read. "While the allegations are disturbing, we urge all to remember that Sean Combs’s story is not the full story of hip hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the culture’s broader contributions."
