Diddy and 50 Cent’s Feud Explained: How Their Beef Escalated from a 2006 Diss Track to an Explosive Documentary
One of rapâs most enduring feuds began with “The Bomb,” in which 50 Cent accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of being involved in Biggie’s murder
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50 Cent and Sean “Diddy” Combs have been beefing for almost two decades.
Their rap rivalry began in 2006, when the “In da Club” rapper accused Combs of having something to do with Notorious B.I.G.’s murder in 1997 in his diss track “The Bomb.” Combs later 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 and has since been acquitted.
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.
Sean Combs: The Reckoning premiered on the streamer on Dec. 2, and included exclusive interviews from the rappers’ longtime associates, those involved in the trafficking investigation and one of his alleged victims. There’s also footage of Combs shot in the six days leading up to his arrest from an unnamed source whom director Alexandria Stapleton “moved heaven and earth” to keep confidential, she told Tudum.
âThis is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far,â 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, and Stapleton said in a statement to PEOPLE.
In October 2024, 50 Cent defended his choice to be vocal about the accusations against Combs, claiming he’s been doing so for a decade already.
âLook, it seems like I’m doing some extremely outrageous things, but I haven’t. It’s really me just saying what I’ve been saying for 10 years,” he said. âNow it’s becoming more full-facing in the news with the Puffy stuff, but away from that, I’m like, âYo, it’s just my perspective because I stayed away from that stuff the entire time, because this is not my style.â â
From how it began to how it’s escalated, here’s everything to know about 50 Cent and Combs’ feud.
50 Cent and Combs met when they were both starting in the industry
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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 wouldnât call it a friendship because there wouldnât be disappointment between us if we didnât speak to each other,” he said.
He said he “didnât 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.
“Heâs been able to take advantage of the business and the creatives in it,” 50 Cent said. “I donât have any interest in doing that. I actually fall under the creative. So I just didnât take to hanging out with that.”
50 Cent started their feud when he dissed Combs on “The Bomb”
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 donât get âem / 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.
50 Cent and Combs argued over the rival vodka brands they worked with
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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, âWhen I’m out and there’s nightlife, itâs 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.
âPuffâs is not even vodka. Itâs grapes [and] says âmade with vodka,â you know what Iâm saying?â 50 Cent said in a 2018 interview on the Drink Champs podcast. â[Effen] is made from wheat from Holland and distilled five times so itâs a lot less sugar, itâs 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.â
50 Cent claimed that Combs made him feel “uncomfortable”
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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.
âHe 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,â he said. âAnd Iâm just like, âNaw, Iâm not f—— with this weird energy or weird s—,â coming off the way he was just moving. From that, I wasnât comfortable around him.â
Combs denied the two had any drama in 2018
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Despite 50 Cent’s comments against him, Combs claimed in a 2018 appearance on The Breakfast Club radio show that 50 “loves me.”
“Yâall canât see that he loves me? You really think thatâs 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 doesnât 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 Iâm the number one money-getter in the world.”
Combs joked, “Yo, 50 please be my friend. 50 youâre breaking my heart. Curtis, please be my friend. Please.”
50 Cent criticized Combs after his home was raided by HSI
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Combs’ legal troubles escalated 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 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 itâs not Diddy do it, itâs Diddy done,” he wrote. “they donât 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.
âFirst, he denied that it even happened, and then the tape comes out â so that means everything that n—- says is a lie,â 50 Cent told The Hollywood Reporter. âWhen 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.”
50 Cent claimed he never attended Combs’ parties
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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.
“Iâve been very vocal about not going to Puffy parties and doing s— like that,â 50 Cent said, referring to Combsâ moniker. âIâve been staying out of that s— for years. Itâs just an uncomfortable energy connected to it.â
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.
“Itâs not uncomfortable for me to say what I said because Iâve been saying this s— for four years, five years. I been telling you, ‘I donât f— with him. I donât like the way he moving. This is a little crazy.’ â
50 Cent produced a documentary about the accusations against Combs
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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.
âWe 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 Combsâs story is not the full story of hip hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the cultureâs broader contributions.”