Both Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs have been accused of raping a 13-year old girl, these accusations have raised questions on the nature of the men’s 30–year long friendship
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay–Z, Shawn Carter’s close friendship dates back to the early 1990s. Now, the hip-hop media moguls are alleged to have raped a 13–year old girl. Jay-Z has denied the allegations which surfaced on Sunday.
A woman who remains anonymous has claimed at an MTV VMA after-party in the early 2000s, Diddy and Jay-Z took turns raping her. Sean “Diddy” Combs now faces multiple lawsuits of charges of rape and sex trafficking and Jay-Z has publicly has called the allegations “heinous”.
Here is a timeline of the duo’s 30-year long friendship.
READ MORE: Assad’s little known links to Britain as Syrian Tyrant once described as ‘geeky IT guy’
READ MORE: Human hearts have ‘little brains’ and can keep beating outside the body
1990s
READ MORE: New ancient pyramid found at the side of a road part of settlment around 14,000 years oldREAD MORE: Drug dealer last to see Jay Slater shares final moments and ‘annoying’ aspect of case
Despite Jay-Z never being signed under Combs record label company, Bad Boy Records, the two east coast rappers developed a friendly rivalry throughout the early 90s as both of their careers took off.
The two artists collaborated on Combs’ debut studio album, Now Way Out, on the track Young G’s Forever, a tribute song for song for the deceased rapper, Biggie Smalls.
Combs’ also collaborated with Jay-Z on both Jay-Z’s 1997 album, In my Lifetime, Vol 1 and Jay-Z’s 1999 album, Forever .
2000s
Throughout the 2000s both rappers’ media empire grew, with Jay-Z founding Roc Nation and signed various high profile artists such as Kanye West, J. Cole and Rihanna.
In September 2005 both Jay-Z and Combs donated a joint $1 million to Hurricane Katrina relief.
Combs’ told the Associated Press: “We are all descendants from each other’s families. When you hear black people say ‘brother’ and ‘sisters’, it’s really true. These are all people that I know I’m somehow, some way related to – the human race family.”
2010s
Through the 2010s the two titans of the hip–hop world continued to grow their sphere’s of influence and maintained a close relationship as they continued to throw joint after–parties together.
By 2010 the two rappers had climbed to the top of Forbes rap rich list landing at both first and second place; Jay-Z was worth a reported $37Million (£22) with Combs only a single million behind.
When asked by a reporter about their relationship at this time, Combs said: “People see us as competitors and different icons in the hip–hop game, but that was just a moment of two Black brothers telling each other how much they appreciate each other,”
In 2016, at a Bad Boys reunion tour on what would have been the 44th birthday of the prolific rapper, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z was invited onto stage as Combs shared some very heartfelt words about the artist.
Combs said to Jay-Z: “You’ve been there with me throughout my ups and downs, whenever I get in trouble, this is the one I call.”
“This my strategist right here, this my brother, this is B.I.G’s brother” referencing Jay-Z’s close relationship with Biggie Smalls – the two New York rappers being friends from high school and had collaborated on multiple tracks together.
2020s
At the 2020 Roc Nation Brunch the two toasted celebrating their successful careers together.
Combs remarked how strong their friendship was, as he said: “The game has been elevated. As you know, there’s no expense that has been shared. We had a black billionaire lunch year, understand, right? And, we’re here together in keeping staying together. We’re getting tighter, and united we stand.”
At a 2022 BET Award ceremony, Jay-Z narrated over montage of Combs’ life and said: “The whole mantra of can’t stop, won’t stop, you’ve got to be relentless, you’ve got to have a bit of crazy, you can’t take no for an answer, got to make it happen. He embodies that.”
In a 2023 episode of Karpool Karaoke with James Corden, prior to allegations of rape and sex trafficking being made at, the artist revealed just how close his friendship with Jay-Z was.
“There’s only one person, and I call him Shawn. That’s Jay-Z. We call each other Sean,” the Hip–Hop mogul added: “Nobody should be calling me Sean. There’s not a single person, outside of my mother, that should be calling me Sean.”
Since the allegations first came to light in November 2023 Jay-Z has failed to voice support for his friend Sean “Diddy” Combs.
New York rapper, 50 Cent, has joked publicly poked fun at Jay-Z’s lack of support for his friend and today now posted an AI generated video of Jay–Z and Sean, Diddy, Combs being arrested whilst attending an awards ceremony with the caption: “I want to post this but I’m afraid I’m gonna get shot. LOL.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.