While Sean “Diddy” Combs remains behind bars awaiting trial, one of his former associates has come forward with some explosive claims. The person in question is rapper Chopper, who was once a member of Combs’ now-defunct hip-hop group, Da Band.
Chopper, also known as Kevin Barnes, recently appeared on The Art of Dialogue podcast (January 7, 2025), where he shared insights from his time working with the embattled music mogul. One of the most shocking revelations? Combs allegedly harbored an intense hatred for Tupac Shakur.
Recalling an interaction from their early days, Chopper claimed that when Combs asked him about his musical influences, he mentioned Tupac but left out Biggie Smalls. That response, he said, didn’t sit well with Combs.
“He was like, ‘Who did you grow up listening to?’ I said Tupac. I didn’t mention Biggie. After that, he didn’t talk to me for like four f**king days,” Chopper recalled.
The Louisiana-born rapper went on to say that Combs’ dislike for Tupac was more than just professional rivalry—it was personal. “Diddy hated ‘Pac… hated his guts,” he added.
For those unfamiliar, Chopper gained fame as a member of Da Band, a hip-hop collective formed by Combs on MTV’s hit reality show Making the Band. While the group disbanded after three seasons, Combs later signed Chopper to his Bad Boy Records label.
These latest revelations add another layer to the long-standing and complex history between Combs and Tupac, whose feud with Bad Boy Records in the 1990s became one of hip-hop’s most infamous rivalries.