Diddy’s Dad Died In A Shocking Way Involving Lies, Crime, And Horrible Violence

In the years since Sean "Diddy" Combs first rose to fame, he has built a huge family, gained famous friends, and employed many people. Then, Diddy became infamous after a series of troubling allegations were made against him. With all that in mind, it can sometimes be easy to forget there was a time before Diddy was a music superstar and powerbroker when he was just a child.

One thing about Diddy's childhood that many of his fans don't seem to know is that his father was absent throughout most of his childhood. The reason for that is that Diddy's dad reportedly lost his life as a part of a story involving horrible violence, crime, and lasting lies.

The Shockingly Violent Way Sean "Diddy" Combs' Father Died

Sean "Diddy" Combs is the son of Melvin Combs and Janice Combs. Over the years, Janice has become a well-known figure for the musician's fans, since she has appeared on red carpets with her famous son in the past.

On the other hand, most of Diddy's fans don't know much about his father. That fact is incredible, since the story of who Diddy's dad was and what happened to him is fascinating, to say the very least.

In October 2024, People published an article about who Diddy's mother and father are.

That article revealed that Diddy's dad passed away in 1972 when the rapper was only three-years-old.

In 2014. Diddy was chosen to give the commencement speech at Howard University.

Throughout Howard University's existence, many famous figures have delivered the commencement speech. One of the most notable examples of that is Chadwick Boseman, whose commencement speech has repeatedly been celebrated, including in a 2020 CNN article.

During his speech, Diddy revealed the tragic truth about how his father passed away far too early in life. An XXL Mag article from the time of the speech quoted what Diddy said about what led to his father's tragic and violent death.

He died, I read in the Amsterdam news that he had been murdered in a drug deal gone bad.

In addition to Diddy revealing how his father passed away, it is known that Melvin Combs had some infamous associates. In October 2007, New York Magazine interviewed Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes together. Those two men are infamous criminal leaders whose lives became the focus of the 2007 movie American Gangster.

The 2007 film American Gangster starring Denzel Washington was a widely successful film. The movie was nominated for awards during the Oscars and BAFTAs and Denzel was nominated for a Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Golden Globe.

During that conversation, Nicky and Frank were asked about the hip-hop community looking up to them. In response, Frank Lucas brought up Diddy and his father. Most importantly, Frank Lucas made it clear that he knew Melvin Combs well.

"I know Puffy Combs, because of his father. Melvin used to be at my house a couple of times a week. I’m proud to see Melvin’s son like that."

During the same conversation, Nicky Barnes revealed that he knew Diddy's dad by name as well.

Based on what Diddy said about how his dad died and who his associates were, Melvin Combs clearly was involved in crime and his life ended in violence. On top of that, the story of how Diddy's dad died also turns out to involve a lot of lying.

In October 2024, BBC News published an article when Diddy's mom, Janice Combs, put out a statement defending him amid his huge scandal. In a statement, Janice conceded that Diddy had “made mistakes in the past as we all have.” However, Janice also called the allegations against Diddy "lies" and wrote that her son is "not the monster they have painted him to be."

In that case, it was Diddy's mom, Janice, who was the one who did the lying.

During XXL Mag's aforementioned article quoting Diddy's Howard University commencement speech, more about the rapper's childhood was revealed. In his speech, Diddy revealed that his mom lied to him about how his father died.

I was raised by a single mother in Harlem. My dad, Mr. Melvin Combs, died when I was three-years-old. My mother always told me that he died in a car accident.

Diddy went on to explain in his speech how he learned the truth about how his father died. Diddy also revealed that learning the truth made him realize how much his mother loved him.

"Something about [his mother saying his dad died in a car accident] just didn’t feel right. Something was in my soul that was telling me otherwise. So, I went to the library and I did some research. I used the microfilm to search through all the newspapers... Right there in that library I realized there’s nothing greater than a mother’s love and desire to protect her child.”

Diddy Was Deeply Affected By His Father's Passing

In October 2013, Diddy appeared in a REVOLT YouTube video talking about how much his father's death affected him. At the beginning of that video, it states that the clip began filming at 5:47 AM in Diddy's New York apartment.

At the start of the video, Diddy addresses how he felt about his father's absence from his life. As Diddy explained, he missed his father throughout his life.

"Being that my father was killed when I was three-years-old, I don't have like a lot of memories of my father. You know, they say you can't miss something you never had. That's only a little a little ways right, you know. There's definitely been times I've missed my father and, you know, his presence not being there."

Diddy then went on to reveal that he saw what happened to his father as a cautionary tale of the criminal lifestyle. "I learned early in life that there was [sic] only two ways out of that, dead and jail."

Diddy also revealed in the video that his dad played another role in the rapper's success. According to what Diddy said in the YouTube video, knowing how his father died inspired his success.

"[That] made me work even harder. I definitely think the route that I went on, staying out the streets and, you know, hitting my books and trying to be somebody, I think he played a role in that. I think that even if we don't know our parents, we still have their DNA in us. We have their genes and, I have this hustler's mentality, his hustle spirit, his drive, his determination, you know, his swag."

Diddy ended the video by saying that he is Melvin Combs' son.