ACCLAIMED rapper The Notorious B.I.G. was shot dead in revenge for his pal Sean 'P Diddy' Combs's contract killing of rap rival Tupac Shakur, according to an ex cop's bizarre theory.
This week marks the 20th anniversary of his death, which occurred at the height of an East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud in the late 1990s.
No-one has ever been brought to justice for murdering the rapper - who was also known as Biggie Smalls - sparking a wave of conspiracy theories involving the CIA, the FBI, street gang feuds, police cover-ups and even that he is alive and crashing stag parties in Greece.
Former Los Angeles Police Detective Greg Kading claims Combs was linked to the killing and also that of Tupac which happened just six months earlier.
He told The Sun Online: 'I don’t promote what we are saying it as theory. Some people might use the word theory, because it has never been challenged in court.'
Based on his three years working the cases, Kading claims Combs offered $1million to Crips gang member Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis to kill Tupac and his manager, Marion Hugh “Suge” Knight.
He claims that on that fateful night - September 7, 1996 - Keffe D’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson was the trigger man. But only Tupac was murdered.
As retaliation, Kading’s bizarre theory alleges Knight then hired Bloods gang member Wardell “Poochie” Fouse for $13,000 to kill Biggie six months later on March 9, 1997.
Incredibly, Kading maintains he got a confession out Keffe D revealing what happened, but it was then two late as the “trigger men” were deceased and couldn’t be prosecuted.
And due to the way the US justice system works, Keffe D was protected when he allegedly gave his confession.
Kading said: “The American law has agreements. They can tell us everything they know about their own involvement in a crime, but we cannot use their own incriminating statements against them.'
The former cop is now involved in a new television series based on this astonishing theory, starring Hollywood actor Josh Duhamel and Westworld’s Jimmi Simpson.
The series, called ‘Unsolved’, has been optioned by the American TV network USA.
Another astonishing theory regarding the case emerged when Biggie's mother, Voletta Wallace, sued the department in federal court in a wrongful death lawsuit.
This was centred on a conspiracy theory the police covered up a cop being involved in the murder. A civil suit was going for $500 million which was based on the rapper's earning potential.
Kading claims that once there was enough evidence to stop the case, the investigation was dropped.
He says the detective was taken off the task force in 2009 in relation to another incident he was cleared of, but the label of 'rogue cop' stuck.
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A third remarkable twist in the theory comes with Kading's claim the LAPD did not pursue possible leads because the two alleged 'trigger men' were dead.
Despite his detractors, he says he isn’t bothered any more by what has been said about him: I was probably more upset back in 2010 when the Department wasn’t, in my opinion, doing everything it could to further the cases.
'But as time has gone on I have had to accept their decision making.
'I can’t do anything about the departments attitude about these cases. I try not to dwell on the past.'
Combs has always denied any link to the murders - in 2010 radio show host DJ Jojo asked the rapper about Biggie's murder.
He answered it appearing to have some knowledge declaring: 'Those are street issues.'
However the following year, Combs shot down Kading’s claims telling LA Weekly they were 'pure fiction and completely ridiculous'.
Combs' representatives have been approached by The Sun Online for comment. His lawyer said: 'If they are interested in responding they will get in touch.'
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Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G’s murders have continued to fascinate us decades after the rappers’ deaths.
Biggie Smalls, real name Christopher Wallace, was killed in 1997 by an unknown assailant by a drive-by shooter, with Biggie’s family later filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the LAPD, alleging corrupt officers were responsible for his death.
There were also allegations made that Suge Knight had something to do with the murder.
Tupac Shakur was murdered in 1996, also by an unknown assailant. Conspiracy theories have claimed that he didn’t die at all, and instead faked his own death and went to hide out in Cuba.
However, there’s one person who claims to know who killed both men – and it may surprise you to know it’s Josh Duhamel.
The actor, who split from his wife of eight years Fergie last year, has claimed ‘we all know what happened’ in the murders of Tupac and Biggie.
The 45-year-old stars as Detective Greg Kading on the new series Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G, and claims that he knows what went down the nights of the rivals’ murders.
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Josh told Us Weekly: ‘The show is called Unsolved, but we all know what happened. And that’s one thing that I think people are going to be most surprised by. We have a very good idea — whether we agree that the police were involved — there were definitely some shady things that were going on. Did they do it? Did they not do it?
‘It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove, and that’s the tragedy of this story. There’s so many conflicting theories that it’s hard to sift through it all and find out what the actual truth is.’
Josh – who is believed to be dating Eiza Gonzalez – then went on to admit he might believe the whole ‘Tupac faked his own death’ theory.
More: Tupac Shakur
He said: ‘For all I knew … Tupac might still be alive! They went as crazy as that.
‘One can only hope to have people speculate on whether or not he’s still alive or not. I wish people do that about me, but they won’t. Tupac Shakur was larger than life.’
Unsolved is on the USA Network on Tuesday nights.
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It’s been more than 20 years since Biggie and Tupac were murdered in drive-by shootings, but the slain rap rivals still take up more headlines than most living artists. There’s currently a 10-part drama series called “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.” airing on USA, BET has launched a six-part documentary looking at the rise and fall of Death Row Records, and conspiracy theories devoted to Tupac chilling on an island in Cuba or Biggie having Nostradamus-like knowledge of 9/11 continue to dominate Twitter searches and tabloid pages alike.
Whether you believe the pair’s continued relevance is due to the timelessness of their music or evidence of our collective lust for all things morbid, the reality is millions of people are not quite ready to let Biggie and Tupac go. This is something 64-year-old Gary Zimet, the founder of Moments In Time, a seller of “original historical materials,” banks on. He is currently selling the GMC Suburban SUV in which Biggie was shot to death, 21 years ago tomorrow (March 9, 1997), for a cool $750,000. He’s also looking for a buyer for the BMW 7 Series in which Tupac was fatally wounded on September 7, 1996, for a bargain $1.5 million.
The vehicles are just two curios in Zimet’s large collection of bizarre and unbelievably morbid memorabilia. He’s also selling the only copy of the real Schindler’s List (acquired from the family of Itzhak Stern), the hearse that carried Dr. Martin Luther King’s body, and the copy of Double Fantasy that John Lennon unknowingly signed for his murderer Mark David Chapman just hours before his death. Depending on your perspective, Zimet is either someone interested in preserving history or a purveyor of spectacularly bad taste.
Pitchfork caught up with Zimet to ask how he came in possession of the Biggie and Tupac cars, who’s interested in buying them, and whether selling them is morally wrong.
Pitchfork: How does one come into contact with the car Biggie Smalls was murdered in?
Gary Zimet: Weirdly enough, a family purchased the SUV purely by chance and had no idea of its importance until several years later when they got a postcard from a detective in L.A. saying he needed the car returned for evidence. They had to give it up momentarily but later got it back.
Now, in the case of the Tupac murder car, it’s been fully restored and, unfortunately, all the bullet holes were done over and you can hardly tell it was a car used in a murder. However, with the Biggie car, although the doors were replaced [the LAPD cut off the original doors for evidence], there is a bullet hole still visible in the seatbelt!
And you actually believe this is an item that will sell?
I acquired the Biggie car roughly a year ago, maybe a bit longer, and I am selling it on behalf of the family that owns the vehicle, who asked me to get involved as they could see I was already selling the Tupac car. The family has lowered their asking price from $1 million to $750,000 and although I’ve had interest, it’s not yet been sufficient enough to sell.
I know museums would love to have it, as they are currently building a hip-hop museum in New York City. Unfortunately, museums are perpetually broke. But look, eventually it will sell, no question. It’s just about finding the right buyer.
Shouldn’t these items be in police evidence somewhere? Why were you even able to track them down?
In the case of the BMW, it was originally a car leased by Death Row Records and the family that acquired it were sold it by a car dealer. The reality is, both of these cars were quickly sold on after the murders.
Now, the police know who murdered Tupac; it was a Southside Crip called Orlando Anderson, who is now dead. Therefore, holding on to the car makes little sense since this case is basically closed. Biggie’s killer is a lot more obtuse. My understanding is that because the L.A. police are almost certainly involved in Biggie’s killing, the case will never be officially solved.
What kind of buyer do these items attract?Who Killed 2pac And Biggie Fox
I’ve had the Tupac car close to a year and a half now [without finding a buyer], but I’ve had really serious interest for it from a high-profile athlete based in Europe. You also get a lot of car collectors too and even hip-hop artists calling in [about the cars]. The interest I’ve had from rappers is maybe because they want to reclaim something from the past, I couldn’t tell you.
How did you get involved in this line of work?Biggie And Tupac Death
Frankly, it was the only way to make a living. I founded the business in 1979 and I first got the buzz after correspondence with Norman Rockwell [about acquiring some of his items]. The first major piece I recall selling was a handwritten letter from Jimmy Carter to his brother Billy, warning him not to go to Libya. It was signed “I love you, Jimmy,” and I believe it sold for $28K. I guess I enjoy the hunt.
Some would argue that selling this kind of memorabilia is disrespectful—that Tupac and Biggie were only kids when they were murdered, and that selling the cars they were murdered in isn’t appropriate. How do you respond to that kind of criticism?
Both these cars are of historical significance. You really have to look at this from a historical angle. If the car JFK got killed in ever went up for sale—and, unfortunately, it never will—it would bring in a minimum of $25 million.
I guess what I am asking is, what drives people’s need to own a car that still has bullet holes from a murder?
The fact these were cars that someone died in appeals to people. There is a curiosity there. Is it slightly morbid? Absolutely! Am I exploiting the families [of Biggie and Tupac]? Absolutely… not! How would I be exploiting them? Some would make that argument, but it isn’t how I feel. These are pieces of American history—just like the copy of the 13th Amendment I sold, which was signed by Lincoln, is a piece of American history.
Okay, pretend for a second I am someone with $2.25 million to spare. What would your pitch be to get me to buy both of these vehicles?
Historical memorabilia will always have a huge market, and Biggie and Tupac have been eulogized in death, as millions of people dream of going back to that era. This means that these cars are unique relics—museum pieces of great historical importance.
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