The Daily Swarm

UPDATE:

Times UK:

“The story is a lie. It is beyond ridiculous and completely false. Neither [the Notorious BIG] nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. I am shocked that The Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story,” he said.

One of the men accused, Rosemond, described the story as a “libellous piece of garbage.” “In the past 14 years, I have not even been questioned by law enforcement with regard to the assault of Tupac Shakur, let alone brought up on charges,” he said.

“Chuck Philips, the writer… has reached a new low by employing fourth-hand information from desperate jailhouse informants along with ancient FBI reports to create this fabrication. I simply ask for all rap fans and fans of Tupac to analyse this fiction for what it is.”

LA Times:

Tupac Shakur had been beaten, shot and left for dead at the Quad Recording Studios on New York’s 7th Avenue. As he was borne to a waiting ambulance through a swarm of paparazzi on Nov. 30, 1994, the rap star thrust his middle finger into the air.

It was a portentous moment in hip-hop—the start of a bicoastal war that would culminate years later in the killings of Shakur and rap’s other leading star, Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G.

The ambush at the Quad remains a source of fascination and frustration to music fans and law enforcement officials alike. No one has ever been charged in the attack.

Now, newly discovered information, including interviews with people who were at the studio that night, lends credence to Shakur’s insistence that associates of rap impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs were behind the assault. Their alleged motives: to punish Shakur for disrespecting them and rejecting their business overtures and, not incidentally, to curry favor with Combs.