Via MSN comes the news at the LA Times that rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs may have been involved in a 1994 assassination attempt on rapper Tupac Shakur.

Via MSN comes the news at the LA Times that rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, also known as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy, may have been involved in a 1994 assassination attempt on rapper Tupac Shakur.

Cameras flashed as paramedics carried the victim into the glare of Times Square on a stretcher. Blood seeped through bandages from five gunshot wounds.

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.

The incident resulted in a major hip hop war, in which both Tupac Shukur and rapper Christopher Wallace aka Notorious B.I.G. ended up dead.

For 14 years music fans and law enforcement officials have wondered who were behind the attack on Tupac. Who tried to kill him?

Tupac himself said that he believed that Sean “Diddy” Combs was behind it, or at least associates of him. But the case has never been solved. Now the LA Times reports that “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.”

According to an informant, the person directly behind the attack is promoter James Sabatino. Talent manager James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond also seems to have played an important rule in the affair.

FBI records obtained recently by The Times say that a confidential informant told authorities in 2002 that Rosemond and Sabatino “set up the rapper Tupac Shakur to get shot at Quad Studios.” The informant said Sabatino had told him that Shakur “had to be dealt with.”

The two were, according to the latest information, infuriated by Tupac’s “insolent behavior.” So they decided he had to die. “Three assailants — reputedly friends of Rosemond — were lying in wait. They were on orders to beat Shakur but not kill him and to make the incident look like a robbery, the sources said. They were told they could keep whatever jewelry or other valuables they could steal from Shakur and his entourage.”

According to the informant and other sources, Tupac had a traitor in his entourage. He kept the conspirators “of his whereabouts on the night of the assault.”

Rosemond “has served prison time for drug dealing and weapons offenses.” He’s described by Vibe magazine as “one of the most respected and feared players in hip-hop.” Sabatino’s father, meanwhile, “was a captain in the Colombo crime family, according to federal authorities.”

As the Times point out, the accounts of the informant(s) and other sources “are consistent with Shakur’s own. In interviews and on recordings, the rapper blamed Rosemond, Combs and their associates for the attack and promised to get even.”

Sabatino wanted to “to ride Combs’ rising star, and he too leaned on Shakur to leave Interscope Records and sign with Bad Boy.” But Tupac refused. This refusal was seen by “Combs’ circle” as “an act of disrespect.”

Shakur’s behavior “grew increasingly provocative. He insulted music executives and gangsters alike. He brandished weapons in public. Even friends thought he was out of control.”

He was arrested, together with several others, on charges of gang-raping a 19-year old fan. A year later he had to stand trial on the charges. By then, however, the law wasn’t his only problem: “his former pals were laying plans to exact revenge, according to the FBI informant and the other sources.”

On Nov. 29, 1994, two dozen Bad Boy executives and associates gathered on the 10th floor of the Quad to record songs for a debut album by Junior M.A.F.I.A., a group formed by the Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boy’s leading artist.

On hand were Combs, B.I.G., Rosemond, Agnant and Sabatino. Also present, among others, were rapper James “Lil’ Cease” Lloyd and music executive Andre Harrell.

Rosemond had booked an adjacent studio to produce a recording by rapper Little Shawn, whose career he managed. This was the session at which Shakur was to be paid $7,000 for a guest vocal.

In fact, Rosemond never intended to record the session, according to the FBI informant and the other sources.

He had enlisted a trio of his friends from Brooklyn to ambush Shakur in the lobby of the Quad, the sources said.

Agnant and Sabatino helped plan the attack, working out the timing, arranging for the three assailants to be driven to the studio and mapping out their escape route, according to the informant and the other sources. Sabatino informed Combs and Wallace in advance that a trap had been laid for Shakur, the sources said.

Shakur’s friend Randy “Stretch” Walker was in on the plan, the sources said. In the hours before the attack, Shakur and Rosemond argued several times over the phone about how much Shakur would be paid. After the dispute was settled, Walker notified Agnant when Shakur was en route, the sources said.

Around 11:30 p.m., Sabatino effectively locked down the 10th floor, quietly intercepting anyone who tried to leave, the FBI informant and the other sources said.

Just after midnight, Tupac Shakur arrived. “As the rapper and his crew walked toward the elevator, the two other assailants rushed in from outside and demanded that Shakur and the others turn over their jewelry. When Shakur refused, all three attackers began to pistol-whip him.” But then he surprised his attacked by drawing his own gun. “Gunfire erupted, and Shakur accidentally shot himself in the groin. The assailants shot Shakur four times. He sustained injuries to the head, hand and thigh — serious but not life-threatening.”

The assailants “beat and kicked the rapper as he lay bleeding on the ground. Then, ripping a $40,000 gold medallion and chain from his neck, they escaped into the night.”

Obviously, Tupac knew who were behind it and called them out on it. He began to provoke them. It was war. Both sides were telling each other they’d kill the other. Several gun fights erupted, which culminated in Tupac’s dead on September 7, 1996. Six months later, Bad Boy Notorious B.I.G. was killed as well. In neither case has anyone been convicted.

But Sean “Diddy” Combs survived, as did Sabatino. He “became a fixture in Combs’ circle. He went on the road with B.I.G. and joined Combs on his 1997 “No Way Out” tour, helping him stage lavish private parties and land corporate sponsorships.”

Sabatino is now in jail: “He is serving an 11½-year prison term for wire fraud and racketeering.”

Combs himself, of course, became incredibly rich; not only by rapping himself, but also by getting others to rap for his record label. He became an “international celebrity and brand name. He has recorded Grammy-winning rap albums and acted in off-Broadway plays. He hosts a weekly MTV show, owns a restaurant in Atlanta and presides over the Sean John clothing line and the Unforgivable fragrance brand. Forbes magazine last year estimated his income at $23 million.”

UPDATE: Highbrid nation reports

Sean Combs and Jimmy “Henchman” Rosemond are of course denying allegations made by Chuck Phillips in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times.  The article stated that along with the late, Notorious B.I.G., the two were hip imminent attack that was to take place on Tupac Shakur on November 30, 1994.

“This story is a lie,” Diddy said in a statement released yesterday. “It is beyond ridiculous and is completely false. Neither Biggie nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. It is a complete lie to suggest that there was any involvement by Biggie or myself. I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story.”

Jimmy Henchman also released a statement denying the accusations:

“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,” Rosemond said.  “Chuck Philips, the writer who in the past has falsely claimed that [Biggie] was in Las Vegas when Tupac was murdered and that Biggie supplied the gun that killed Tupac - only to be proven wrong, as Biggie was in New Jersey recuperating from a car accident. [The Times] 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 analyze this fiction for what it is, along with Philips’ motives behind it.  I am baffled as to why the Times would print this on its Web site, when a simple and fair investigation would reveal that the allegations are false. I am currently consulting with my attorneys about my legal rights regarding this libelous piece of garbage.”

Someone’s telling the truth…and someone has motive to lie.  Remember the wire?  Don’t believe everything you read and don’t believe everything you’re told.

Keeping an eye on the developments, obviously.