The Beef Between Sean 'Diddy' Combs And Drake, Explained
Long before Drake had a feud with Kendrick Lamar, the Toronto rapper beefed with Sean "Diddy" Combs. The tension between the two came as a surprise because the rappers were friends before coming to blows. During Drake's OVO Fest in Toronto in August 2013, the "Started From the Bottom" artist reunited Diddy with his former Bad Boy partner, Ma$e. "This is history. Thanks, Drake for bringing us together," Diddy said at the time, per MTV News. In 2014 Drake and Diddy attended NBA All-Star Weekend together, and the pair went viral after in a video of the "6 God" rapper playfully snatching the mic from Diddy's hand while they were performing. Later that same year, the seemingly tight friends became enemies.
The shady side of Diddy came to light when he reportedly punched Drake in the face while the pair were attending an event at LIV Nightclub in Miami on December 8, 2014. According to a source for TMZ, Diddy approached the younger rapper and was blown off. "You'll never disrespect me again," he said before allegedly hitting Drake. The following day, TMZ reported that their beef started over the beat for Drake's "0 to 100 / The Catch Up." The track produced by Boi-1da was originally given to Diddy, but instead, Drizzy used it to make a massive hit.
A few days after the incident, Drake sent subliminal shots on Instagram. "They're either talking s*** about you or stealing the s*** you're talking," he wrote on December 10, 2014 (via Vibe). It took the pair a while until they were able to bury the hatchet.
Diddy and Drake became friends again
Sean "Diddy" Combs and Drake sorted out their differences over the phone in April 2015. According to a report from TMZ, the rappers knew they couldn't avoid each other forever, and both agreed that they would rather focus on making money than on more drama.
In August 2015, the "I'll Be Missing You" artist opened up about his reported altercation with Drake. "I did not put hands on Drake. And I don't want any problems with Drake," Diddy said while appearing on "The Breakfast Club." The Bad Boy honcho had nothing but kind words for the "Energy" rapper. "I didn't do nothing to Drake. Drake is my friend," he added. Diddy did offer a clarification on how the two were at odds over the beat to "0 to 100 / The Catch Up." According to Diddy, he was given the beat by Boi-1da, and asked Drake for an assist on the track. "It was the beat, and it was just a misunderstanding. I sent him the song for him to ghostwrite for me," Diddy added. A year after that interview, the rappers showed that they were back to being on good terms.
During the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2016, Diddy accepted an award on behalf of Drake. The Toronto MC won a Moonman for best hip hop video for "Hotline Bling," and Diddy grabbed it for his friend claiming that Drake was "stuck in traffic," per BET. Even though the two moved on, years later more details about their feud surfaced.
French Montana mediated a truce between Drake and Diddy
Initial reports from 2015 claimed that Sean "Diddy" Combs and Drake squashed their beef over the phone, but French Montana said that he played mediator for the two in person. While appearing on "The Breakfast Club" in June 2022, Montana said that the rappers hashed out their differences at one of his birthday parties. "They both like my best friends, so I'm like, 'Y'all need to dead that,'" the "No Stylist" artist said. "When they came, they just spent the whole night talking to each other."
The same year as the Montana interview, Kanye West shared an anecdote about how heated Diddy and Drake's feud had become. West said that the two attended one of his Yeezy fashion shows, and drama ensued. "At that time, Puff Daddy had beef with Drake. Drake still came to the show and Jay-Z had to break up the fight backstage," West said while appearing on "The Lex Fridman" podcast in October 2022. That would not be the last word on the pair's relationship.
The friendship between the "Been Around the World" artist and Drake was put under the microscope after the Diddy allegations came to light in March 2024. Fans dredged up an old tweet that Drake posted in 2012. "From this n***a Diddy view I think I see his vision too," he tweeted. With Diddy's arrest making headlines, fans clowned Drake in the replies. One X user commented with a photoshopped image of Diddy resembling Jeffrey Epstein. The situation didn't improve in May 2024 when Kendrick Lamar made damning allegations about Drake and underage girls.