Nationwide — Everyone seems to be speaking about 50 Cent’s new documentary about Sean “Diddy” Combs on Netflix, and this has sparked new curiosity in an unique story revealed by Vibe years in the past about who Diddy’s father was.
Effectively, his identify was Melvin Combs, and he reportedly lived a harmful double life that his younger son wouldn’t perceive till years later. Although Diddy would develop as much as construct a large empire in music and enterprise, his father’s world centered on the quick cash, glamour, and excessive dangers of Harlem’s late-Sixties drug scene. In January 1972, Melvin was discovered shot to demise in his parked automotive close to Central Park West, a killing that shocked those that cherished him and ignited many years of hypothesis about why he was focused.
Melvin grew up in East Baltimore earlier than shifting to the Patterson Homes within the Bronx, the place buddies remembered him as athletic, trendy, and charming. His love for superb garments and pleasure pulled him progressively into the road life. By the late Sixties, he was befriending hustlers, frequenting Harlem nightlife, and turning into immersed in drug dealing. Regardless of his rising involvement in crime, he maintained a refined public picture together with his spouse Janice whereas additionally carrying on relationships that got here with the road life-style.
As his revenue and popularity grew, Melvin aligned himself with main figures in New York’s narcotics underworld, together with Frank Lucas and, later, Willie Abraham’s heroin operation. Abraham’s crew was one of many largest rings on the East Coast, distributing huge portions of heroin all through New York and New Jersey. Melvin was not the highest boss, however he performed a significant function throughout the group. His participation, nonetheless, put him squarely within the line of fireside when the federal authorities started cracking down.
In late 1971, federal wiretaps led to the arrest of lots of Abraham’s associates. Melvin was arrested quickly afterward with medicine, a gun, and money. Solely two weeks later, he was executed at point-blank vary inside his personal automobile. Rumors unfold immediately: Did Melvin cooperate with authorities? Was he suspected of doing so? Whereas buddies like Frank Lucas insisted he would by no means betray his crew, the notion alone might have made him a goal in a world the place belief was fragile and silence was survival.
Years later, Melvin’s affiliate Claude Helton claimed to have discovered who killed him. In keeping with Helton, Willie Abraham’s lieutenant Walter Grant confessed that he intentionally set Melvin up, luring him to 106th Avenue, sitting beside him within the automotive, and taking pictures him twice within the head. Grant allegedly believed Melvin had talked—or would speak—to federal brokers. Grant himself was ultimately killed in Mount Vernon years later, closing the circle of violence that consumed so many from that period.
For Diddy, the reality of who his father was got here slowly. Raised by his mom Janice away from Harlem’s risks, he ultimately sought solutions in regards to the man he barely remembered. As he rose within the music trade, he met buddies and associates of Melvin who shared tales of his charisma, model, and troubled selections. Although Melvin’s life was transient and turbulent, his reminiscence lived on by means of the son who would go on to attain international fame—and who inherited not solely his father’s smile, but additionally his relentless drive.
