Mounting sexual assault allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs have negatively impacted his public image, however, one figure that remains doubtful of the validity of those claims is rapper G. Dep.
On Monday (April 15), the former Bad Boy Records artist, who was recently released from New York State prison, sat down with Fox 5 New York to discuss his redemption story and plans moving forward.
During the sit-down, the 49-year-old expressed his disbelief regarding the accusations made against Combs, pointing to his own experiences working with the executive.
“I’m like, ‘When? When did that happen?’ You know what I mean?” Dep said of Diddy’s alleged sexual assault of his recording artists. “We were in the studio for months on end with each other. So I don’t know where this is coming from.”
The Harlem native also urged others to reserve their judgement against Combs until all of evidence is gathered rather than basing their conclusions on hearsay. “People should give people the benefit of the doubt,” Dep continued. “If somebody just saying that you did something, you know, people can say anything.”
The “Everyday” rapper also voiced his willingness to work with Combs in a musical capacity again, publicly reaching out to his former CEO at one point during the interview. “I got a lot of songs, bro,” Dep said, looking directly in the camera. “I’m looking for you so we can get some type of musical situation going.”
The rapper, who was released from prison earlier this month after being granted clemency by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, previously said he wrote thousands of songs while serving a 15 years-to-life prison sentence after confessing to a 1993 murder in 2010.
In an interview with Art of Dialogue, his first following his release, G. Dep reveals that Combs failed to visit him during the entirety of his incarceration, but credits his former collaborator with verbally supporting him from afar. “He reached out to me inadvertently,” the lyricist said.
“Like videos, a couple of interviews, I heard him shout me out. … I couldn’t expect too much from anybody—that wasn’t what type of time that was. I went in there with my own volition.”
G. Dep broke out on the rap scene with his 2001 single “Special Delivery,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, No. 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales charts, and spawned a remix featuring Ghostface Killah and Keith Murray, Craig Mack, and Combs.