With the recent scandal of Diddy’s sexual crimes shaking up the music industry, there has been a lot of talk regarding those closest to Diddy. This has sparked many nuanced conversations regarding Jay-Z and Beyoncé, and their relationship with Diddy (with special emphasis on Jay-Z’s ties to him). Here is a compiled timeline of their relationship with each other.
THE BEGINNINGS
Jay-Z and Diddy’s friendship dates back to the early 1990s. Diddy was a music mogul during this time, leaving Uptown Records to start Bad Boy Records, and signing popular artists such as Mase and The Notorious B.I.G, also known as Biggie Smalls. Jay-Z found his success with his first studio album Reasonable Doubt in 1996, which featured Smalls.
Less than a year after its release, Smalls was murdered. This death heavily influenced Jay-Z when he released his second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 in 1997, which Diddy contributed to. This started one of their first major collaborations together. Jay-Z drew comparisons to Diddy, as they were both New York-born hip-hop artists named Shawn/Sean. According to multiple sources, like Complex, Diddy wanted Jay-Z to fill in the shoes that legends Tupac and Biggie left behind in their passing.
controversies and turmoil
Both artists found themselves in legal trouble in 1999. The two rappers found themselves facing the same amount of time in jail. Jay-Z was facing charges for stabbing Lance “Un” Rivera at the Kit Kat Club, to which he pleaded guilty and received 3 years of probation. Three weeks after this, Diddy was involved in the infamous club shooting at Club New York, which resources from the New York Post saw him flee the scene with Jennifer Lopez and protégé Shyne Barrow. Lopez, Shyne, and Diddy were all arrested for this. Lopez received no charges, Diddy received a three-year probation, and Shyne served almost a decade.
jay-z & beyonce
Jay-Z and Beyoncé began a romantic relationship in the early 2000s and were friends for roughly a year before. She was 19, and he was 31. Beyoncé’s solo career took off in 2003 with her album Dangerously in Love. The chart-topping song in the album “Crazy in Love” certified Jay-Z and Beyoncé as a powerful couple. Beyoncé also collaborated with Diddy on the song “Summertime” in 2003 as well.
the besties
For the next two decades, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Diddy were practically joined at the hip. They attended each other’s events and birthday parties and were seen publicly congratulating each other on successes, such as the birth of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter Blue-Ivy. While both Jay-Z and Diddy were constantly competing for the world’s wealthiest hip-hop artist, they remained good friends in the process.
last sightings
Jay-Z and Diddy were both present for DJ Khaled’s Walk of Fame ceremony in 2022, and this was the last reported sighting before Diddy’s ex-partner of 11 years, Casey Ventura, accused him of sexual assault in 2023. While the case was reported to be settled, this opened Pandora’s box to a troubling number of legal accusations against Diddy, leading to his arrest in 2024. Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s decades-long connection to Diddy has stirred up a lot of questions as to whether these two artists knew about Diddy’s alleged “freak-offs” or if they had any hand in it themselves.
Jaguar Wright’s interview with Piers Morgan was incredibly concerning. According to Deadline, the singer and collaborator called Diddy and Jay-Z monsters, further claiming Jay-Z and Beyoncé have numerous victims on their hands. Following that interview, Piers Morgan was given a “legal ultimatum” from lawyers working with Jay-Z and Beyoncé, which resulted in Morgan taking the video down and issuing an apology. In the video, Morgan claimed Wright’s accusations against Jay-Z were “totally false and have no basis in fact.”
In a press conference held on Tuesday, Oct. 1, Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing over 100 alleged victims, held a press conference. According to Page Six, Buzbee said: “The day will come when we will name names other than Sean Combs, and there’s a lot of names. It’s a long list already, but because of the nature of this case, we are going to make damn sure — damn sure — that we’re right before we do that,” he continued, adding, “The names will shock you.” He promises to identify other defendants at a later date.
Whether the power duo is involved is purely up to speculation, as netizens are trying to decipher whether their deafening silence amid the chaos is out of guilt or if it is purely guilt by association. Diddy is being tried for racketeering and sex trafficking on May 5, 2025.