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 Despite both Diddy and Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond denying accusations from a recent LATimes.com article that fingered them as knowing or being involved in the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur, the paper's writer Chuck Philips is sticking to his guns, standing by his piece.
According to what the writer told BET.com, both men knew of the story prior to being published, and was given the chance to comment, but refused.
"Puffy chose not to talk," Philips said. "I offered him the opportunity to comment twice. He knew what the story was going to say. He decided not to comment."
And although Diddy called the story "beyond ridiculous," he was not accused of being behind the attack of Shakur, only that he knew it was going down before it happened.
As far as Rosemond, he was said to have helped set the whole thing up, according to the article printed on Monday (March 17), and he, just like Diddy, declined to comment, and instead threatened legal action if Philips went forward with the story.
"He refused to talk to me," Philips says of Rosemond. "So we printed what his lawyer said."
"Read his statement and go look at when Biggie got in the car accident," Henchman said in a statement after the LATimes.com piece was published. "He's putting false information out there. Biggie didn't get into the accident, until after Tupac was killed in Las Vegas."
In response, Philips said that Henchmen's attack of his credibility needs fact checking.
"In terms of what Henchmen says, he says I'm full of sh** with my Vegas story because Biggie had got in a car accident [and couldn't have been in Vegas because he was home recuperating]. Biggie didn't get in that accident until after Tupac [was murdered], so that part of [his statement] is wrong. He's basing his attack on me on [information] that's false," Philips told HipHopDX.com in an interview.
Rosemond has since revealed that he's exploring his legal options, planning to possibly sue the paper for what he calls a "libelous piece of garbage."
As far as the backlash he's received from the parties mentioned and the questions people had, trying to discredit his story, Philips said that he did his homework and is confident his piece is very close to the truth.
"I try to go and find people who are directly involved or know people who are involved in the actual crime," Philips told BET.com. "I work the same as police do, except I'm not a cop so people are not afraid to talk to me because I'm not going to arrest them."
He's not afraid of the possible repercussions, either. His next story is about the murder of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. Philips says that anyone he gets information from, he keeps it secret and they feel safe providing secret information because of that.
"I deal with a lot of criminals in my work and I treat them with respect and I'm very secret about the information I gather from individuals and anybody that I work with," hes said. "There are some dangerous people who I work with, but their information is safe with me."
In the LATimes article Philips revealed that federal prosecutors have and are currently investigating the attack on Tupac, the murder of Biggie and other hip-hop related crimes.
For the piece that caused all this talk on Monday, visit LATimes.com/Tupac to read it in its entirety.
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