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The recent release of the Netflix’s new docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” has shined new light on the complex life of Sean “Diddy” Combs and moreover–questions about his father, Melvin Combs.
While the documentary does a good job at looking Diddy’s alleged crimes, it also ties things back to his father and the influence that his lifestyle may have subconsciously played in Diddy’s life despite the fact that he died while Diddy was still a toddler.
And thanks to a newly resurfaced interview about Melvin from his associates and others who knew him, renewed curiosity has folks wondering exactly who the man was and what he was about. So, keep reading to find more !
About Diddy’s Father Melvin’s Early Upbringing
According to an archival piece from VIBE magazine from 2010, Melvin Earl Combs was born on April 15, 1939. He was partially raised in East Baltimore with his four other siblings before they all were taken in by their “Aunt Bootsie” and subsequently moved to New York City. Their aunt took over after Melvin’s mother died.
Who Was Melvin As a Kid?
According to his neighborhood friend, Elbert Shamsid-Deen–who lived on the same floor as Melvin–he described Diddy’s father as a “energetic, athletic kid who had a thing for fashion.”
“He was always dressed better than the rest of us,” Deen told VIBE. “He was just smooth like that. Always had that extra flair.”
He also shared that the two were like family and often played basketball together.
Eventually he would enlist in the United States Air Force years and years later.
How Melvin Got Entangled With the Drug Game
Around the 1960s was when Melvin allegedly started entertaining the wiles of the street life and no longer spent time around folks like Deen. He would soon befriend Claude Helton who would later become his associate. According to him, Melvin didn’t start off selling drugs right away, but the more he saw the lifestyle of the drug-dealers had, the more enticing it became.
Describing Melvin’s charisma and charm, Helton told VIBE: “He wasn’t a hard nigga. He was flamboyant and suave. I used to say he was part-hippie and part-hustler. Real outgoing. And man, he really knew how to communicate with the ladies. You go out with Melvin, and you gon’ have your pick of girls.”
Melvin’s Ascent from Coke Dealer to A Serious Force
Per Helton, Melvin really started rising in the drug game around 1970. Though he allegedly began selling coke at first, over time his profile began to rise and his lifestyle began to reflect the new riches he was accruing.
“I think Melvin started really getting money around 1970,” Helton explained. “I remember that’s when he got a new Cadillac and sold me his old car. He had a ’68 Thunderbird, too. Pretty car. Blue with the white top. Only two of ’em in all of Harlem.”
Helton also shared that he allegedly supplied Melvin with coke only a handful of times before he allegedly took a dive into the heroin game and hooked up with a notorious heroin ring.
When Did Melvin Meet Janice?
Somewhere along the lines, Melvin crossed paths with Janice and soon after added husband and father to his name. Diddy would end up being born in November of 1969 with his sister Keisha coming after him two years later.
After Melvin’s death (more on that later), Janice worked multiple jobs to provide for her kids and put some distance between her late husband’s troubled and complicated lore. She also reportedly never got herself involved with any of Melvin’s drug dealings.
How Melvin Got Involved Indirectly With the Italian Mafia
At some point, Diddy’s father Melvin allegedly got entangled with Willie Abraham who supposedly had ties to the Italian mafia and was the leader of a large heroin ring. While his exact status in the organization is unknown, he was allegedly more than just the average dealer and got roped into more high-level things.
How Melvin Met Fellow Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas
Before hanging around with Abrams, Melvin had a run-in with Frank Lucas, another drug lord who ran the streets of New York City. Per an interview Lucas did with VIBE, he took a liking to Melvin fairly quickly and worked with him–albeit briefly.
“Anybody that didn’t like Melvin just didn’t like people. He was that type of guy, top of the line,” Lucas said at the time. “Can’t remember [where] I first met Melvin. Might have been at some nightclub. But we became partners. Before I even started going overseas, we did a few things together. I knew Melvin very well.”
Melvin’s Other Woman
In a very ironic bit of trivia about Melvin, although he had his wife Janice, he also had a woman on the side. His girlfriend, named Cassandra, would often accompany him during the nighttime while he was out and about and was allegedly somehow involved in the business to some capacity.
“Little light-skinned girl,” Helton described her as. “I remember her. Cute girl. But Melvin had a lot of girls. We all did. Back when all you needed was penicillin to clear something up.”
Where does the irony come in? In the fact that so many years later, Melvin’s son Diddy would also have an on-again, off-again girlfriend named Cassandra–a.k.a. Cassie Ventura.
How Did Melvin Die?
On January 26, 1972, Melvin was shot and killed by someone in his passenger seat while sitting in his car on 106 Street and Central Park West, in New York City. He was reportedly shot at point blank range, twice, in the head, according to VIBE. Diddy was three-years-old.
Why Was Melvin Shot and Killed?
The answer to this depends on who you ask, essentially. Reports at the time detail that Melvin was named as a co-conspirator in the federal case Abraham case, though little is known about whether or not Melvin played a role in Abraham and his associates going behind bars.
However, if you ask Lucas, Melvin wouldn’t have been the one to snitch like that.
“They did the wrong thing when they killed Melvin” Lucas said. “If I had been [around], a whole lot of people would have got hurt over that one.”
The Aftermath of Melvin’s Death
Just five days after Melvin was killed, he was laid to rest at the National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. Both Janice and Diddy were there with local news outlets reporting that the matriarch was ” draped in chinchilla at the rites.”
What Diddy Has Said About His Father Melvin
In an interview with REVOLT in 2014, Diddy reiterated the fact that he was a toddler by the time his father was killed. He also mentioned that his dad was a hustler and that he missed him even though he had little memory of him.
“I don’t have a lot of memories of my father, so you know. They say you can’t miss something you never had, that’s only a little ways right. There’s definitely been times as I’ve gotten older that I miss my father and his presence not being there,” Diddy said at the time.
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How Diddy’s Dad’s Death Influenced Him
Speaking in the same REVOLT interview, Diddy shared that his father’s occupation played a role in how he conducted himself professionally and influenced his aspirations.
“I learned early in life that there’s only two ways out of that: dead or jail. And it make me work that even harder. Sometimes you can’t just answer why things happen. But I definitely think the route I went on, staying out the streets, hitting my books and trying to be somebody–I think he played a role in that,” Diddy explained.
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