Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘didn’t know’ Kanye West jail call was being recorded

A source close to Sean “Diddy” Combs has claimed the jailed mogul is “collateral damage” between warring exes Kanye West and Kim Kardashian after a call between the two rappers was leaked.

Sean “Diddy” Combs didn’t know his leaked prison phone call with Kanye West had been recorded for the general public to hear, a source close to the matter has claimed.

A video showing West talking on the phone with Combs was posted earlier this week to Instagram by The Shade Room. The video appeared to have been recorded by West; however, it’s not clear who leaked the footage.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West with two of their children, North West and Saint West, in 2019. Picture: Getty Images

“Puff didn’t know it was being recorded [on video],” the source told the New York Post, adding that Combs “thought he was having a friend call him to check on his kids”.

While all prison calls are logged and recorded internally, those records are not generally available to the public.

Responding to social media speculation about the recording’s authenticity, the source confirmed, “The call was real and not AI.”

Combs is currently being held without bail at in a New York jail while he awaits trial on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. The hip-hop mogul has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

(L-R) Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, and Anna Wintour at Kanye West’s Yeezy fashion show in 2015. Picture: Getty Images

On his call with West, Combs encouraged the embattled star to “have some f***ing fun” and to “get behind the mic.” He also thanked West for “taking care of my kids” following his arrest in September.

Combs has seven children: son Christian, 26, and twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila, 17, with his late ex Kim Porter; Quincy, 33, his adopted son from Porter’s marriage to ex-husband singer Al B. Sure!; son Justin, 31, and daughters Chance, 18, and Love, 2, whom he shares with Misa Hylton, Sarah Chapman and Dana Tran, respectively.

“Diddy’s kids are in touch with Ye,” the source confirmed to The Post.

West excerpted Combs’ words of gratitude from the recorded call and used them in the opening for a new song, Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine, a snippet of which he shared in a since-deleted post on X.

Kanye West has been leaking text messages from ex-wife Kim Kardashian over North West’s involvement in a new song that also features Sean Combs. Picture: Getty Images

“Ye is doing Ye,” the insider said of the Yeezy founder allegedly recording the call, which they said took place last week.

“Ye wasn’t doing anything nefarious,” the source explained, adding that the recording likely “happened organically.”

West’s new track also features vocals from his and ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s 11-year-old daughter, North West. Kardashian reportedly tried to stop West from using the vocals, setting off a maelstrom between the exes, which has played out on social media.

Regarding the call being leaked, the insider claimed, “Diddy is collateral damage in the debacle over Ye’s new song – the beef is really with Kim.”

The situation is “a matter of older influential Black men knowing these guys are kind of flying blindly,” they added.

Amid the drama, West posted screenshots of his alleged text message exchange with Kardashian where they fought over their oldest child’s involvement in the song.

Kanye West and Diddy have remained on good terms despite the controversy. Picture: Getty Images

In the alleged texts, the Kardashians star told West that she trademarked North’s name in an attempt to stop the song from being released, according to TMZ.

As the pair became locked in a bitter back-and-forth, Combs advised West to “get behind the mic” and “get back to smiling,” in a phone call obtained by the Shade Room.

“When I get out there, man, I want to see you f***ing tear down the stadiums. I need to see you back on that stage, f***ing actually rapping and f***ing performing and everything. I be dreaming of that s***,” Combs told West.

It’s unclear exactly when the phone call between the rappers took place.

At the start of the conversation, Combs was heard telling the 24-time Grammy winner, “Tell you real from the front line. This s*** is wicked, wicked, wicked, so you be careful. You can’t do nothing for just … I need you out there, you hear me?”

“I hear you, yes, sir,” West responded, as Combs continued, “And have some f***ing fun. Get behind the mic, have some fun. Chop up them samples, get back on your hit man vibe. Have some fun, get back to smiling.”

Kim Kardashian is furious her daughter North West has been featured in a song alongside Diddy. Picture: MEGA/GC Images

“F*** these other motherf – kers. They are wasting your time. Wasting your motherf***ing time,” Combs said.

“So, put that love in your heart, man, and enjoy yourself.”

“Yeah, it’s time for me just to grab the mic and get back on. I love, I love music again,” West responded.

“Jump into your bag. We gonna have years and decades to fight these motherf***ers. Right now, enjoy your life,” Combs said.

“This is coming from me, from God to you. Enjoy your life. Fall back in love like when you was making the beats. Have a good time and say ‘f**k the world’ and all the bulls*** man.”

Combs, who is currently locked up without bail as he awaits trial after being charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and fraud, asked West to play him a track over the phone to “give me some f***ing life.”

“This s*** is f***ing sad. I’m Puff Daddy in jail. This s*** is f***ing sad as a motherf***er,” he said, adding, “The devil is a liar.”

“When I get out and I get that f – king freedom, woo. I am not caring about nothing but motherf***ing being happy. And I want you to feel that,” added Combs, who faces a minimum of 15 years in prison

“They definitely trying to end us,” Combs went on. “I’m gonna beat this s*** and get next to you.”

“It’s like being left for dead. And only one person coming to do anything to get you. That’s the level of appreciation that I have for you,” he said of his time behind bars.

Unlike Kanye, Kardashian has distanced herself from Diddy. Picture: Instagram

Later in the call, Combs thanked West for taking care of his kids following his arrest in September.

The disgraced music mogul shares son Christian, now 26, and twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila, 17, with late ex Kim Porter.

Porter had her first child, son Quincy, 33, with her former husband singer Al B. Sure! Combs later adopted Quincy when he was just three years old. Diddy also shares son Justin Combs, 30, and daughters Chance Combs, 18; Love Sean Combs, with Misa Hylton, Sarah Chapman, and Dana Tran, respectively.

This story was originally published in The New York Post.

Originally published as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘didn’t know’ Kanye West jail call was being recorded