"Street guys don't fear him" – Judge Mathis weighs in on Diddy's alleged gangster ties and how the rapper tried to portray one

Former judge, author, producer, and TV court show arbitrator Judge Greg Mathis recently spoke about Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged gangster ties on his show, The Mathis Verdict, on June 2, 2025. He co-hosts the show with his son, Amir Mathis.

“He has a temper, and he is known for that, and people are in fear because of his temper. But street guys don’t fear him because they know he has never been in the street,” Judge Mathis stated.

He continued by claiming that Diddy attended Catholic school, where he was reportedly “bullied,” following which he tried to join “a little gang” in Harlem, New York. However, they weren’t “even engaging in crime.”

According to Judge Mathis, Combs’ parents had alleged gang connections and were on the street that helped him later in his life and seemingly gave him the “liberty of being the tough guy.”

“But his father, who was killed, was a big gangster in New York… his mother, you know, she was nothing to play with. And she was associated with his friends from the past… So, there was a sense of fear in New York that the folks that were close to his… dad, and everybody feared… in the nation,” he added.

Elsewhere, Judge Mathis claimed that Diddy “portrayed” a gangster to earn the respect of the hip-hop community.

Notably, Diddy’s father, Melvin Combs, was fatally shot in his parked car, off Central Park West in New York in 1972, seemingly for being an informer against heroin dealer Frank Lucas. It has long been suspected that the Gambino crime family was behind Melvin’s murder.

Sean was 3 years old at the time and was raised by his mother, Janice Combs.

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More about Judge Mathis’ comments on Diddy’s alleged gangster ties

On his show, The Mathis Verdict, Judge Greg Mathis and his son Amir discussed Sean Combs’ alleged gangster connections. According to Greg, the Bad Boy Records founder pretended to be a “gangster” to be in the company of the late rapper and his close friend, Notorious B.I.G.

“He said, I got to be a gangster even to have the respect of Biggie and his boys,” Judge Mathis noted.

He claimed that Diddy was the “President” of the record label and didn’t “need to be down” there with Biggie and his crew. However, since Combs wanted to “hang out with them,” he had to put on a disguise of a gangster as Biggie wanted “no square hanging out with them.”

Amir weighed in and agreed with his father, adding that being around Notorious B.I.G. led Diddy to begin collaborating on albums and songs, stepping aside from his usual role as a record executive.

According to Judge Mathis’ son, as Combs began “embodying” a gangster, with more time, he “became” one in his mind, and later embraced it. Meanwhile, the judge concluded that Diddy was not a real gangster, but it was just an affiliation.

In the same episode, Judge Greg Mathis said the prosecution needed stronger evidence and witnesses to build a solid case against Sean Combs, especially for the sex trafficking charge. Regarding the RICO charge, he noted they haven’t proven it yet, but hoped they were building a case that would come together later.

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Notably, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, who is an ex-mafia member with ties to the Gambino crime family and the former right-hand man of John Gotti, also disputed Diddy’s alleged gang ties, claiming he had none.

In a video uploaded on his self-titled YouTube channel on May 31, 2025, Sammy the Bull claimed that if Combs were in the mafia, he would have been killed, since sex trafficking and abusing women, children are things the mob does not tolerate.

He also told News Nation on May 29, 2025, that the mob never touched women and kids, as that was “against our rules, our principles,” adding Diddy would face fatal consequences and “no trial” if he were a gangster.

Likewise, industry insider Lord Jamar claimed in October 2024 that there were rumors that Diddy was part of a powerful “Gay Mafia” within Hollywood.

“He is one of the members of the mob. He’s a mafia member. But he might not be the Don Carl, he is not the godfather. He is one of the heads of the family,” Lord Jamar stated back then.

Sean Combs was arrested in September 2024 and has been on trial since May 5, 2025. He faces multiple charges, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.