A few days have passed since Quincy Jones’ death, but his daughter Kidada and her late fiancé Tupac Shakur have been facing unexpected criticism online. The backlash seems to be tied to revelations about Quincy’s past that have come to light since his passing, and it’s not painting him in the best light.
So, what exactly is Kidada being dragged into, and what’s behind all this drama?
After Quincy passed away, his family released a heartfelt statement saying he died peacefully at his home in Bel Air, surrounded by loved ones. The statement read:
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Jones’s passing. Although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him. He is truly one of a kind, and we will miss him dearly. We take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy that were the essence of his being were shared with the world through all that he created—through his music and his boundless love. Quincy Jones’s heart will beat for eternity.”
However, despite this touching tribute, Kidada has been dragged into online debates—largely because of the complicated history between Tupac and her father.
Here’s the backstory: before Tupac’s death, he was reportedly planning to sign with Quincy’s record label. Keyshia Cole revealed during an Instagram Live with Fat Joe that, on the day he died, Tupac had told her he was leaving Death Row Records to join Quincy’s label and had even invited her to come with him.
But long before this, Tupac and Quincy’s relationship was rocky. It all started when Tupac criticized Quincy in an interview, calling out his interracial relationships and the fact that he had mixed-race children. This prompted Quincy’s other daughter, Rashida Jones, to publicly respond, slamming Tupac for his comments and defending her father.
Now, with Quincy’s past under scrutiny and these old tensions resurfacing, Kidada is being unfairly caught in the crossfire. It’s a tough situation, especially considering these issues should have been left in the past.
Months after they first met, Kidada Jones and Tupac Shakur bumped into each other again at a nightclub. Tupac, thinking Kidada was her sister Rashida, approached her to apologize for the comments he’d made about their father. What happened next was completely unexpected: they fell in love.
At first, Quincy Jones, Kidada’s father, wasn’t sure about the relationship. But eventually, he warmed up to Tupac, even becoming close to him. In her father’s autobiography, Kidada described Tupac as the love of her life. They lived together for just four months before Tupac’s tragic death in Las Vegas in 1996.
For Kidada, the loss was unbearable. On the night Tupac died, she was in their hotel room when she got the call. When she arrived at the hospital, she was handed Tupac’s bloodstained clothes and told that his blood pressure had dropped to nothing upon arrival. She sat by his side as he slipped into a coma. In the autobiography, Kidada recalled speaking to Tupac as he lay unconscious: “Do you know I love you? Do you know we all love you?” Tupac nodded slightly, and then fell into a coma. She wrote, “I knew we should have never gone to Vegas that night. I had this awful feeling about it. I’ve gone over it a million times in my mind. It wasn’t supposed to happen. We weren’t supposed to be there.”
While their love story was filled with deep connection, some rumors cast a shadow over the relationship. Allegedly, Kidada wasn’t the only one who had feelings for Tupac. In the midst of family drama, whispers began circulating that Quincy Jones had his own interest in Tupac. It was even reported that Tupac had accused Quincy of making advances toward him. Though the interview with Tupac on this matter was later removed from the internet, some people, like Death Row bodyguard Reggie Wright Jr., confirmed it existed.
When Quincy was asked about this in a New York Times interview, he dismissed the accusations as ridiculous. “Man, this is the biggest age of haters I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve been called everything—blond lover, gay, you name it. I don’t care. Imagine my daughter being engaged to Tupac, and me trying to make love to him. I’m not into no man. I’m a hardcore lesbian. Are you kidding? All my life, all my life.”
Rumors about Quincy Jones and Tupac continue to circulate, and as a result, Kidada has found herself under fire on social media.
Kidada has also been closely linked to her dear friend Aaliyah. They met in 1993 at a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show that Kidada had styled. Kidada recalls that Aaliyah had small feet, just like hers, and since Aaliyah didn’t have the right shoes for the show, Kidada lent her a pair. Their friendship blossomed from there, and they even appeared together in a Tommy Hilfiger ad. Kidada later shared a memory of being Aaliyah’s guardian during a trip to Europe, saying, “I was a few years older, so when she went to Europe, I was the guardian, which was a complete and total nightmare. I’ll keep it mild, but it was just young fun. Maybe I didn’t fully understand boundaries, and we got in trouble quite a few times. But she was the most fun friend. A lot of friends have quarrels, and maybe we had a couple of disagreements, but our friendship…”
They were also in the process of launching a girls’ clothing line called Dollypop, a Japanese-inspired, girly brand, before Aaliyah tragically passed away. Kidada recalled that they were about to sign contracts for the brand when Aaliyah died.
While Aaliyah is often remembered as quiet and reserved, Kidada was one of the few who saw a different side of her. “There was an edgier side to her that people didn’t know. She was more forward-thinking than most people, deeper. She was fine spending time alone; she was a thinker, a little risky in fashion. She was trend-setting,” Kidada explained.
There are also stories of Quincy and Aaliyah’s bond, with some describing how he treated her like a daughter. But others recall Aaliyah’s growing disillusionment with the music industry, especially her complicated relationship with figures like Quincy. Kidada and her father knew how much Aaliyah hated the way she was treated by the industry, which has led to speculation that people like Quincy were indirectly responsible for her struggles and the tragic losses in the industry.
Tensions surrounding Kidada’s relationship with Diddy are also part of the drama. In 2012, Quincy made comments about Diddy, saying Diddy wouldn’t recognize a B flat if it hit him, though he later clarified that he respected Diddy’s business skills. However, some believe that Diddy never got over their animosity, especially since Kidada was dating Tupac and was Quincy’s daughter.
Jean Deal, a man with insider knowledge, even shared a disturbing story about Diddy and Kidada. He claimed that Diddy once asked Kidada to drink from a pitcher he had urinated in, and she almost did so before someone stopped her. This only added to the tension between Diddy and Kidada.
There are also allegations about Quincy’s involvement in dark and secretive operations in Hollywood. Professor Griff has said that Quincy was involved in setting up secret societies and rituals, and he even suggested that Tupac’s refusal to participate in these activities may have led to his death. Griff claimed that Tupac’s refusal was connected to his relationship with Kidada, who was close to Aaliyah, and the two were part of a circle of people who faced tragic outcomes. Griff also claimed that Diddy worked with Quincy in orchestrating some of these shady dealings, including Tupac’s death.
With all the controversy surrounding Quincy and his connections, Kidada is unfortunately being dragged into the narrative, even though her father just passed away. Given everything, is it fair for her to be held responsible or criticized for things that happened in her father’s past? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
