For years, Kirk Burrowes was a footnote in hip‑hop history: a behind‑the‑scenes executive who helped build Bad Boy Records into a 1990s powerhouse. Now he’s at the center of one of the most explosive stories in music, accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual abuse, violence, financial betrayal, and orchestrated blacklisting—and doing it on the biggest stage yet: a Netflix docuseries and a fresh lawsuit.
His claims are colliding with sharp denials not only from Combs’ legal team, but also from key figures tied to The Notorious B.I.G.’s estate, who say at least some of his stories are flat‑out wrong. The result is a very public, very messy reckoning over power, loyalty, and truth in hip‑hop’s golden era.
Who Is Kirk Burrowes—and Why He Matters Now
Kirk Burrowes is
co‑founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, the label launched with Diddy in 1993 that helped turn artists like The Notorious B.I.G. into global icons. He has said he held a
25% ownership stake in the company and worked relentlessly in its early years.
But after being fired, Burrowes spent decades on the outside looking in. He previously sued Combs, accusing him of cheating him out of millions and even tying him to alleged violent acts, including claims related to the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur—allegations that courts never allowed to move forward due to timing and other legal issues. Those earlier cases were dismissed in 2003 and 2006 as too old.
For roughly
25 years, Burrowes says he was
“blacklisted and banned” from the industry, describing a fall so severe that it left him in shelters and experiencing homelessness.
Now, that long exile is over—and he’s talking.
Inside Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning: Burrowes’ Most Explosive Claims
Burrowes steps into the spotlight in
Episode 4 (“Blink Again”) of Netflix’s four‑part docuseries
Sean Combs: The Reckoning, executive‑produced by 50 Cent.
There, he delivers what may be the most direct and personal allegations against Combs yet:
- He calls himself
“a victim on multiple levels” with Sean Combs.
- He alleges Combs was
abusive both as a boss and in “sexual deviant ways.”- When asked what he means, he responds that he did not want to be around Combs as he was “SA‑ing me and others,” referring to sexual assault.
- He describes what he calls a
pattern of cruelty and humiliation, saying:
“With Sean, sometimes you're humiliated, sometimes you're made an example of, sometimes violent things happen to you. Through the years, a lot of bad things happened to good friends.”Burrowes portrays himself as not just a business partner, but a
keeper of secrets who paid a heavy price for falling out with Combs. He claims Combs is:
-
“Devious, calculating, [a] master manipulator”- “In ways… soulless”
- Responsible for what he calls
“hate crimes… against countless people” who crossed him
A childhood friend of Combs,
Tim “Dawg” Patterson, backs up Burrowes’ importance to Bad Boy in the series, saying:
“Bad Boy would not run unless Kirk was involved. He really caught a bad deal.”The New Lawsuit: Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Blackmail Allegations
Beyond the Netflix spotlight, Burrowes has also taken his claims back to court.
According to legal documents reviewed by
Rolling Stone and summarized in recent coverage, Burrowes
filed a new lawsuit against Diddy in March (of the current legal saga), alleging a disturbing pattern of misconduct. He accuses Combs of:
-
Unwanted sexual advances-
Forced nudity and exhibitionism-
Escalating physical violence-
Blackmail and extortion-
Long‑term blacklisting within the music business
Combs’ legal team has strongly denied these accusations, calling Burrowes’ suit
“another frivolous attempt to re‑litigate claims that have been repeatedly thrown out of court over the past 30 years.” They have similarly attacked the Netflix docuseries, labelling it a
“shameful hit piece” that relies on what they say is stolen footage, and have issued a cease‑and‑desist to Netflix.
The Biggie Funeral Controversy: Burrowes vs. Biggie’s Estate
One of Burrowes’ most headline‑grabbing claims in the docuseries doesn’t involve his own story at all—it involves
The Notorious B.I.G., and it is already being publicly disputed.
In
The Reckoning, Burrowes alleges that after Biggie’s 1997 death, Diddy:
- Planned a
huge, high‑profile funeral for the rapper.
- Then used money from Biggie’s
record deal/estate to cover the costs, effectively billing the late rapper’s own account for the funeral.
This allegation triggered immediate pushback.
On December 4, radio personality
Loren LoRosa read a statement on
The Breakfast Club from
Wayne Barrow, who co‑managed Biggie’s estate alongside his mother,
Voletta Wallace. Barrow’s response was blunt:
- He said
Bad Boy and Diddy paid for the funeral in full.
- He stated he had
personally reviewed royalty statements and found
no evidence of funeral costs being charged to Biggie’s account.
- He called the claim
“disrespectful”, arguing it implied that Biggie’s mother and inner circle were naive enough to miss such charges, which he insists they were not.
Barrow also pushed back on an older rumor resurfacing amid the docuseries chatter: that Diddy supposedly
stole a planned Rolling Stone cover from Biggie to use for himself and his
No Way Out album promotion. He said there was
no such Rolling Stone cover conversation with the estate at the time.
This clash underscores a key tension around Burrowes’ emerging role: some of his claims are being embraced as overdue truth‑telling; others are being
actively challenged by people who were there.Journals, Tupac, and the Bad Boy Era Revisited
Another thread raising interest around Burrowes: his
contemporaneous journals.
Coverage of
Sean Combs: The Reckoning notes that Burrowes kept
hand‑written notes “from Day Zero”, documenting his experiences with Combs and the label. In the series, those journals help frame some of the most explosive sections dealing with:
- The deaths of
Tupac Shakur and
The Notorious B.I.G.- The East Coast–West Coast conflict
- Allegations and theories that have swirled for decades about who knew what, and when
The doc features voices beyond Burrowes, including Tupac’s cousin
William Lesane, ex‑Bad Boy artist
Mark Curry, former LAPD detective
Greg Kading, and a former member of the Mansfield Crips known as
D1. Together, they sketch a picture of Combs’ world that is darker and more volatile than the glossy public image built over years.
Burrowes’ notes—and his willingness to attach his name to explosive claims—give that narrative extra weight, even as critics question his motives and memory.
What Diddy’s Camp Is Saying
Combs is currently facing an avalanche of civil lawsuits and public allegations, with
The Reckoning acting as an accelerant. His legal team’s stance on Burrowes is clear:
- They insist this is
not new, but part of
a pattern of old, discredited claims resurfacing under a fresh media spotlight.
- They argue that past courts have already signaled skepticism by
throwing out earlier lawsuits from Burrowes.
- They dismiss the Netflix series as a
sensational hit job, accusing it of using
unauthorized or “stolen” footage and promising further legal action to stop it.
Netflix, as of the latest reporting,
has not complied with the cease‑and‑desist and continues to stream the series.
Why Kirk Burrowes’ Voice Hits Different Right Now
So why is Kirk Burrowes suddenly everywhere?
A few reasons:
-
Timing: These allegations land after a year of intense scrutiny around Combs, including federal investigations and other civil claims, making the public far more receptive to stories that might once have been dismissed.
-
Proximity to power: Burrowes is no
Sources
1. Bad Boy Co-Founder Alleges Mogul Abused Him in 'Sexually ...
2. Manager Of Biggie's Estate Denies Claim That Diddy Made Them ...
3. Who is Kirk Burrowes? Read Journals About Tupac From 50 ... - IMDb
4. “It's disrespectful”: Biggie's estate manager responds to claims made ...
