G-Dep during Don Pooh's Birthday Party - August 21, 2003 at Club Exit in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
G Dep is walking free as of Thursday (April 4). Several circulating videos show the former Bad Boy Records artist leaving prison and reuniting with his loved ones.
For context, the 49-year-old was at the center of P Diddy and the record label’s rise, claiming stardom in the late 90s and early 2000s. Hits like ‘Special Delivery’ and ‘Let’s Get It’ reportedly helped put the viral Harlem shake dance on the map.
In December 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul granted him clemency in a murder case. Dep had already served 13 years out of a 15-year sentence. He was convicted in 2011 after confessing to fatally shooting John Henkel in 1993.
In 2010, he walked into a police precinct and admitted to committing the crime as a teenager. It reportedly happened during a robbery outside of an apartment complex in East Harlem, New York. Henkel ultimately passed away from three gunshot wounds to the chest.
After Gov. Hochul granted clemency, G Dep became eligible to seek parole before the original 2025 date, per AP. His clemency application received support from the prosecutor in his case and the original sentencing judge.
The fact that G Dep earned an associate’s degree and facilitated violence prevention and sobriety counseling programs was definitely a good look on his application as well. Additionally, AP reports that he participated in “a variety of educational and rehabilitative classes.”
According to records from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Dep’s early release is part of the prison’s ‘Limited Credit Time Allowance’ program. TMZ reviewed the records and found that the program allows eligible inmates a six-month credit on their sentences.
G Dep is reportedly already teasing new music and enjoyed some pancakes as one of his first “free man” pit stops.
According to the Associated Press, G Dep’s career took a hit after releasing his 2001 debut album, ‘Child of the Ghetto.’ The New Yorker got caught up in drug use and multiple misdemeanor arrests. Then came his confession, and the rest is history.
It’s unclear if G Dep has maintained a relationship with Diddy over the years. But Dep’s release comes less than two weeks after federal agents conducted a bi-coastal raid on the Bad Boy Records founder’s Miami and Los Angeles homes.
The music mogul has kept a low profile since the raids. But paparazzi and social media posts have placed him in the recent company of his children, including his daughters Jessie, D’Lila, and Love Sean Combs.
Meanwhile, his friend of more than two decades, Stevie J, has been riding HARD online and in media interviews for Sean’s alleged innocence and behavior.
Diddy’s ex and mother to his son Justin Combs also recently spoke on the “excessive force” federal agents allegedly displayed in the Los Angeles raid.
