Former Bad Boy Rapper G. Dep Says Working With Diddy Was ‘Wild’

Rapper Trevell "G. Dep" Coleman sat down for a post-prison interview. (Credit: YouTube/The Art of Dialogue)

Former Bad Boy recording artist Trevell “G. Dep” Coleman has broken his silence after spending 13 years in prison for a murder he committed in the 1990s.

Coleman, 49, was released from prison on April 4, following a decision by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to grant him clemency in December 2023, according to the New York Daily News.

In 2010, the Harlem rapper confessed to the cold case killing of John Henkel, 32, during a botched robbery.

Following his release, Coleman sat down for his first interview with YouTube channel The Art of Dialogue.

Also ReadArrest Made in Murder of Javonnta Murphy — Rapper Found Dead in Barrel

In the video posted online this week, Coleman discussed the night he took Henkel’s life.

“I was out at night, doing the wrong thing… tried to rob a guy, things went wrong and I shot him,” Coleman said.

That was in 1993 when Coleman was a teenager. Seventeen years later, he was consumed by guilt and confessed to the crime.

“Years went by and in order to restore balance to my life and the life of someone’s family and things of that nature, I wanted to just turn myself in,” he explained. “I needed to get that off my mind, and off of my heart. The spirit moved me to turn myself in. I went to the precinct and I told them everything that happened that night.”

He admitted it’s been challenging adjusting to how much society has changed since he was locked up.

“The technology [changed]. Everything is so instant, being able to do a lot of the stuff on the phones and being able to pay for stuff in the store with the phones,” he said.

At another point in the interview, Coleman was asked about his experience as a Bad Boy Records recording artist.

Best known for the song “Special Delivery,” the rapper was a protégé of Sean “Diddy” Combs.

“That had to be the wildest time of my life, honestly. That was a wild time,” he said.

Coleman added, “It was something I’ll never forget. It helped me understand how important music is and how powerful it can be. It was definitely a pivotal time in my life.”

Asked to explain why it was “wild,” he responded, “We was traveling, we was getting money. We was doing everything, anybody would want to do. We was living life to the fullest, no restrictions.”

Coleman declined to give specifics on how he was living life to the fullest, but said money was flowing in, and for the first time — he could buy a brand new car.

The rapper said he signed a recording contract with Bad Boy in 1998.

While Diddy has been accused by multiple artists of “robbing” them of royalties and their publishing, Coleman said that was not the case with him.

“I was lawyered up, I didn’t just sign anything. We took the time and negotiated the contract. It was a standard contract at first, but we negotiated what we needed,” he explained. “We were straight.”

Coleman also spoke with Fox 5 New York, and said he’d be open to working with Diddy again, despite a string of lawsuits accusing the music mogul of sexual abuse and federal raids on his homes.

Diddy has denied all the allegations, and Coleman said the mogul is innocent until proven guilty.

“People should, you know, give people the benefit of the doubt,” he told Fox 5. “People can say anything.”

Watch the portion of his YouTube interview about Bad Boy Records below. 


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About Anita Bennett

Anita Bennett is the editor and founder of Urban Hollywood 411. She can be reached on Twitter @tvanita.