Sean “Diddy” Combs is well known as probably the most influential figures in hip-hop, however his indictment Tuesday on intercourse trafficking and racketeering costs additional clouds his legacy. For some, it could change their relationship to his music.
The indictment, detailing allegations courting again to 2008, accuses him of abusing, threatening and coercing ladies for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Some specialists imagine the severity of the crimes could tarnish his profession shifting ahead.
“The chance to just be looked at strictly in musical terms, and that being the defining part of his legacy, is pretty much gone,” says Peter A. Berry, a music journalist with work in XXL and Complex.
“I’m not sure you can play ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’ at the barbeque now,” he says. “You can’t have a look at Diddy’s music in a vacuum the identical method you probably did earlier than.
“He’s gone from this aspirational, go-getting music industry legend to essentially, arguably, the Bill Cosby of hip-hop.”
Berry views Combs indictment as “a continuation of a reckoning for the rap world,” which incorporates sexual misconduct allegations leveled at Russell Simmons by a number of ladies, in addition to R&B-singer R Kelly who’s serving a 30-year jail sentence for utilizing his fame to sexually abuse younger followers, together with some who have been simply youngsters, in a scientific scheme that went on for many years.
Sowmya Krishnamurthy, music journalist and creator of “Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion,” sees it in another way.
“It’s all the time a query of — are followers going to separate the particular person from the artwork? Are you in a position to differentiate the nice musical contribution anyone has made, the artists they’ve launched us to, the hit songs they’ve given us, the soundtrack to our lives versus what’s occurring of their private life, the authorized points that they’re going through?” she asks.
“When it comes to Puff, very similar to a lot of incredibly talented, successful but problematic men, I do think many fans will be able to differentiate the two.”
She says you may nonetheless count on to listen to Diddy’s music out on the earth — the data he made, produced, launched and past — however the results will likely be felt elsewhere.
“We’re not going to see his music synced in TV shows and films. You’re not going to see his music being synced, for example, in commercials,” she says.
As for streaming platforms: “As long as people keep streaming records, watching music videos and supporting it behind the scenes, I think a lot of companies have no problem quietly profiting,” she provides.
Combs is likely one of the best-known music executives, producers and performers throughout hip-hop, having gained three Grammys and labored with artists akin to Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112. He based Bad Boy Records in 1993, the influential vogue line Sean John, a vodka model and the Revolt TV community. He offered off his stake within the latter firm in June of this yr.
In the ‘00s, he was a producer on MTV’s actuality tv collection “Making the Band,” and “Making His Band,” launching the careers of artists just like the woman group Danity Kane whereas embodying a sort of temperamental, “grandiose television personality,” A.D. Carson, affiliate professor of hip-hop at University of Virginia factors out.
“Does MTV cease working these reveals in the event that they’re working in syndication?” he asks. “No firm that’s earning money off of one thing that they produce goes to willingly hand over that cash.
“I don’t think anybody who’s still committed to listening to Diddy’s music in 2024 is going to be convinced by this indictment to stop listening to it in the same way that somebody who is, you know, listening to R. Kelly in 2024,” he provides.
Diddy hasn’t persistently launched new solo music the final twenty years. Carson theorizes which may make it simpler for others to cease enjoying his data. “The easiest place to boycott is a place that you were never going to patronize anyway.”
It has been 17 years since Combs had a high 10 hit — 2007’s “Last Night” that includes Keisha Cole hit No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Still, his profession and cultural contributions proceed to be celebrated. In 2022, Combs acquired the Lifetime Achievement Award on the BET Awards. Last yr, he carried out on the MTV VMAs and launched his fifth studio album, “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” his first new album since 2006 chart-topping “Press Play.”
“The Love Album” was nominated for finest progressive R&B album on the Grammy Awards. Combs didn’t attend.
“This time last year, Diddy was being handed a key to the city,” Berry factors out. “Now he’s being indicted.”
The lawsuits Combs faces started in November 2023, when singer Cassie Ventura sued him for alleging years of sexual abuse together with rape. (New York State’s Adult Survivors Act, enacted in 2022, permits victims to file past sure statute of limitations.)
In June, video that appeared to point out Combs attacking Cassie in a Los Angeles resort hallway in 2016 surfaced, leading to public outcry. Howard University lower ties with Combs, rescinding an honorary diploma that was awarded to him and disbanding a scholarship program in his identify consequently. Combs returned his key to New York City after a request from Mayor Eric Adams in response to the video. And in December, Billboard reported {that a} forthcoming Hulu actuality present following Combs and his household was not in manufacturing.
So, what does that say of his profession?
“I do think that certain accolades, you know, industry awards, I could see them being rescinded,” says Krishnamurthy. “But who knows what the future holds. And I do think as time goes on, sometimes the effect is that people do look at the past with rose-colored glasses or it becomes easier to remove ourselves from the negativity and focus on the music and the good times.”
“I think Diddy is basically canceled,” says Berry. “I do not see him making a comeback.”
“His music is too great to ignore,” he adds. “A good amount of people will still play it. But they’re going to get a side-eye.”
“My hope is that folks don’t use Diddy example to scapegoat hip-hop, because this isn’t a problem that’s unique to hip hop,” says Carson.
Additionally, he says “we focus loads of consideration on the legacy on the individuals who did the hurt. The extra accountable factor to ask is: What do reparations appear to be for the individuals who have been harmed?”
© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.