NEW YORK – Sean “Diddy” Combs is widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop, but his indictment Tuesday on sex trafficking and racketeering charges further clouds his legacy. For some, it may change their relationship to his music.
The indictment, detailing allegations dating back to 2008, accuses him of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
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Some experts believe the severity of the crimes may tarnish his career moving forward.
“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 look at Diddy’s music in a vacuum the same way you did before.
“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 includes sexual misconduct allegations leveled at Russell Simmons by multiple women, as well as R&B-singer R Kelly who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for using his fame to sexually abuse young fans, including some who were just children, in a systematic scheme that went on for decades.
Sowmya Krishnamurthy, music journalist and author of “Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion,” sees it differently.
“It's always a question of — are fans going to separate the person from the art? Are you able to differentiate the good musical contribution somebody has made, the artists they’ve introduced us to, the hit songs they’ve given us, the soundtrack to our lives versus what’s going on in their personal life, the legal issues that they’re facing?" 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 can still expect to hear Diddy's music out in the world — the records he made, produced, released and beyond — but the effects will 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 adds.
Combs is one of the best-known music executives, producers and performers across hip-hop, having won three Grammys and worked with artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112. He founded Bad Boy Records in 1993, the influential fashion line Sean John, a vodka brand and the Revolt TV network. He sold off his stake in the latter company in June of this year.
In the ‘00s, he was a producer on MTV’s reality television series “Making the Band,” and “Making His Band,” launching the careers of artists like the girl group Danity Kane while embodying a kind of temperamental, “grandiose television personality,” A.D. Carson, associate professor of hip-hop at University of Virginia points out.
“Does MTV stop running those shows if they’re running in syndication?" he asks. “No company that’s making money off of something that they produce is going to willingly give up that money.
“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 adds.
Diddy hasn’t consistently released new solo music the last two decades. Carson theorizes that might make it easier for others to stop playing his records. “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 top 10 hit — 2007’s “Last Night” featuring Keisha Cole hit No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Still, his career and cultural contributions continue to be celebrated. In 2022, Combs received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards. Last year, he performed at the MTV VMAs and released 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 best progressive R&B album at the Grammy Awards. Combs did not attend.
“This time last year, Diddy was being handed a key to the city,” Berry points out. “Now he's being indicted.”
The lawsuits Combs faces began in November 2023, when singer Cassie Ventura sued him for alleging years of sexual abuse including rape. (New York State’s Adult Survivors Act, enacted in 2022, allows victims to file beyond certain statute of limitations.)
In June, video that appeared to show Combs attacking Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016 surfaced, resulting in public outcry. Howard University cut ties with Combs, rescinding an honorary degree that was awarded to him and disbanding a scholarship program in his name as a result. 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 reality show following Combs and his family was no longer in production.
So, what does that say of his career?
“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 don't 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 a lot of attention on the legacy on the people who did the harm. The more responsible thing to ask is: What do reparations look like for the people who were harmed?”