Once a flamboyant hip-hop singer credited with commercializing the genre, Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs saw his star sink when federal authorities raided his homes amid a web of sex trafficking accusations and assault lawsuits.
The legal pressure and a highly publicized operation on both coasts of the United States, which saw armed agents enter his sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, mark the rapid downfall of the powerful businessman who, in recent years, has been trying to relaunch himself as a new persona. Competing to be renamed “Brother Love” [“Irmão Amor”].
The 54-year-old founded Bad Boy in 1993 with disciples like the late Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, launching hip-hop into the global lifestyle brand it is today.
The artist who holds several nicknames including “Puff Daddy” and “P. Diddy” was widely viewed as crucial to hip-hop’s journey from the streets to exclusive clubs.
Over the decades, he has amassed enormous wealth, mainly thanks to his ventures into the alcoholic beverage industry.
Despite his efforts to promote his image as a calm, cheerful leader and business mogul, many court filings describe Combs as a violent man who used his fame to assault his victims.
He has no major convictions, but has long faced allegations of physical assault dating back to the 1990s.
Late last year, the floodgates opened when singer Cassie, whose real name is Cassandra Ventura, alleged that Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion through physical force and drugs, as well as a 2018 rape.
The pair met when Ventura was 19 and he was 37, when he hired her at his publishing company and they began a romantic relationship.
The lawsuit was quickly settled out of court, but was followed by a series of equally graphic sexual assault allegations — including one in December by a woman who claimed Combs and others gang-raped her when she was 17 years old.
Combs has vehemently denied all the accusations against him.
Those responsible for US homeland security [Segurança Nacional] They did not say why the latest raids were carried out and no federal charges have been filed against Combs, whose lawyers described the searches as an “unprecedented ambush.”
But the coordinated operation indicates the possibility of a dangerous situation.
A dark shadow on international fame
Born Sean John Combs on November 4, 1969 in Harlem, the artist entered the industry as an intern in 1990 at Uptown Records, where he eventually became a talent manager.
He gained fame as a party planner, which would be crucial to his brand as his fame grew.
In 1991, he promoted a celebrity basketball game and a scene at a New York City college that left nine people dead after a panicked escape.
The event exceeded the venue's capacity by thousands and led to a series of lawsuits, with Combs blamed for hiring inadequate security.
He was fired from Uptown and founded his own label Bad Boy Records.
Thus began his meteoric rise to the top of East Coast hip-hop.
His protégé The Notorious B.I.G. became the King of Hip-Hop after releasing his debut album “Ready to Die” in 1994, until his shocking murder in 1997.
Combs has boasted a number of major signings and production collaborations with the likes of Blige, Usher, Lil' Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, and Boyz II Men.
He was also a Grammy Award-winning rapper in his own right, starting out with the single “Can't Nobody Hold Me Down” and his album “No Way Out.”
The single “I'll Miss You” was a tribute to Biggie and was an instant hit, with other lead tracks including “It's All About the Benjamins” and “Been Around the World”.
He built the image of a brash “con man” with ruthless arrogance, a great producer who also ventured into Hollywood, reality shows, and fashion, and had high-profile romances with names like Jennifer Lopez.
For more than a decade, starting in 1998, her fancy white parties were a staple on the pop culture concert circuit.
In recent years, he legally changed his middle name to Love [Amor]released “The Love Album: Off the Grid”, went further into philanthropy and mounted an overwhelming media campaign presenting himself as the wisest man of the “Age of Love”.
But his dark history of violence and serious misconduct has quietly haunted his fame — and now may be overshadowing it.
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