New York (AFP) – Details of the charges against superstar rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs are expected to be revealed Tuesday, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York said following the music mogul’s arrest in Manhattan. The rap mogul is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterize him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims.
Combs, 54, was arrested on Monday by federal agents acting on a sealed indictment filed by the Southern District of New York. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” US attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement late Monday. Williams did not provide further details of the charges, but Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, told The New York Times he believed the rapper was being charged with racketeering and sex trafficking. Agnifilo said in a statement provided to AFP that Combs had voluntarily relocated to New York in anticipation of being charged. “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office,” the statement said. Agnifilo said Combs was being “cooperative with this investigation” and “looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The rapper’s luxury homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by federal agents in March in a heavily publicized bicoastal operation that indicated a federal investigation and potential criminal case was mounting against Combs.
The powerful music industry figure, who has gone by various monikers including Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was widely credited as being key to hip hop’s journey from the streets to the bottle-service club. He has amassed vast wealth over the decades, not least due to his ventures in the liquor industry. However, despite his efforts to cultivate the image of a smooth party kingpin and business magnate, a spate of lawsuits describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on women. The artist has denied all accusations against him.
Combs has no major convictions but has long been trailed by allegations of physical assault, dating back to the 1990s. The floodgates opened late last year after singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, as well as a 2018 rape. The pair met when Ventura was 19 and Combs was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship. The bombshell suit was quickly settled out of court, but a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims followed — including one in December by a woman who alleged Combs and others gang-raped her when she was 17. Disturbing surveillance video then emerged in May showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in the now-settled case.
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 director. He gained a reputation as a party planner, which would be central to his brand as his fame rose.
In 1991, he promoted a celebrity basketball game and concert at the City College of New York that left nine people dead after a stampede. The event was over capacity by thousands and resulted in a string of lawsuits, with Combs blamed for hiring inadequate security. He was fired from Uptown and founded his own label, Bad Boy Records. Thus began a quick ascent to the top of East Coast hip hop, along with his disciple, the late The Notorious B.I.G. Combs boasted a number of major signed acts and production collaborations with the likes of Mary J Blige, Usher, Lil’ Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, and Boyz II Men. He was also a Grammy-winning rapper in his own right, debuting with the chart-topping single “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” and his album “No Way Out.” He built an image as a brash hustler with unapologetic swagger, a major producer who also ventured into Hollywood, reality television, and fashion, and had high-profile romantic links with the likes of Jennifer Lopez. But a dark history of violence and serious misconduct has long haunted his fame.
© 2024 AFP
