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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs used to be incredibly influential. Many of the people he helped to make stars aren’t talking about him

Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 1999. Scott Gries/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 1999. Scott Gries/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

CNN — TV and radio personality Big Tigger remembers a moment he had years ago with Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The DJ had connected with Combs at the music mogul’s restaurant, Justin’s, and a photographer captured a moment of the two men talking about life.

“I still had the picture and I had given it to my grandmother before she passed. It was a really great picture, like me and him just had a conversation about family,” Big Tigger recalled to CNN. “He had already had some of his kids and I had told him, you know, I hadn’t had any yet, and he was just talking about family and how important family was to him. And I never forgot that personal conversation.”

Combs is no longer in the position to easily offer such wisdom.

His federal sex-trafficking trial in Manhattan is entering its third week. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Cassie Ventura, an artist and former girlfriend of Combs whom he also produced, has spent more than 15 hours on the stand this week, detailing disturbing allegations of abuse she said she suffered at the hands of Combs.

Dawn Richards, another artist who worked with Combs as both a solo singer and a member of the girl group Danity Kane, which Combs founded on his MTV reality series “Making the Band,” is expected to testify next week.

Ventura settled a civil claim with Combs in 2023. He admitted no wrongdoing.

Richards filed a lawsuit in September 2024, accusing Combs of sexual battery, sexual harassment and false imprisonment. He has denied her allegations.

It’s not the trajectory many expected for the founder of Bad Boy Records, whose music and artists ruled the airwaves in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Big Tigger likened him to Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, for a younger generation.

 

Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Big Tigger.
Sean "Diddy" Combs and Big Tigger. Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images
 

“I lightweight grew up a little bit to Puff with the music, and then by the time I actually got into the business, he was already Puff,” Big Tigger said, referring to one of Combs’ many nicknames. “Puff from a business standpoint and a possibility standpoint was an inspiration.”

The influence of Combs extended beyond the music industry, as he also had various businesses that included fashion, hospitality and spirits.

But music - from being an intern at Uptown Records to founding his own label - is what opened the doors to those other industries for Combs. Many of the artists he helped introduce to the world have so far been silent about his legal issues.

Here’s what some of them have said - or not said - since Combs has been accused of running afoul of the law.

Mase

The rapper was a frequent collaborator with Combs and signed to his label.

And while they had joint success on songs like 1997’s “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” and the late Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G’s hit “Mo Money Mo Problems” that same year, Mase and Combs fell out after he accused Combs of exploiting him and other Bad Boy artists, which Combs denied.

Mase recently attended to the funeral service for Wallace’s mother Vonetta Wallace which Comb’s adult son Christian Combs also attended.

Mase told Billboard he would be open to reconnecting with his former mentor.

 

Mase and Sean Combs in 2017.
Mase and Sean Combs in 2017. Theo Wargo/Getty Images
 

“I mean, if my name was on the list I’d go visit Puff,” he said. “I would visit him, make sure he was good.”

He expressed his gratitude to Combs for helping to launch his career, adding that he has no idea as to whether Combs is innocent or not.

“He didn’t do all bad, he did some good. I ain’t talking about the tape stuff and all of that, I’m talking about the musical side,” Mase said, referencing a 2016 video showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Ventura. “Giving me an opportunity, I think as a person of class you definitely got to show up and sit somewhere in the court if they let you.”

Mary J. Blige

Blige was signed to Uptown Records, where Combs served as a producer on her debut album “What’s the 411?”

The pair established a long-standing friendship, working on music together as well as supporting each other’s projects.

 

Sean Combs accepts the Global Icon Award from Mary J. Blige onstage during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
Sean Combs accepts the Global Icon Award from Mary J. Blige onstage during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Mike Coppola/Getty Images
 

Combs often referred to the singer as his “sister.” She returned the kinship in September 2023 when she presented Combs with the Global Icon Award at the MTV Video Music Awards.

“Congrats to my brother @diddy #GlobalIconAward #vma,” Blige captioned a series of photos of her celebrating the event.

She has not publicly commented on the allegations against Combs.

Shyne

Moses “Shyne” Barrow was an up-and-coming recording artist in 1999, when he was signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records.

He was part of the producer’s entourage at a New York City nightclub, along with Combs’ then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, when the evening ended in a hail of gunfire. Three people were wounded.

 

Jamal 'Shyne' Barrow in 2001.
Jamal "Shyne" Barrow in 2001. Doug Kanter/AFP/Getty Images
 

Barrow, Combs and bodyguard Anthony Jones were tried in the shooting in 2001. Combs and Jones were acquitted, while Barrow was convicted on assault and firearm possession charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and deported to his native Belize following his release in 2009.

Barrow told CNN in an interview last year that he blames Combs in part for the events that derailed his life and career.

“You know, there’s so many things that I said so long ago about Diddy. Nobody would listen, nobody would believe,” Barrow said. “And it makes the wounds that I’ve, by the grace of God, been able to heal and the accomplishments that I’ve been able to achieve even much more significant.”

The event is a pivotal part of the Hulu documentary about his life titled, “The Honorable Shyne.” Barrow said he and Combs reconnected 20 years later, but he is clear that he didn’t witness the events which resulted in the current allegations against Combs.

“I didn’t have the opportunity to engage with him to see any of those things and when I didn’t engage with him, I didn’t see any of those things,” Barrow said.

Lil Kim

The female rapper was instrumental in the early success of Bad Boy.

As a member of the group Junior Mafia along with her former love interest Wallace, Combs was a featured artist on her single “No Time,” a hit from her 1996 debut album, “Hard Core.”

 

Lil' Kim (L) and Sean 'Diddy' in 2016.
Lil' Kim (L) and Sean "Diddy" in 2016. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
 

She returned the favor on his 1997 hit, “All About the Benjamins.”

That same year, they appeared together on “The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show,” where she explained that they initially met through Wallace, who was Combs’ best friend and one of the biggest stars on his label.

“It’s funny cause when I first met [Combs] I thought he didn’t like me cause he would lick his tongue at me or maybe make a funny face,” she said at the time. “But then as the years went by I saw how much love he had for me, so I love you Puff and I’m so happy for you.”

She also showed off the diamond earrings she said Combs has gifted her.

Lil Kim has not commented publicly on the allegations against Combs.

Usher

After auditioning for producer and label owner L.A. Reid Raymond, Usher was sent at the age of 15 to learn from Combs at “Puffy Flavor Camp.”

The now adult music star and actor talked to Howard Stern about it in 2016.

 

Usher at an event in 2024.
Usher at an event in 2024. Leon Bennett/Getty Images
 

He said it was a heady experience being a teen in the 1990s in the Bad Boy sphere, surrounded by so many famous and artists, not to mention the women.

“They weren’t there for me,” Raymond said of the groupies. “Howard, they were not my chicks. But I did recognize that, yo, one day this could be my lifestyle.”

He has not spoken publicly about the allegations.

Faith Evans

Evans was not only an award-winning singer on the Bad Boy label, she was also married to Wallace, who was shot and killed in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997.

Known as “The First Lady of Bad Boy Records,” she and Combs worked together frequently. Their single “I’ll Be Missing You” honored Wallace after his death.

 

Faith Evans and Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 2016.
Faith Evans and Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2016. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
 

She spoke with Billboard about Combs on the red carpet for Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy Gala in 2020.

“Puff has always been, way before Bad Boy saw the actual success in commercial sales and stuff like that, he was still a visionary,” she said. “He still very much knew what was gonna make a hit record, he knew good talent, and he actually had ideas for all of us…He would tell me, ‘You’re gonna be this,’ and ‘I’m gonna make him into that’…and it happened.”

Evans has not spoken out about the allegations against Combs.

Big Tigger said he understands why some those who were part of Combs’ inner circle may not currently be comfortable talking about him.

“Anytime you say anything about sexual assault or anything in that lane, no one wants to be attached to that,” he said. “Our society is so quick to lump people together. If I just say, I went out there [to Diddy parties]…now all of a sudden I was probably there and I’m covering for him and this and that. I don’t think people are running to sign up for that.”

Author: Lisa Respers France, CNN

Source: CNN:::

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