Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty

There's no one, even in pop culture, I would argue, that represents what Sean Combs represented at his height as this kind of hype man brand. But when it comes down to the music, other than his ability to recognize the talent of a Notorious B.I.G. and some of the early folks who signed on to Bad Boy really early, he was, I mean, even within hip hop, right?

There's no one, even in pop culture, I would argue, that represents what Sean Combs represented at his height as this kind of hype man brand. But when it comes down to the music, other than his ability to recognize the talent of a Notorious B.I.G. and some of the early folks who signed on to Bad Boy really early, he was, I mean, even within hip hop, right?

There's no one, even in pop culture, I would argue, that represents what Sean Combs represented at his height as this kind of hype man brand. But when it comes down to the music, other than his ability to recognize the talent of a Notorious B.I.G. and some of the early folks who signed on to Bad Boy really early, he was, I mean, even within hip hop, right?

It was De La Soul who called Sean Combs in 1996, right? The shiny suit man. Right. That's who he was. He was a dude who showed up dancing in the shiny suits. You know, Suge Knight's critique. Come to death row because you want to work with a producer that's going to produce you and not show up dancing in your videos. That's always who Diddy was. Right.

It was De La Soul who called Sean Combs in 1996, right? The shiny suit man. Right. That's who he was. He was a dude who showed up dancing in the shiny suits. You know, Suge Knight's critique. Come to death row because you want to work with a producer that's going to produce you and not show up dancing in your videos. That's always who Diddy was. Right.

It was De La Soul who called Sean Combs in 1996, right? The shiny suit man. Right. That's who he was. He was a dude who showed up dancing in the shiny suits. You know, Suge Knight's critique. Come to death row because you want to work with a producer that's going to produce you and not show up dancing in your videos. That's always who Diddy was. Right.

There was no art to the Diddy production in that context. Right. So I think in some ways it's unfair to collapse hip hop onto Diddy because Diddy was really his own thing.

There was no art to the Diddy production in that context. Right. So I think in some ways it's unfair to collapse hip hop onto Diddy because Diddy was really his own thing.

There was no art to the Diddy production in that context. Right. So I think in some ways it's unfair to collapse hip hop onto Diddy because Diddy was really his own thing.

Yeah, I mean, there's precedent towards this, right? We know the extended folks went out of their way to protect, you know, R. Kelly. You know, R. Kelly's music continued to be played on black radio for 15 years after the initial charges broke.

Yeah, I mean, there's precedent towards this, right? We know the extended folks went out of their way to protect, you know, R. Kelly. You know, R. Kelly's music continued to be played on black radio for 15 years after the initial charges broke.

Yeah, I mean, there's precedent towards this, right? We know the extended folks went out of their way to protect, you know, R. Kelly. You know, R. Kelly's music continued to be played on black radio for 15 years after the initial charges broke.

There's always been, and we could go back even deeper into black political culture, going back 40 or 50 years of examples of folks who were problematic, but the black community protected them because what they felt was more at stake was a diminishment.

There's always been, and we could go back even deeper into black political culture, going back 40 or 50 years of examples of folks who were problematic, but the black community protected them because what they felt was more at stake was a diminishment.

There's always been, and we could go back even deeper into black political culture, going back 40 or 50 years of examples of folks who were problematic, but the black community protected them because what they felt was more at stake was a diminishment.

of someone who had attained a certain level of notoriety and celebrity within the Black community, that taking them down would have an adverse effect on the Black community. People are human.

of someone who had attained a certain level of notoriety and celebrity within the Black community, that taking them down would have an adverse effect on the Black community. People are human.

of someone who had attained a certain level of notoriety and celebrity within the Black community, that taking them down would have an adverse effect on the Black community. People are human.

I absolutely would agree. And a lot of this ultimately, I think, boils down to the fact that we have a gender problem, anti-woman problem, an anti-trans problem, an anti-queer problem. And in many ways, our attention to hip hop around these questions is really an attempt to scapegoat hip hop because it can be easily sent away. It's a form of extraction that is almost extra to the industry.

I absolutely would agree. And a lot of this ultimately, I think, boils down to the fact that we have a gender problem, anti-woman problem, an anti-trans problem, an anti-queer problem. And in many ways, our attention to hip hop around these questions is really an attempt to scapegoat hip hop because it can be easily sent away. It's a form of extraction that is almost extra to the industry.