The music mogul, who was accused of sexual abuse by a former romantic partner, fueled the commercial success of rap over a 30-year career dotted by allegations of violence.
Sean Combs, the hitmaking hip-hop mogul also known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, was sued this week in federal court by Cassie, an R&B singer who was once signed to his label and who had been his romantic partner. She accused Mr. Combs, 54, of rape, and of physical abuse over about a decade. A lawyer for Mr. Combs said he “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.” A key driver of hip-hop’s takeover of mainstream pop, Mr. Combs has had a career in music, fashion and TV for more than 30 years that has been periodically interrupted by run-ins with the law.
1991
An Ambitious Intern’s Rocky Ascent
Mr. Combs, a relatively unknown 22-year-old radio station intern, co-hosted a celebrity basketball game with the rapper Heavy D. A stampede erupted among the jammed crowd inside the oversold City College of New York gymnasium, killing nine people.
A report commissioned by Mayor David N. Dinkins criticized Mr. Combs for allowing inexperienced underlings to plan the event and for tricking ticket buyers about the event’s charitable intentions.
“City College is something I deal with every day of my life,” Mr. Combs said in 1998. “But the things that I deal with can in no way measure up to the pain that the families deal with. I just pray for the families and pray for the children who lost their lives every day.”
A year later, as an intern at Uptown Records, Mr. Combs’s production on the remix of Jodeci’s “Come and Talk to Me” helped the single to sell 3 million copies, announcing him as a rising talent. He went on to help produce remixes for Heavy D, the reggae artist Super Cat, and “Real Love” by the R&B singer Mary J. Blige, which introduced the rapper the Notorious B.I.G.
