Thedewsperspective

My first question after watching the new Netflix documentary about Puff was “what white man supported this foolishness”?  Now wait, I love Diddy music just as much as everyone else.  But it’s some deeper layers to Mr. Combs.  And my rhetorical question encompasses a lot as it pertains Puff, the music business and everything that surrounds him.  Don’t get it twisted, this is about way more than music.  As a matter of fact, it’s possible to say that for Puff, it hasn’t been about music in years.  Even decades maybe.  But please tell me.  Who gave him a $200 million dollar check six days before his RICO trial was to start?  Does that not raise an eyebrow or two?  Who continued to bank the actions of Diddy?  And why?

Let me be clear: this is not an attempt to absolve a grown man of accountability. Sean Combs is responsible for Sean Combs. But when you follow his story — legally, financially, and socially — the real enigma isn’t just about what Puff did. It’s also about who kept allowing him to do it.

The Documentary

A reckoning means a time will come when a person will have to face the consequences of their past actions, whether good or bad.  That’s also the title of the new Diddy documentary.   The docuseries The Reckoning, executive produced by 50 Cent and directed by award-winning filmmaker Alexandria Stapleton, paints a complicated portrait of Combs. It covers his rise, alleged crimes, and the path that led to his federal conviction. Stapleton used footage provided by a confidential source. According to Netflix, no one was paid to participate. This raises its own set of questions.

If nobody was paid, then what motivated people to speak?

During the four part docuseries several of his victims expressed the pain they suffered at the hands of Mr. Combs.  He was described in a manner that should cause heartache for his mother and bring shame to his family.  The way no man would want to be described.  Neither rich nor poor.

Yet the story was told in a well-balanced manner.  Though if you were keeping up with the story, there really wasn’t any new earth-shattering information shared.  There are two jurors showcased in the film.  I guess that’s new. But they don’t have an extensive part in the documentary.  The most memorable thing they shared was how they questioned the credibility of one of the prosecutor’s witnesses.  His former employee who said she was kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to go with him to unalive rapper Kid Cudi.       

Protected. Blessed. Lucky. Or Something Else?

Watching the documentary forces you to reconsider the entire timeline of Combs’ career. Because over and over again, he seems to escape consequences that destroy other people.  I don’t know if he has been lucky, blessed or protected.  The docuseries revisit and highlight all of the tragedies that resulted in severe injury or the death of others that Comb’s always seemed to escape unscathed.  There was the 1991 City College Stampede at the celebrity charity basketball game promoted by Puffy that left nine people dead and 29 injured.  For most, this incident would’ve ruined them.  But not Combs.  His career actually took off shortly thereafter.  There was the Tupac shooting at Quad Studios that he and Biggie are synonymous with.  The death of both Tupac and Biggie.  The East Coast West Coast war.  He reportedly hit Steve Stoute in the head with a bottle.  And when he and his “security” left Mr. Stoute’s office he was bleeding with broken bones, allegedly.  It was said that he attacked Steve Stoute because he didn’t want himself portrayed as JESUS was, nailed to a cross, in rapper NAS video.  I guess he thought it was blasphemous.  But in the docuseries, during one of his recorded rants, Puffy actually said the only person he can be compared to is “the son of GOD.”

Time and time again he escaped death and severe punishment.  Lucky?  Blessed?  Protected?  Shyne went to jail for a shooting he said he was innocent of doing.  Victims of the nightclub shooting said it was Diddy.  He was acquitted of all charges.  It’s been reported that he has robbed everyone he’s done business with.  He forced the co-founder of Bad Boy Records, Kirk Burrowes, to sign over his 25% stake in the company.  Left never to receive proper compensation for his early investment in the company.  And when he sued he was told that he waited too long to file.  Craig Mack’s wife spoke of a time when he was signed to Bad Boy Records as a platinum selling artist, but her dad had to support their family financially. 

Most people don’t survive one of those scandals. Puff survived all of them — and thrived afterward. Lucky? Blessed? Protected?

Somebody supported him. Somebody funded him. Somebody made sure he stayed afloat. And the pattern is too consistent to ignore.

The Trial

There are countless stories that Diddy is associated with that depict him in the worst of ways.  All leading up to the drama that unveiled itself in his trial.  He was convicted of the two lesser charges. These included two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.  And sentenced to 50 months in a federal prison.  One that he got to choose.  Another example of the system bending for Combs. 

Final Words

The docuseries is definitely worth watching.  You’ll learn the strategy that he and his defense team used to spread court transcripts.  A tactic intended to sway public opinion.  You’ll see him attempt to be a man amongst the people in Harlem.  Shaking hands, giving hugs and taking pictures.  Only to return to his chauffeured truck when leaving and vehemently ask for hand sanitizer.  While expressing the need to take a hot bath. 

Puff closes the series saying:
“My intentions was to make everybody the best. For everybody to eat, to make history, and to inspire the world. And I think I did that.”

Did he accomplish what he intended to do? 

The documentary raises a bigger question. The question that interests me most is not just whether Puff inspired the world. It’s who empowered him, protected him, and bankrolled him for so long, even as chaos consistently swirled around him?  And why? It couldn’t have been, just to make us dance.