Birds of a Feather? Sean Combs, Jay-Z, and Why This May Not Hurt Pop-hip hop
Has It Always Been So Simple?
Hip Hop, arguably, is a formidable force from the late 20th century. The momentum of the genre sum canon does not cease. The outgrowth includes K-Hip Hop, J-Hip Hop, along with a host of other musical elements. Those who are dedicated to the culture/Elements, see a strong decline in the genre from the 2000s. The rise of Andre 3000, Outkast, Drake, Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Soulja Boy, and Young Thug and Gunna, to name a few, demonstrates a steady slide toward pop compromise while trying to retain a Hip Hop ethic. XXL Magazine has an interesting list with comments from social media posts. Nikki Minaj, Iggy Azalea, and Bella Thorne demonstrate some of the worst female (striving to be) Hip Hop artists.
Interest Gets the Cat
The intent of discussing this matter is not to shed a negative light on Hip Hop's lesser brothers or sisters. Rather, there is a need to point out the obvious, with the arrest of Sean P-Diddy Combs (2024) due to sexual assault, civil lawsuits, and abundant criminal activities, and the timely arrest of Jay-Z as a co-conspirator in such actions, Hip Hop fans who feel they are holding onto the closest threads of core Hip Hop music and culture are waking up to shocking news - they're not.
The case is clear, as outlined in a report by CNN on Sept. 25, 2024,
The opening statement is enticing enough to read the remaining report,
"In the past 11 months, music magnate Sean "Diddy" Combs has faced crescendoing allegations of abuse and sexual assault, culminating in at least 10 civil lawsuits, a federal human trafficking probe, and his arrest and indictment."
Fast forward a few months and we get this report on Dec. 9, 2024,
This CNN report states the following,
"A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Sean “Diddy” Combs has amended her lawsuit to include allegations that she was also assaulted by Jay-Z at the same party.
The lawsuit was initially filed against Combs in October, but on Sunday the woman added Shawn Carter, the rapper and businessman known as Jay-Z, as a defendant in the civil lawsuit.
Carter is the first celebrity to be accused of sexual assault in connection to Combs."
It is from this point in pop culture history that we can read such entertainment headlines as,
CNN, Dec. 10, 2024
Their personal and professional relationship is framed by Combs himself when he was asked in an interview,
"Back in 2009, Combs was asked by a reporter if he remembered a photo showing him in conversation with Carter. Combs explained the moment had been captured at his birthday party. Jay-Z had flown in specifically to attend, even though he had limited time, Combs recalled.
“People see us as competitors and different icons in the hip-hop game, but that was just a moment of two Black brothers telling each other how much they appreciate each other,” Combs said.
Years later, as Combs sits in federal detention awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, Carter is loath to be connected to him, though a lawsuit is doing exactly that" (CNN, Dec. 6, 2024).
Where Does It Go From Here?
Moguls, tycoons, and the pop culture elite are not exempt from having a skeleton (or two) in their oversized closet. What makes this case - and possibly advancing cases - is that it follows along the consistent fall of Hip Hop toward a lazy, market-driven, technologically saturated culture. Music aside, the aesthetic drop in Hip Hop culture has resulted in the growth of this now multi-billion dollar globalized industry. To be qualified as a contemporary Hip Hop artist, one needs to be more pop culture-oriented. The larger the movement away from Hip Hop's core Elements (DJ, Breakdance, Graffiti, Fashion, Rap/Writing) and the more technologically manipulated and mass market produced one's work can be, the higher level of investors who are willing to provide millions of dollars seeking a larger return on investment (ROI). Along these lines, the more scandalous, sensationalist, risque, and paparazzi captured the artist's pseudo-lifestyle the better for their career. Long gone are the days when an artist's creativity was central to their ascent and support in the public eye. The faster a rising manufactured artist can claim title to defaming allegations the better for their career launch and the more popular they are viewed in the pop culture eye. Enter the Sean Combs lawsuit and possible Jay-Z accusations.
From Credibility to Celebrity
Following this pop-hip hop commercialized thread, one could project that anything from either of these artists would, now and in the future, become even more valuable. Record sales may dip for the moment, but the other marketing materials will more than make-up the difference. If these lawsuit(s) lead to imprisonment, it will be a matter of time before the outside well-lubed marketing machines start running. Profits from these crimes can bring even more wealth. The history of Hip Hop properly has not been devoid of criminals who have become exceedingly popular. O.G. Hip Hop, Gangster Rap, and the East-West Coast rivalry are only some examples of how exploitive the Hip Hop market has been toward their artists. There is no seeing that the course would be different in this case(s). The aftermath of such exploitation can be read as a line toward the de-centering of Hip Hop from its core Elements toward more pop culture desires. Commercialism realized that to expand their wealth, it was valuable to retain supporting negative images of Hip Hop and portray a more "safe" pop culture-derived form of hip hop. Such leverage creates a monopoly of Hip Hop/pop-hip hop for the industry. Audiences knew no less the reality. They were duped toward repositioning tastes to qualify with a sugar-coated form of hip hop, pop-hip hop. The reality of such marketing strategies and campaigns led to the rise of young, seductive, and seemingly innocent pop-hip hop artists (read: Justin Bieber, et al). Moving one step further, those at the new center of Hip Hop's core - the consumer marketing strategist fueled by lofty investors - added the sensationalism of Gangster Rap to the new watered-down pop-hip hop to produce the resultant early 2000s pop-hip hop style. Add profanity and hyper-sexualized attire for women and men, surround the artists with "acceptable" drug paraphernalia and the purchasing global market is satisfied. The shadow culture of unorthodox, bucking the infrastructure, going against the grain, and oppositional attitude of Gangster culture are cleaved with a pop culture sound and seductive lifestyle. The fallacy of this identity is not questioned, it's packaged, produced, marketed, and sold at top dollar. The audience believes they win when, in reality, the multi-billion dollar industry wins.
Step Forward?
The legal matters of mid/late 2024 focused on Sean Combs, and now Jay-Z is nothing new in the history of Hip Hop. Pop culture plays no victim in any legal case. At these junctures, pop culture matures, seeks new identity signifiers, and builds on previous assumptions of high art. The question(s) will not be how these two businessmen (I purposely do not frame them as Hip Hop artists despite Jay-Z's notable credit to being the more qualified Hip Hop artist) will surface or fair from these legal matters. The question(s) will be how much money global investors and business industry corporate agents will profit from these issues. The resounding truth is that those who have made money exploiting these businessmen will continue to profit off these businessmen, albeit in or, even better, coming out of a legal case or jail.
Here are a series of posts I provided when the news was released on December 10, 2024.
They can share the cell.
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Alan Lechusza
