Jay Electronica
On the former, Combs provides an introductory narration, ironically saying that hip-hop is in “a dangerous place.” Then, on the track “Four Billion, Four Hundred Million,” Jay Electronica raps about him and Cassie. “I was living with Puff and Cass, and never showed up in the affidavit / I’m a smoother criminal than Michael Jackson maybe.”
These remarks point to conspiracy theories around larger powers using Diddy as a scapegoat and unjustly punishing him. While the RICO charges fell through, Jay Elec’s bars display a nuanced but dangerous disconnect between the initial condemnation of Puffy’s confirmed crimes and the mixed verdict. Assessments like these excuse personal crimes just because they don’t reach the severity of the most extreme accusations, and tie real details up with tinfoil hats.
Cash Cobain
But others were quick to remind folks of the alleged and confirmed crimes and activities that went down at these parties. Sure, some of these folks are just averse to any sexual or queer storylines on their timelines and are hyper-fixating on the wrong thing. But the New York rapper and producer’s excitement over a potential Puff party is an example of how casually folks can dismiss everything about this case just because of a federal verdict. It weighs a lot, yes. Still, the questions around industry standards, imbalanced power dynamics, and the normalized, abusive tendencies of those in power are ones folks should at least have the common sense to respect, not throw out of the window for a good time. Even in jest.
Boosie Badazz
In Boosie’s case, the defense of Diddy becomes more about what the accusations against him represent, and what the outcome of this accountability might say about either side of the story. It’s not about the specific dynamics of the abusive relationships. And even when the court clears him of the worst allegations, folks are too quick to accept that as the only answer. Call it projection or preconceived animosity, but these staunch backings muddy the perception of this case by interpreting it through a much larger, more biased filter.
Ray J
Since the singer often makes headlines for his antics, his change of heart here is something that many fans interpreted as a deliberate clout chase. That may be too dismissive or skeptical, but it’s clear that it worked, even if unintentionally. This is another instance in which folks separate what we know about Cassie and the larger federal accusations, but it’s one with many contradictions throughout.
As such, this reveals how these contradictions don’t matter to the general public; only what the larger perception of an issue dictates at any given moment. As testimony after testimony followed, there was more and more media outcry in support of Puff because of the impending possibility of his jail time. Ray J is just one of the folks who dismissed all of his previous condemnations for the sake of questioning the most extreme allegations. All his other threats to expose the industry and actually address the issues that caused these circumstances just fell to the wayside.