Usher on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: “I don’t have anything negative to say”
Usher has stated that he doesn’t “have anything negative” to say about Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
Combs is currently incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey after being found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Usher has a longtime relationship with the Bad Boy boss, crossing paths with him as a teenager and living with him in 1994. During a recent interview with Forbes, Usher claimed that Combs’ legacy shouldn’t be taken away from him after being convicted.
“I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognised for the greatness that they offer,” he began. “I don’t have anything negative to say about Sean Combs. My experience was not what the world has seen and how he’s been, you know, misrepresented.”
He continued, “I’m not saying that every man is perfect. I’m not saying that all of us don’t have flaws, but I can’t with any sense of humanity not recognise the valuable contributions that this man made for us as Black entrepreneurs, for us as people who transition culture and ideas into something that’s tangible. So many people benefited from what he created. And I acknowledge that. That’s why I see him as legacy.”
Combs executive-produced Usher’s debut album, with the pair collaborating on songs like ‘I Don’t Know’ and ‘I Need a Girl (Part One)’. “Puff was a mentor above,” Usher said. “I think that the idea of the level of discipline came with that time in business, especially in an era that was trying to prove itself culturally in hip-hop. Now, you can’t turn on the television and not see the influence of hip-hop.”
He added, “The people who actually made that appropriate and are the forefathers are people like Sean Combs. Not just in the great times that they had, musically, but in the idea of being able to find ways to monetise culture and create something that was not just black or white, it was colourless.”
Usher went on to say that he chooses to see Combs as a great businessman, despite the allegations against him.
“That’s who I see that man as, and that’s what I choose to remember,” he said. “I put respect on his name because I realised that, you know, what I learned as a businessman before I even understood what business was came as a result of seeing the incredible things that he was able to do, and the way he positioned himself as a businessman.”
He continued, “There are trials and tribulations that come with the pressures of success and power. But what we choose to do with it is what I hope that you see with me and hopefully other people that I’m involved with, right?”