enforcement is not always bad for a rapper. These roots DeCurtis adds, are a reason fans identify with troubled rappers: “Those kid see Puffy and Shyne as people who know what their lives are like.” De Curtis says the trial could ironically benefit Combs, whose crossover successes as a businessman and pop star made him “seem a little soft to a hard-core him audience. This roughens his edges.”(Web Universe, p5.) Cases that Combs have been involved in, range from deaths at a college event he hosted as a beginning promoter, assault on an Interscope record executive, and lately, the shooting injuries that he stood trial for about a week ago. Although Combs has been found not guilty in the majority of these cases, they still add to his gangsta alter ego. In a statement made to reporters following his most recent case he said, “I am definitely the fault of my own image. (LA Times, March 17). “The hardest part of all of this is feeling that people have in the back of their minds, “Does he have a gun on him?””. (AP Wire, Mar. 18). This is a double-edged sword, both helping and hurting the young tycoon’s image. With all of the legal wrangling he is still surrounded by the toniest of New York scenesters. Clive Davis (of Arista record fame) is considered a close friend, mentor, and confidant. He shares living locales with the wealthiest clientele in New York. Donald Trump and Martha Stewart are rumored to never miss a party that he hosts. He started the Christopher Wallace fund in memory of “Biggie”. All of the profits from the mega hit “ I’ll be missing you”, went to the charity group headed by Big’s mother. Combs even donated his production salary to the fund. His image is still in tact and it looks like with 112 and Dream climbing the charts his star only continues to rise. WeaknessesBad Boy Records, Sean Combs (its founder), and troub...
