After the charges brought against media mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, the public is questioning how they can fully separate themselves from problematic figures when they are so embedded in pop culture.
Combs was recently charged on three counts of different offenses: sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and prostitution. Last week, seven new lawsuits were filed against Combs, including one accusing Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
Combs is a Grammy-winning artist and producer, frequently collaborating with Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, LL Cool J and the Notorious B.I.G. He has also produced for R. Kelly. Among these artists, they have a combined 42 Grammy award wins and 179 nominations. Jay-Z is tied with rapper Kanye West for the most Grammy wins by a rapper.
The recent uptick of artists in trouble with the law has caused the public to question their support of the entertainment industry. Despite the artist’s obvious faults, the dilemma of continuing to support troubling figures causes strain on fans.
An argument posed by some is that an individual can appreciate a problematic artist’s music without agreeing with the artist’s life choices.
Kanye West has not shied away from controversy in the past four years. In 2020, West had a short-lived presidential campaign, before dropping out after a viral breakdown at a campaign rally.
In 2022, West was criticized for anti-semetic comments. As a result of this, he was dropped from partnerships with Balenciaga and Adidas, and also lost his record deal.
However, West has still found success. In February, West dropped his highly-anticipated collaboration album with Ty Dolla Sign, “VULTURES”.
As a self-owned project, West owns the copyright for the album, negating the precedent of having a record label distribute projects.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, proving West’s ability to still achieve record-breaking numbers without a record label, as well as his fanbase’s loyalty despite his previous controversies.
Mikey Arnone, a sophomore exercise major, has been a Kanye West fan since he was in middle school.
Arnone attributes West’s success to his versatility in his discography, with almost every album being in a different subgenre of hip-hop.
“I think him being able to release any type of music shows how great he is,” Arnone said. “Everybody’s going to listen to it. They might not all like it, but they’re going to listen to it because he’s Kanye.”
The first week album sales for “VULTURES” proved Arnone’s point, as the album was West’s third album to reach number one for multiple weeks, his first since 2011.
Arnone said the rapper’s talent cannot be denied, even when considering his personal issues.
“I think it’s hard to separate the art from the artist because there’s not many people I listen to just for one song,” he said. “I like all types of music and it’s hard to separate that–you can’t just listen.”
Jonathan Pinkerton, a senior film and media production major, also expressed the difficulty of separating “the art from the artist.”
Pinkerton said it’s hard to discredit a project helmed by a problematic artist because there are several other people involved that helped bring it to life.
“It can be hard, especially knowing how film sets work,” Pinkerton said. “It’s not just one person bringing an image to life.”
Additionally, Pinkerton offered his perspective on the troublesome music industry and if an artist’s work should be discredited based on their life choices.
“Amidst the chaos presented by a certain artist, there’s the beauty of the spoken truth of the human experience,” Pinkerton said. “Even if this thing was written by a bad person, you are still getting the truth of life.”
Pinkerton referenced a song by rapper Kendrick Lamar, “The Prayer”, as an example of this. The song is inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech and references the civil rights activist the public knew and King’s private life.
King has been accused of frequent infidelity to his wife Coretta, among other controversies. King had an obvious impact on America and it is difficult to discredit his work based on his mistakes in life.
“If we had looked at that in the light that we sometimes look at things now, we wouldn’t have respected that speech at all,” Pinkerton said.
Sometimes, the best way to make and create change is by learning from the mistakes of others.
Pinkerton said Kanye West is a troublesome figure, but his experiences are valid. Pinkerton uses the example of West’s song “St. Pablo,” where he talks about his own insecurities and the way people view him.
“He’s raw on that song, talking about personal and emotional stuff,” Pinkerton said. “That’s one of the beauties of the human experience–the ‘dichotomy of man,’ if you will.”
