NEW YORK — Sean "Diddy" Combs, who elevated hip-hop in American culture while building a music and clothing empire that made him a billionaire, faces a sex trafficking trial next month that could cement the rapper's shattered reputation — or offer him a shot at redemption.

The 55-year-old Combs, facing possible life in prison if convicted, is among the most influential and widely recognised men in the entertainment field to face sexual abuse allegations after the #MeToo movement encouraged accusers to speak up.

Like movie producer Harvey Weinstein and R&B singer R Kelly, Combs is accused by prosecutors of using his influence and wealth to coerce women into unwanted sexual activity, and intimidate them into staying quiet for years.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The trial, to take place in Manhattan federal court, could last two months. His lawyers did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Since his arrest in September, Combs has been jailed in Brooklyn — far from the mansions in Miami and Los Angeles where he had been living, but about an hour by subway from the Harlem neighborhood where he was born.

His father died four years after his birth, and Combs was raised by a single mother.

After two years at Howard University in Washington, Combs dropped out to go into the music business. He worked at New York's Uptown Records before co-founding Bad Boy Records in 1993.

Combs was a hustler and a showman. He is credited with turning artists like Mary J Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious BIG (Biggie Smalls) and Usher into stars, and broadening hip-hop's appeal in the 1990s and 2000s.

Musicians, athletes and actors angled to be in Combs' circle, while Combs flaunted a lavish lifestyle filled with diamonds, yachts and over-the-top parties.

In the late 90s, he dated singer Jennifer Lopez, and they became one of entertainment's biggest power couples.

"He made hip-hop seem so vital and lively to American culture that everyone wanted to be a piece of it," author Mark Anthony Neal said in the Max documentary "The Fall of Diddy".

Combs won three Grammy awards including for "I'll Be Missing You," a 1997 tribute to Biggie after he was killed in a drive-by shooting.

He built on his celebrity by launching the multimillion-dollar Sean John clothing brand and Revolt TV cable network. Combs even became a Broadway headliner, starring in "A Raisin in the Sun" in 2004.

Combs has sold his stake in Revolt. A spokesperson for Combs did not respond to a request for comment about the status of Sean John.

By 2022, Forbes magazine estimated Combs' wealth had topped US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion), and his rags-to-riches story was seen as an inspiration for other Black men. That same year, Combs received a lifetime achievement honour at the BET Awards.

"Anything I do is through love," Combs said at the ceremony.

'Collateral' recordings

Not so, according to prosecutors.

They contend that Combs, backed by his business empire, forced women into elaborate sexual performances known as "Freak Offs" with male sex workers from 2004 to 2024. They say he coordinated "Freak Offs" by giving drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy to women, while also promising financial support, career support and romantic relationships.

Combs watched and, on occasion, recorded the performances, and masturbated, according to prosecutors.

Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, has said the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

They say Combs used surreptitious recordings of the sex acts as "collateral" to ensure that women stayed silent, and sometimes displayed weapons to further intimidate them, prosecutors said.

One of the prosecution's expected witnesses is Combs' former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, an R&B vocalist known as Cassie.

Ventura sued Combs in November 2023, accusing him of rape and serial physical abuse during their decade-long professional and romantic relationship, which he denied. She settled just one day after suing. Settlement details were not disclosed.

Later, CNN broadcast hotel surveillance video showing Combs striking and dragging Ventura. Combs then apologised.

Dozens of other women and men have filed civil lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual abuse. He has denied all wrongdoing. Fortune magazine estimated that Combs' net worth fell to about US$400 million by 2024.

Source: Reuters