One would be hard-pressed to find people willing to defend Diddy given all that has happened lately, but one of his former artists took on that responsibility. A former member of Diddy-Dirty Money called out ex-Bad Boy signees who have been trashing him and claimed that they have “disgruntled employee syndrome.”
Kalenna Harper was one of the many people interviewed by Rolling Stone for their scathing piece documenting six months of investigation into the Bad Boy founder’s life, allegations, and horrific untold stories. “Singer-songwriter Kalenna Harper says one of the highs of her life was joining Combs’ Diddy-Dirty Money group in 2009,” they wrote. “‘He was f**king cool as sh*t,’ she says, adding that artists who blame Combs for the trajectory of their careers may suffer from ‘disgruntled employee syndrome.’”
Harper and former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard were part of the group when they released the popular album Last Train To Paris in 2010. Last Train boasted the singles “Angels” featuring The Notorious B.I.G, “Hello Good Morning” featuring T.I., “Loving You No More” featuring Drake, and “Coming Home” featuring Skylar Grey. Dirty Money would later disband in 2012.
Bad Boy for Life. A six-month investigation by Rolling Stone.
For decades, Sean “Diddy” Combs was hip-hop’s boisterous showman. Now, dozens of former friends, employees, and Bad Boy artists allege an abusive, violent figure behind the facade.
Read: https://t.co/fmuhyrXaNH pic.twitter.com/FvuXLB3KiH
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 29, 2024
Rolling Stone uncovered that Diddy’s alleged violent and abusive behavior dates back to his time as a student at Howard University. Allegations showed “signs of a controlling and abusive personality,” namely unwanted touching and “fits of rage.” One woman claimed that she kept her distance after he “caressed her back without warning” and another student claimed he harassed a woman by tapping on the window of her English class to get her to skip class.
“She would tense up [when Combs appeared],” the student said. “He just had a weird control thing. I felt like she was fearful.” One of the worst allegations was that he was spotted screaming outside of his then-girlfriend’s dormitory for her to go outside and then seen “whooping” her with his belt.
“Puff is out here acting crazy. He’s beating her,” the students recalled. “He screamed and hollered and acted a stone fool until she came downstairs […] whupped her butt — like really whupped her butt […] She was trying to defend herself a little bit. She was crying. And we were telling him, ‘Get off of her.’ We were screaming for her.”
This is all coupled with the recent footage of Diddy assaulting Cassie at a now-closed Los Angeles hotel in 2016. CNN shared the video, which shows the former REVOLT chairman grabbing his former partner by the neck and throwing her to the ground while she tried to get on an elevator. He kicked her twice, grabbed her belongings, and attempted to drag her back to their room all while wearing just a towel around his waist.
“Thank you for all the love and support from my family, friends, strangers, and those I have yet to meet,” Cassie wrote in a statement. “The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning… Domestic violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past.”
More from VIBE.com
