Cadence Weapon Condemns "Exploitative" Diddy, Says "There's Something Rotten" in Hip-Hop Culture

"It's unsurprising that his obsession with power also included sexual abuse"

Photos: Steven Gomillion (Diddy), Jennifer Hyc (Weapon)

BY Ben OkazawaPublished Nov 17, 2023

Cadence Weapon has publicly condemned Diddy after the music mogul's former Bad Boy Records signee Cassie accused him of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse in a lawsuit unveiled yesterday (November 17). 

The Edmonton-born, Hamilton-based rapper has long been outspoken regarding music executives' exploitation of young artists, and, upon Cassie's accusations going public, he remarked on the imbalanced power dynamic in Diddy's relationship with the R&B singer. 

He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

On top of the horrific sexual and physical abuse, Diddy signing Cassie to a ten album (!) contract when she was a teen, releasing one album and then using the promise of future releases as a control tactic for years is so despicable.

These music industry demons are never exploitative in just one way, it's always a web of abuse. Diddy made himself rich by exploiting every artist he worked with so it's unsurprising that his obsession with power also included sexual abuse. Shout out to Cassie for her bravery, I hope that she can can find peace now.


He also noted a distinct problem within the worst parts of hip-hop culture that may lend itself to such behaviour in a now-deleted post to X.

"Between Afrika Bambaataa, Russell Simmons and Diddy, there's something rotten at the heart of hip-hop that needs to be reckoned with," he said. 

Bambaataa (accused of sexual abuse and trafficking of minors), Simmons (accused in over a dozen counts of sexual misconduct) and Diddy all came up through the New York hip-hop scene from the 1970s to 1990s. 
   

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