– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Katrina, just in the last few moments, a

judge run Subramanian has sentenced Sha

Combmes to 5050

months in prison for those two offenses.

He was found guilty of trafficking to

engage in prostitution. Now, bear in

mind, Combmes has already been in prison

behind bars for 13 months in the

Metropolitan Detention Center. Uh so,

we're waiting on more details from our

colleagues inside the courtroom. There

are no cameras inside the court, but one

would imagine that the judge would take

off the time already served, which would

mean Combmes will have another 3 years

and roughly 1 month to serve. As I say,

those details aren't confirmed uh just

yet, but what I do know is that 50

months uh in prison is the time being

given to Sha Combmes for those offenses.

Now, the judge previously said uh a

serious uh sentence was needed, a

substantial sentence to quote, "Send a

message to abusers and victims alike

that exploitation and violence against

women is met with real accountability."

Shan Combmes earlier addressed the court

for the first time. He did not speak

during the trial and gave a lengthy

speech to the judge pleading for mercy,

saying he was a reformed individual and

asking for leniency. The judge said,

"Accountability is key here, not reform,

but accountability for the crimes you've

committed. The sentence is 50 months."

And Rich, just talk us through what were

the range of options or what were both

sides arguing for in terms of what they

wanted for a sentence.

starkly different. So the judges kind of

landed almost in the middle here. The

prosecution were asking for 11 years in

prison. Now each of the two offenses for

which he was found guilty could have

separately taken a sentence of up to 10

years. So in theory he could have been

looking at 20 years in prison. Uh the

defense however were saying that as I

said he's he's reformed. He's he's a

changed man. He gives to his community.

In their more recent arguments, they

said he can now work for the government

as someone working for young people and

and advocating for young people and for

prison reform. They were arguing he

should only be serving 14 months,

bearing in mind the 13 he's already

done. So basically, we want him out of

jail as soon as possible. So, the judge

has to take into account these two

arguments, of course. Plus, he had to

take into account Shawn Combmes's very

groveling, frankly, letter that he wrote

the judge, this four-page letter that he

sent to the judge yesterday, going on

about what a reformed individual he is,

the counseling and the therapy he's been

through and how he reflects on the

selfish character that he once was, and

how he apologizes for the hurt that he

caused. But as I say that the judge

considers that in this case a serious

sentence is necessary to send a message

to victims and abusers alike that this

kind of behavior wielding power wielding

influence using your money to gain

control over other people is not

acceptable behavior.

And Rich, just talk to us a little bit

about the scene at the courthouse there

because this trial lasted for weeks and

weeks and there were large crowds

outside, some supporting um Shan Combmes

and some absolutely not supporting him.

Yeah, absolutely. It's a real mix. I

mean, what we have to start by saying is

that media organizations from around the

world are here. This has gained a lot of

press attention. But immediately outside

the court behind me, as we've said, uh

opponents and proponents of combs alike,

we've had lots of people riding past on

their bikes shouting, "Free Diddy. This

is There was a gentleman here just a few

minutes ago saying this. This is a

modern lynching. There are people here

to witness a lynching in a digital age

is what he said." Then we've also had

people demonstrating saying that

violence against women and girls, this

kind of controlling, coercive behavior

that we heard about in court, especially

from the star witness Cassie Ventura

Combmes's for former partner. These

people are saying that a strong message

needs to be sent to people like Combmes

who want to use their money, power,

influence in society, the networks they

have to get people to do what they want

them to do. And Rich, just remind us how

big a star uh he was certainly over the

last couple of decades and what people

across the country what kind of place he

occupies in the national conscious.

Yeah, I mean he's huge Lewis. He came on

the hip hop scene in the early 90s. He's

changed his name over many years. So

depending on the the the identity he

went by, people know him by different

things. Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Diddy. Then

there was Love, Brother Love, then Back

to Diddy. He started a record label in

the early 90s which signed major artists

like Notorious B.I., Mary J. Blige,

Usher. He was heavily involved in the

hip-hop conflicts between New York and

the West Coast of the '9s, the the

shootings of Tupac Shakur and notorious

B.I.,

He started his own fashion label Sha

John. He was for many years the face of

Siak Vodka, the vodka seen in the

high-end nightclubs of New York owned by

Diagio over the course of his contract

with them. He was paid a billion

dollars. He then went on to start

another record label, a media production

company. This is a man who had his

fingers in a lot of pies. And that was a

big part of the argument that the

prosecution put forward that this was

such a powerful, wealthy, well-connected

individual that he was able to wield

this influence and this control over

these people, many of whom uh were young

women, as we've heard, who thought that

this was their way into the industry or,

you know, to to do what Diddy wanted

them to. But even those who weren't

young or female still felt this pressure

on them to do what what Diddy wanted

otherwise there would be retribution.

And we also heard in the court in the

trial about how there was this

aggressive character. There was this

this violent streak and that is now what

the judge has delivered this this

serious sentence to serve to show that

this kind of behavior isn't tolerated.

So 50 months for Shan Diddy Combmes.

Rich, thank you so much for that. This

is BBC News.

Right, let's bring in our panel to get a

bit of reaction there. Mora and Mali are

standing by for us. Mora, your reaction

to that sentencing there.

Unfortunately, it just shows the power

that people have and the way they abuse

it. Uh it's disappointing,

you know, just across the board that

there are people out there so vehemently

defending uh Shan Combmes and what he

has done over his career. But I just I

think that he is one example of

unfortunately probably many who have

abused the power they had and and the

privilege they had uh and made life

difficult for other people. Uh but also

is it's a story about you know taking

accountability and responsibility uh and

who you put your trust in. Uh, and I

think it's it's a really really harsh

harsh lesson. Uh, but something to watch

play out like this and to see people

supporting him in the face of what has

transpired, what we learned during those

court hearings, it's pretty hard to

stomach.

Yeah.

Yeah. Mali, just your initial thoughts

there hearing that what, just over four

years for the sentence.

Yeah, I agree a lot with what my

panelist just said, my uh co-panelist.

This uh sentence I think should have

been longer. his uh crimes against women

have been detailed and thorough and it's

incredibly uh disheartening and

disgusting uh what he has done to people

and it's on a much uh lower scale but

it's similar to Jeffrey Epste. We see a

rich and powerful person who is able to

abuse women and girls and use their

power, wealth, fame, connections to

important people to evade

responsibility. Um, so I'm glad he's

going to prison, but honestly I wish he

would be in prison longer.

And Mali, just just on the point that

that Mora was raising there, that that

sense of um frustration that many will

have seeing people supporting him

outside court and indeed uh wider across

the country. Does that speak to

something about the current climate in

the US about people attaching uh to

their ideologies and their points of

views and their identities more closely

than for example the facts that were

laid out in court.

I don't know if this is more uh

political and that it it's breaking down

on a political side. I think it's more

cold of personality. You have folks once

they get famous, you'll have people who

might irrationally hate them, but you're

also going to have folks who

irrationally love them. And since you

since Diddy was famous, as uh your

correspondent outside the courthouse

detailed, uh you're going to have people

who since they had some association with

his music and liked his music, are never

going to see uh the wrong he did, even

though it's on video and incredibly

detailed, uh because he's famous. It's

it's unfortunate, but we see that a lot.

And Mora, just uh to you on the um I

suppose the broader point of American

celebrity culture. Is it a sense do you

are you agreeing there with with Mali's

point that this is a kind of cult of

personality and that's why the support

was out there?

Absolutely. I think it's more of that

than it is a political thing. I think

it's people supported him when he was uh

you know really really big here in the

United States as far as his music career

uh and the really what he built around

him. Uh but and hearing the stories and

knowing what he built around him plus

what he was doing behind the scenes and

how he was actually holding people back

and and hurting careers that that

doesn't necessarily change their

viewpoint of him. It's troubling for

sure, but I I think that it's something

that we've seen not just with Shawn

Combmes, but with other celebrities and

people who have uh questionable

character traits, but yet because of

their support for them from years prior

or wherever they fell in into the, you

know, where they decided that they were

on their side for better, for worse,

they're going to stay there. Okay,

Mora, thank you. Mali, thank you. Just

want to bring in Rich again just

briefly, just 30 seconds. Rich, for

people who are just joining us, uh, tell

us what we've heard from the court

there.

Yes, Lewis. In the last few moments, the

judge Subramanian here in New York has

handed down his sentence to Sha Diddy

Combmes for those two charges, sex

trafficking to trafficking to engage in

prostitution. The sentence is 50 months

in prison. That's four years and two

months. He's already been behind bars

for 13 months.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
judge /dʒʌdʒ/ A2	noun - a person who decides cases in a court of law
sentence /ˈsɛntəns/ B1	noun - the punishment decided by a court for a crime verb - to declare the punishment for a crime
prison /ˈprɪzn/ A2	noun - a building for holding people who have committed crimes
guilty /ˈɡɪlti/ B1	adjective - having committed a crime
trafficking /ˈtræfɪkɪŋ/ C1	noun - the illegal movement of people, weapons, or goods
prostitution /ˌprɒstɪˈtjuːʃn/ C1	noun - the practice of engaging in sexual activity for payment
accountability /əˌkaʊntəˈbɪləti/ C1	noun - the fact or responsibility of being answerable for one's actions
exploitation /ˌeksplɔɪˈteɪʃn/ C1	noun - the action or fact of making use of someone or something in a way that is unfair or harmful
violence /ˈvaɪələns/ B1	noun - behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something
reformed /rɪˈfɔːmd/ B2	adjective - having been improved by means of correction or discipline
leniency /ˈliːniənsi/ C1	noun - the quality of being lenient; mildness or tolerance in punishment
substantial /səbˈstænʃl/ B2	adjective - of considerable importance, size, or worth
abusers /əˈbjuːzərz/ B2	noun - people who abuse others
victims /ˈvɪktɪmz/ A2	noun - people who have been harmed or injured
groveling /ˈɡrɒvəlɪŋ/ C1	adjective - behaving in a servile or obsequious way
influence /ˈɪnfluəns/ B2	noun - the power to have an effect on someone or something
behavior /bɪˈheɪvjər/ A2	noun - the way someone acts
networks /ˈnetwɜːrz/ B2	noun - a group or system of interconnected people or things