"Certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer,” Usher told Forbes in a new interview this week. "I don't have anything negative to say about Sean Combs because my experience was not what the world has seen and how he's been, you know, misrepresented." You can watch the entire interaction above (The segment on Combs starts around 23:02) and read a transcript of Usher's full statement about Diddy below.
Sean "Diddy" Combs responded from prison through a spokesperson, telling TMZ, "I’ve always had love and respect for Usher. I appreciate his words and everything he’s achieved."
JABARI YOUNG: Young kids, how do you talk to them about avoiding that negativity like you did? Because you had your own path.
USHER: This might be a bit controversial, but um, in the same way I think many people choose to look past the reality of what our country is, the standards we now stand on, we can’t ignore the reality of the history, but in many ways um, I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer.
I don't have anything negative to say about Sean Combs because my experience was not what the world has seen and how he's been y’know, misrepresented.
I’m not saying that every man is perfect. I'm not saying that all of us don't have flaws. But I can't, with any sense of humanity, not recognize the valuable contributions that this man made — for us as Black entrepreneurs, for us as businessmen, for us as people who transition culture and ideas into something that's tangible and becomes business.
So many people have benefited from what he created, and I acknowledge that. And that's why I see him as legacy.
JABARI YOUNG: You told Shannon Sharpe you learned a lot about business during that era.
USHER: Absolutely.
YOUNG: What’d you learn?
USHER: Puff was a mentor, but you know when you had that really, really hard teacher? But you're watching something in real time. I think that the idea of the level of discipline that came with that time in business, especially in an era that was trying to prove itself culturally in hip-hop. Now, you can't turn on the television and not see hip-hop. But the people who actually made that appropriate and are the forefathers are people like Sean Combs. And not just in the great times that they had musically, but in the idea of being able to find ways to monetize culture and create something that was not just Black or white. It was colorless. It was green.
That's who I see that man as, and that's what I choose to remember. I put respect on his name because I realize that what I learned as a businessman, before I even understood what business was, came as a result of seeing the incredible things that he was able to do and the way that he positioned himself as a businessman. There are trials and tribulations that come with the pressure of success and power, but what we choose to do with it is what I hope that you see, with me and hopefully with all the people that I’m involved with.
The comments came as part of an interview segment where host Jabari Young asked Usher to describe his mentors and collaborators with one word. Jermaine Dupri and Lil Jon both prompted the response, "brother," while Usher described L.A. Reid as an "OG" and Babyface as a "legend." The mention of Combs elicited the response, "legacy," a word that Usher used earlier in the interview when he described the current stage of his life: "I'm thinking legacy. So many people are engulfed with this idea of being the king. I'm more interested in building a kingdom."
When Young brought up Perri "Pebbles" Reid, Usher said in part, "Being in a predominantly male industry, and understanding and valuing the influence of women, and the ones who have known, understood, and spoke with clarity, even if they were not necessarily valued -- she is the G.O.A.T."
The interview arrives as Usher makes a $1 million investment in an entertainment innovation hub for the city of Detroit. Usher said the partnership with Big Sean is intended to be a "seed investment," urging other entrepreneurs to get involved and invest in the project.
"You're talking to billionaires, trillionaires. Let's imagine if we created a pool, a resource that then says, 'Hey, I want to invest into these opportunities, these opportunity zones,' right? And not gentrify them and actually reimagine and uplift," he explained. "That right there is a blessing, that I think we should be to each other."
As host Young noted, investments in so-called "opportunity zones" allow investors to avoid the capital gains tax on their returns. These tax-credit incentives for investing in lower-income neighborhoods don't always result in benefits for lower-income residents, but developers and investors love how they increase profits, which might help explain why Congress has been so consistent in supporting them.
