History not much of a guide

Will Puffy's career profit or perish from his trial?

In this story: 'It helped his career' 'Strange twists and turns' 'He's not a thug' 'A valuable commodity' RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Jamie Allen
CNN.com Senior Writer

(CNN) -- The trial of Sean "Puffy" Combs on weapons and bribery charges is nearing conclusion, with perhaps its most dramatic testimony taking place Thursday.

Combs, the rap mogul and budding fashion designer, is on the stand in his own defense to answer questions stemming from a 1999 New York nightclub shooting that left three people injured. He has maintained his innocence.

But another issue, perhaps being weighed in the court of public opinion, is how the trial has and will affect Combs' image and career.

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Will the alleged gun possession charges and associated publicity help or hurt Combs' business interests?

'It helped his career'

Music stars have never been the type to let legal trouble get in the way of record sales. In 1959, Miles Davis was jailed for an altercation with a white police officer the same month he released his masterpiece "Kind of Blue."

More recently, slain hip-hop star Tupac Shakur lived and died an admitted "thug life" -- the words tattooed on his stomach -- while becoming a top-selling hip-hop star of the 1990s. He spent time in jail for two separate crimes and survived one shooting, all while enjoying increasing record sales.

"His records did better after he got out of jail then they did before he went to jail," says Chris Farley, music critic for Time magazine. "It helped his career."

On the flip side, Grammy-winning rapper Eminem recently pleaded guilty to a weapons charge. He has yet to be sentenced, but Farley says the incident has affected record sales.

"Eminem's record sales actually dipped," he says.

'Strange twists and turns'

So, does this mean the public is getting tired of rap stars-turned-jailbirds? Farley says that's not the case.

"Some people might say they're tired of it, but it makes for interesting reading," he says. "These dramas take strange twists and turns and these artists often take their experiences and feed it right back into their work."

Combs' name has been mentioned in connection with the alleged East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry. Some observers claim that rivalry was at the heart of the 1996 Shakur killing, and the 1997 shooting death of Combs' friend, Notorious B.I.G., though police have not arrested suspects in either case.

And it should be noted that Combs bears some obvious differences from artists like Shakur. While he has courted controversy with flamboyant wardrobes, late-night partying and public tough-talk, he is first and foremost dedicated to his businesses.

Combs has topped charts with the 1997 hit "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." But he is most successful as the head of Bad Boy Records, helping acts ranging from the Notorious B.I.G. to Boyz II Men to his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez achieve chart-topping status.

He's parlayed that success and the associated fame into Sean John, a line of designer clothing that showed its fall line during Combs' current trial.

'He's not a thug'

In other words, he's more interested in the bottom line than any kind of gangsta lifestyle.

"The outlaw thing was so crucial to Tupac's image whereas Puffy is a popular, populist entertainer," says Alex Pappademas, who monitored Combs' trial for Inside.com and is now an associate editor at the music magazine Blender. "He's not a thug. He kind of plays with that image a little bit, but he's not really like that. He's a businessman."

A businessman with a lot to lose.

"I think a lot of the conventional wisdom is that (the legal wranglings) help create this kind of street credibility, and it probably does," says Farley. "But in terms of doing the day-to-day things to publicize your career, it prohibits you from doing that. No artist in their right mind would pursue stardom through possibly felonious activity. Getting your stuff on MTV is a safer route."

'A valuable commodity'

Combs has already accomplished that. His most recent music project is Dream, an American pop group reminiscent of the Spice Girls. It's one more thing that he can't tend to while dealing with the charges against him.

"He's obviously inconvenienced by the trial because he'd rather be out pressing the flesh and working his records," says Pappademas.

Closing arguments for Combs' trial are slated for next week, and Combs faces a possible 15-year jail sentence if convicted of the gun possession charges.

"He faces some serious jail time," says Farley. "This isn't going to be just a crimp in his schedule. This will take away from his ability to run his businesses.

"He's a valuable commodity," he adds. "But locked up in jail, he's not going to be that valuable to anybody."

Prosecutor says Puffy violated gag order
February 28, 2001
Defense witnesses say they did not see Combs with gun
February 22, 2001
Driver testifies he saw Puffy with gun
February 15, 2001

Sean 'Puffy' Combs official site
Puff Daddy & the Family
New York State Supreme Court links

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