Puff Daddy and IR Theory of Rap: Residual Power of The Fallen Empire Posted by Adam Blickstein

Marc Lynch continues to pioneer the burgeoning Rap Feud Theory of International Relations movement with a brilliant interview on NPR delving into the implications of hegemonic imbalance between hip hop's heavyweights. But while his focus is on the battle between Jay-Z's current hegemony and The Game's attempts to  create a counter-hegemonic movement to, at best, replace Hov's control over the genre, or at worst, increase his own credibility and stature, there's another aspect of this debate being sorely under-explored: the status of the former hegemon that, while still powerful, is no longer producing anything original (original in the broadest sense of the word) or commercially viable yet still maintains wealth, power, and to a degree stealth control over at least a portion of the system. Yes, I'm talking about Sean Combs. 

It's clear that Diddy's own ascension within rap as an artist was predicated on a symbiosis between he and Biggie, but he also was fairly meticulous about building an empire in his own right where he operated within the system but not as the De facto "face" of the system. Thus you saw him in the early 90's building up his power base with Faith Evans, Biggie, producing for Usher, Lil Kim, TLC, and amassing a fairly prominent roster which in turn made his Bad Boy records the East Coast superpower to the West Coast's Death Row superpower. But with the deaths of both Biggie and Tupac, the walls of the system was for the most part shattered, and Diddy emerged as a superpower in his own right during the East Coast/West Coast thaw. Though not possessing singularly raw talent on stage or in the recording studio in his own right, Puffy's business savvy, marketing skills and wanton sampling of previous hits allowed him to, for the better part of a decade, become raps biggest star, talent aside. In fact, one could argue that the controversy over his sampling of Zeppelin, The Police and Diana Ross, amongst others, which created sharp hooks set over mediocre but rap, somewhat mirrors the current Autotune controversy that colors the Jay-Z/The Game battle.

Nonetheless, by 2002, his rise to solo power was for the most part coming to an end, and surely his 2004 Vote or Die campaign killed any further ability for him to be a viable commercial recording artist. But by 2006, even as he descended into the bowels of reality TV, Diddy was still a powerhouse in the broader hip hop/entertainment world, though no longer on the foreground of the rap landscape. With ventures in clothing, liquor, the music industry and other products, Combs still has a huge net worth of over $400 million, not quite at Jay-Z level, but he shouldn't be displeased with his status within the system.

So who is Combs in international relations? Britain of course. The marginal power and former empire, who might no longer dictate the progress of international relations, but one which still holds great wealth and influence over its direction. While no longer the dominating force, though indeed still retaining the status as head of state for a broad commonwealth of diverse holdings across the globe, Britain is fairly well situated near the top of the system, but no longer its hegemon. This allows it to act as both a proxy of the hegemon, but also independent of the hegemon while remaining a power in its own spheres of influence. In fact, this might be an enviable place for any nation to be in.

And of course, since Combs is an ally of Jay-Z, he may get drawn into the battle with The Game, just as the special relationship dictates Britain to reluctantly act in accord with America even when it might be counter to its own interests, which is what ostensibly occurred with Iraq. Even if you are no longer on top, the game is the game.

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