by Mick the Ram

Sean “P Diddy” Combs, one of rap’s most successful moguls, has been arrested in New York City on unspecified federal charges.

The hip hop king has faced a stream of allegations by women in recent months who accused him of sexual assault and on Monday 16 September he was taken into federal custody, after being challenged  in a Manhattan hotel lobby.

He is facing civil lawsuits including claims that he raped an underage girl and tried to “groom” a producer and force him to have sex with another man.

Another alleges that a woman had been “sex trafficked” by Mr Combs when she was just 17 years old, and he also faces accusations of abuse from his ex-partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, but the musician has denied all the claims made against him from the very start.

The latest arrest follows raids on two of his properties in Los Angeles and Miami back in March, as part of an “ongoing investigation” by authorities.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Monday night, saying: “Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.”

Serious accusations

The rapper’s legal problems began last November when Ms Ventura filed her lawsuit, to be swiftly followed by two more from different women, including one who said Mr Combs had choked her for so long that she passed out.

He vehemently denied all the allegations at the time and a spokesperson for him dismissed the lawsuits as nothing but a “money grab”.

Authorities closing in

In February this year, new accusations came to light in a civil lawsuit filed by his former producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr, who suggested that the superstar performer made unwanted sexual advances and tried to “groom” him into having sex with others, over a year-long period when he was living on the star’s properties and working on his music.

Then the following month Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.

Attorney jumps to star’s defence

After last nights arrest, the rapper’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said his client was cooperating fully, and was looking forward to clearing his name. He expressed how “disappointed” they were at the turn of events and stressed that Mr Combs was an “innocent man” and that this was an “unjust prosecution”.

Continuing, Mr Agnifilo explained how his client had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” was the message his lawyer wanted to get across, before making the point: “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the black community.”

Controversies follow the rap icon

Fifty-four-year-old Sean John Combs was born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He has gone through a range of names over the years answering to: Puffy, Puff Daddy, Love, Brother Love and P Diddy.

He is widely regarded as the man who essentially rewrote the rules of hip-hop in the 1990’s, but unfortunately for him, he has never been too far away from the next controversy.