Even before four women accused him of sexual assault, Sean “Diddy” Combs was having a bad year. He’d been on the verge of hatching “the largest Black-owned cannabis company in the world,” promising he’d help Black people who’d been disproportionately criminalized by harsh drug laws. But by July the $185 million deal to acquire the operations of two large weed companies in several states had fallen through. Around the same time, he explored making an offer for Paramount Global’s BET, the first Black-owned cable network, as part of what a confidant told Variety was “his strategy to build a Black-owned global media powerhouse.” In August, however, Paramount pulled the network off the market, before reportedly considering a sale to a management group a few months later for almost $2 billion. The following month, Combs dropped The Love Album: Off the Grid, his first solo record in 17 years, featuring Justin Bieber, the Weeknd, John Legend and Mary J. Blige. “It’s the Super Bowl of R&B,” Combs told the Today show. “One of the greatest combinations of talent put together on an album in history!” But even with the parade of high-profile cameos, Love peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 album chart, making it the worst performer yet by an artist many have long considered a second-tier rapper and mediocre producer. A Guardian reviewer wrote that Combs’ album was “oddly dissatisfying” and called his sultry patter with a female protégée on one cut “rather creepy.”