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Hip-hop mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs said that while he would like to see President Bush ousted from the White House, he is not convinced that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry is speaking to the issues affecting inner-city Black Americans.
“To be honest, Kerry and Bush, anybody running for president -- I can only go on what I'm hearing them say -- and you know, I hear a lot of talking around in circles,” Combs said Friday, speaking to CNN in a wide-ranging interview about politics, his empire and his entertainment future.Advertisement
“It's time that we make these candidates accountable, and it's time they start talking about issues that affect urban inner-city life, that affect young people, education, health care and also affect minorities.
Like fellow rap entrepreneur Russell Simmons, Combs has targeted New York state’s Rockefeller Laws as an example of the kind of unfair practices he would like to see overturned.
“You know, this is the law that we have where you have people jailed for drug-related crimes,” Combs said. “It could be their first offense, and they could go away for … having minimal drugs on them in their possession. So you have a mother and maybe she had, you know, 10 vials of crack on her. And she stays in, you know, up to 25 years to life. This was something that was supposed to deter, you know, drug kingpins. And, you know, it just didn't work. And it's really just affected the black community, the Latino community and put a lot of mothers and fathers and daughters and sons away for a long time, people that … made their first mistake. And so, you know, I'm an activist on that.”
So has either party contacted Combs about pushing politics in 2004?
“I've been invited by the Democratic Party and various people in the Democratic Party... to be involved and being helpful in this election,” he says. “And it's something that I'm pondering. If I do something, I want to do it all the way. I'm looking into it, you know. I'm -- I definitely -- you know, I'm looking towards supporting Kerry.
About reports that Combs will work with Bill Clinton to get young people registered?
“I think that it's very important,” he said. “It's very important that young people get involved in this election. I think it is young people who could decide who is in the White House, but I have to be honest. I'm not just going to go and do it because -- because Bill Clinton called me, or the president of the Democratic Party called me.”
“There are a lot of lies in politics, a lot of deception,” Combs said. “What you are hearing is something that people cannot guarantee. I am more interesting in being a revolutionary—exposing the liars. Being an activist.
“I think that it’s important. I try to be role model by being real and being honest.”
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