Chopper "Young City" Barnes of the cult-favorite hip hop series, Making The Band on MTV, has finally broken his silence on Sean "Diddy" Combs' plethora of sexual assault allegations.
During an interview released by The Art of Dialogue, the former Da Band rapper — who took part in the early 2000's series — gave his perspective on the now-disgraced rap tycoon, also his former boss.
The music mogul is currently facing charges including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Chopper feels the plethora of cases against him came as a form of "karma."
"I believe it's a double-edged sword... It's bittersweet, bruh. The things that Diddy has done to so many artists on his label is so diabolical," Chopper, 39, began to express. "I think Diddy means well, but if you live a certain lifestyle for so long, you stop treating people like human beings and you start treating people like objects."
The 3rd Ward Louisiana rapper expressed his beliefs that Diddy "means well" and cited his lawsuit against French vodka brand Cîroc as a precursor to his public downfall. "It's ironic how things crashed on him," the rapper said.
Regarding Diddy's ex-Cassie Ventura — who's physical abuse footage surfaced in May last year — the rapper stated that there's no doubt that he "beat that girl," adding that the hip hop boss seemingly forgot that his superstar status puts a "scope" on his lifestyle.
"As a celebrity, anything you say or do can be used against you in the court of celebrity," the musician stated. "Do I think Diddy is a sex trafficker? I don't," Chopper defended, while acknowledging the mogul's "UFO-ish" behavior.
"I don't think he's a sex trafficker, I just think he'd done so much that the universe tends to unravel the way it should. When you do right by people, it comes back. And when you do wrong by people, you get what you deserve. I think at this moment in life Diddy is getting the karma that he quite deserves," he revealed.
During the interview, Young City reflected on his own sexual assault accusations, as the Louisiana rapper was reportedly charged with being a pimp in Las Vegas, accidentally — according to him.
In 2022, Chopper was charged with sex trafficking after Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives said the raper used his social media following to recruit women to be sex workers, per WUSA 9.
During the interview, Chopper stated he flew a woman in to have intercourse, which he was unaware was considered trafficking. According to him, police later looked into him as "hot" after an unnamed woman told authorities he had cars, money, and was "pimping." He claimed those charges have since been dropped.
"When I went through that situation, I thought about everything that I was doing wrong," the "Tonight" rapper connected, regarding taking accountability. "I think at this moment it's time for Diddy to eat the karma cake, courtesy of the artist that he milked."
He continued: "The Craig Macks, the Biggies, Da Band, Danity Kane, Shyne, Black Rob — it's only a certain amount of time you can take, take, take, before the universe just reverse that."
"I think it's just time for him to get the humble pie, and the universe has basically taken what he has been taking for all these years and I think that's what's going on," he added.
Chopper appeared in Diddy's hit MTV series Making The Band in 2002. Other members of the band included Sara Rivers, Dylan Dilinjah, Frederick "Freddy P" Watson, Lloyd "Ness" Mathis, and Lynese "Babs" Wiley.
-- Originally published on Enstarz
