News Summary

• When I was growing up, the now-disgraced mogul was the most formidable ambassador of Black cool.
• We had looked up to Diddy, whom I will always think of as Puff Daddy or Puffy.
• Seeing him fall apart in our middle age feels like a kind of heartbreak.
• The verve and swagger he injected into our childhood dreams have curdled into something rancid.
• He was able to transition from sidekick and hype man to dealmaker and multiplatinum performer.