Kriti Mehrotra
As a four-part documentary series delving deep into the sexual misconduct allegations against former music mogul P Diddy, Netflix’s ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ is simply gripping. That’s because it incorporates not only archival audio-video footage but also exclusive interviews with many who once personally knew him to really shine a light upon his alleged actuality. Amongst them is Kirk Burrowes, the man who established Bad Boy Entertainment alongside the rapper and played a significant role in building its success before suddenly being fired.
Kirk Burrowes Gave Everything He Had to Bad Boy Entertainment
A proud native of New York, Kirk Burrowes first came across Sean Combs when they were just young kids exploring their passion for hip-hop and trying to find their place in this world. He thus vividly remembers when his childhood friend dropped out of Howard University’s business program at age 19, just to start dabbling in the industry as a background dancer and intern. However, instead of following in his footsteps, he chose to complete his education and graduated from Saint Joseph’s University with a Bachelor’s in Marketing in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Kirk subsequently kickstarted his career as the East Coast Marketing Manager at Orion Pictures in January 1987, where he served for 5 years until he believed he had found his true calling. He had admittedly maintained his bond with Sean, so he was impressed by his ambition to be a pop-culture shaker at a time when things were already evolving, as well as his uniquely cunning ideas. Therefore, when the opportunity arose, the duo joined forces to co-found their own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, with the former initially holding the internal position of General Manager.
Kirk worked in that standing for over two years before climbing the ladder to be President, meaning he took on a myriad of responsibilities to create magic with some of the biggest artists of that time. After all, they had 112, Craig Mack, Faith Evans, Ma$e, the Notorious B.I.G., and Total on their roster, enabling them to quickly make a name for themselves across the industry. “From Day Zero, I wrote everything down, every day, so I could keep track of everything I needed to do,” he revealed in the show. “I ran all the money, all the budgets for the company… and all that came with it.”
Kirk Burrowes Was Fired From Bad Boy Entertainment in 1997
Kirk genuinely believed that his friendship with Sean was so secure that nothing could ever come between them or their success as the co-founders of the most happening record label of recent times. He hence let a lot of the now-disgraced mogul’s behavior slide through too, including his alleged start of substance abuse, his reported excessive spending of company resources, and his alleged violent outbursts. According to his account in the series, he witnessed the rapper beat his partner Misa Hylton in 1991, but he was “able to push the incident in the back of his mind” as they remained together.
Kirk was then named the godfather of their firstborn in 1993, by which point his stance on the entire domestic ordeal was that his friend had a “really bad moment” when he was “weak.” Nevertheless, in hindsight, he now understands he was likely hooked on Sean’s charm and “may have been the first disciple, believer, and then overall protector (of him) against all odds. Everything changed from 1996 onwards, though, when Sean allegedly stormed into his co-founder’s office with a baseball bat in hand to force him to sign over the entirety of his 25% stake of the company to him.
Kirk signed the papers after Sean allegedly continued to threaten him before claiming he would eventually return the ownership shares, but the aftermath was much different than expected. He asserts that the man he believed to be a friend actually took “active measures to erase” his legacy at Bad Boy Entertainment and that he never even received any compensation for the stakes. However, the last straw was reportedly when he refused to alter the contract Notorious B.I.G. had renegotiated shortly before his March 1997 murder to be more favorable to the label at Sean’s behest. Kirk was determined never to engage in such unfair practices, and he was fired without cause 90 days later in July.
Despite Some Hard Times, Kirk Burrowes Has Managed to Remain in the Entertainment Industry
As per Kirk’s statements in the aforementioned original, he believes his former friend/business partner also had a role to play in the separate murders of friends-turned-rivals Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., but these allegations remain just that – allegations with no confirmed backing. We should also mention that he had eventually filed a lawsuit against Sean in 2003, related to the 1996 incident of the signing over of his 25% stake, but the case was ultimately dismissed. He did file another 18-page complaint against his former business partner 2025, alleging years of “predatory” actions toward him and the fostering of a “toxic environment of coercion, fear and psychological manipulation.” The New Yorker even named Sean’s mother, Janice Combs, in the lawsuit, which seems to be open and pending as of writing.
Coming to Kirk’s personal and professional standing since the late 1990s, he has since asserted that while he was able to establish Burrowes Entertainment in 1997 itself, it never took off. The Chief Executive Officer did get to manage the Queen of Hip-Hop-R&B, Mary Blige, during this period, thanks to their past connection, and he essentially served as a consultant to a few labels/producers, but he had to close his company’s doors in 2002. “For 25 years, I was basically blacklisted and banned” from the industry for my actions against Sean, he stated in the documentary, which sadly led to him facing financial troubles as well as homelessness.
However, since then, Kirk has managed to get back on his feet again through sheer hard work and perseverance, so we are happy to report that he currently owns-operates Pop-Life Entertainment. Established in January 2018, the company has enabled him to start afresh in the entertainment industry, but he is no longer connected to music and is instead focusing on film and television projects. “I’m back, stronger than ever, with incredible stories to tell and the infrastructure to make them real,” he recently said. “This moment, this platform, is something far greater: It is my opportunity to finally speak my truth. Guided and empowered by my Lord and Savior, I remain steadfast. The battle is not over, but neither am I.” In other words, while keeping his faith and morality at the forefront, Kirk is proud to be working on projects that truly matter and bring others joy.
Read More: Cassie Ventura: Where is P Diddy’s Ex-Girlfriend Now?
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