Hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs could soon trade in his prison cell for a classroom as he readies the launch of an education initiative next month—pending a federal judge's ruling on his sentencing.

Diddy is crafting a series of business and life skills courses set to launch in October throughout Miami, AllHipHop reports.

The initiative seeks to empower ex-offenders and residents in underprivileged communities by way of mentoring and education.

The rapper and businessman allegedly plans to instruct at six locations, including prisons, libraries, and cultural institutions.

Combs continues, however, to remain incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while he awaits his October 3 sentencing hearing.

The program was developed by RE Entry One Inc., a Miami-based nonprofit organization focused on reducing recidivism rates through education.

The course, "Free Game with Diddy," was originally designed when Combs was in jail. It has been lauded for enhancing business skills, personal development, and self-improvement in inmates and employees.

Its provisional October calendar includes visits to the Miami North Work Release Center on October 6, the Sprouting to Success School on October 14, the North Dade Regional Library and Little Haiti Cultural Arts Center on October 17, South Bay Correctional Facility on October 23, and the Rights Restoration & Expungement Fair on October 25.

Supporters agreed that the incidents disproportionately impacted communities such as Little Haiti and Miami Gardens.

Combs was acquitted last summer of racketeering and sex trafficking counts but convicted on two counts of transporting people for prostitution—charges that each had a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors are asking for an 11-year term, citing what they called "violent and coercive conduct" throughout the trial.

In legal documents, Diddy's lawyers requested leniency, stating that he has shown remorse and undergone rehabilitation through educational efforts.

Giovanni Sairras, executive director of RE Entry One, wrote to the court in a letter that Combs' teaching is "an extraordinary asset" that can "help break cycles of incarceration.

As per The New York Times, Diddy was sentenced to 50 months (over four years) in prison for prostitution-related crimes after a high-profile trial featuring graphic testimony about violence and sexual exploitation.

The judge said the sentence was meant to signal real accountability for the abuse and exploitation of women.

Originally published on Music Times

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