When Sean Combs, now going by his original (and undisputed best) stage name Puff Daddy, first announced his Bad Boy Reunion concerts to be held in Brooklyn, where East Coast hip-hop’s Golden Age began in the early 90s, he said it would be ‘hip-hop history’ and high-profile guests were absolutely expected to honour one of the most groundbreaking record labels in music history for both nights at Barclays Center. Very few though could have predicted how utterly insane the guest list would truly get.
I’m unsure exactly how they managed to cram the amount of superstars they did onto the one bill, but night one featured no less than Jay-Z, (who helped to build the arena itself) Nas, Mary J. Blige, Lil’ Kim, Faith Evans, Rick Ross, Usher, Busta Rhymes, Mase, 112, French Montana and The Lox all making appearances throughout a night that lasted over three hours to lend an assist on era-defining hit after era-defining hit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBa6qosQnPg
Falling the day before what would have been the 44th birthday of Bad Boy’s biggest star The Notorious B.I.G., the night took an emotional turn, with a choir joining Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, who is reportedly planning to release a posthumous collaborative record with Biggie later this year, for a goosebump-inducing rendition of I’ll Be Missing You before bringing out a birthday cake and everyone back onstage for a huge Happy Birthday in his honour.
It’s the kind of show you tell tales of in hushed whispers to your grandchildren. I’d have sold my everlasting soul just to be there.
Night two had its own share of stars as well, DMX making an appearance along with Brooklyn legend Fabolous and perhaps hip-hop’s hottest name at the moment in Desiigner taking to the stage as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP48a6XQW38
Triumphant would be the word to describe the shows and it should be very encouraging for the rest of the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour which heads out across the United States in late August. It’s unclear who from these last two nights will make appearances on that 25-date tour, but in the Mecca of rap music, Puff Daddy delivered on his promise and made history and we are all the better for it.
Image: Pitchfork
Puff Daddy who some (50 Cent) might say has coasted on the coattails of greatness for most of his career, has been uncharacteristically prominent in the news recently. We thought we would take the time to reflect on the mundane exploits of the once great and controversial figure.
Diddy, P Diddy, Puff Daddy, and anything else he calls himself, typically conjure an image of the Bad Boy Records founder as the same sunglass-wearing, cropped hair-adorning, kind of looking down but up at the camera at the same time, figure of money, glamour and perhaps a little danger. Since founding his label in 1993, which has gone on to sign more than 45 artists, it’s difficult to suggest that Puff Daddy is a mere shadow of what he once was. The decline of Puffy and his label can mostly be attributed to the loss of a hip-hop legend, The Notorious B.I.G, who was not only Puffy’s greatest asset at Bad Boy Records, but also a close friend. Since Biggie’s tragic shooting, Puffy has had difficulty in managing to keep his empire relevant, which by no means suggests that it hasn’t been profitable.
Rick Ross, Mase, French Montana, Lil Kim and Faith Evans, among others have all been attached to the label and their varying degrees of success have all insured that Puffy and his family will not be going hungry. It’s more so that the infamous beefs of East Coast versus West Coast of the nineties, which pitted the two juggernauts of Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records against each other, were pretty much the pinnacle of Puffy’s relevance. Sadly, it’s become apparent that regardless of how many times he changes his name or which vodka label entrusts him with their success, he will likely be unable to attain the sort of revered attention which he and his record label managed to garner almost 20 years ago.
Although Puff Daddy no longer commands the same level of street credibility which once made him a (gasp!) feared figure, he is still entirely capable of putting asses in seats for shows.
The Bad Boy reunion show is set to feature artists such as Faith Evans, Mase, The L.O.X, Lil Kim, Total, 112, Mario Winans, and French Montana, dubbed as a “one night only” show, managed to completely sell out within seven minutes. The show will be held at Brooklyn’s Jay-Z owned Barclays Centre on May 20, also the 44th birthday of The Notorious B.I.G..
In a press release regarding the reunion concert Puffy stated, “this isn’t just another concert – this is hip-hop history,” elaborating, “The Bad Boy Family includes some of the biggest names in music and songs that helped define a whole generation of music. Also, we are celebrating one of the greatest of all time – Notorious B.I.G. This will be a night to remember. I can’t wait to see you all there.”
Straight off the bat, I’m calling the Biggie hologram appearing at this concert. Faith Evans has already thrown a few comments out into the mediasphere about a Biggie hologram potentially in the works, and frankly a never-before-seen reunion tour from the label which he helped catapult to success, while also coinciding with his birthday, is the perfect time for Biggie’s hologram to lay down something Juicy.
The point is that Puffy, although not a powerhouse in terms of musical relevancy, has absolutely no problem with using fan nostalgia to generate this much hype for what he claims will be “a night to remember.” Puffy also seems to have no issues with nurturing the talents within his own family, signing his son, Christian Combs, into the Bad Boy family. In an Instagram post, Puffy revealed that for his son’s birthday he had gifted him a record deal with the label, and urged fans to congratulate Christian Combs on becoming an official member of the labels talented roster of artists.
NEW DEAL ALERT!!! Everyone wish my son @KingCombs a happy birthday & CONGRATS on signing that record deal!! #BADBOY #EPIC @la_reid SNAPCHAT: PUFFDADDY A video posted by Puff Daddy (@iamdiddy) on Apr 1, 2016 at 3:16pm PDT
If Puffy’s son is indeed a talented artist, it would be silly for his father, the founder of a major record label, to sign with someone else. Again, while Puffy himself is no longer the illustrious hip-hop figure he once was, he doesn’t seem to be having any problems insuring that his business remains fully functional and profitable.
Of course, none of this can be achieved without spawning critics. Suge Knight, who has clearly lost his once epic bout with Puffy by becoming embroiled in something akin to a noir detective story, has waged a war of words and alleged violence against his East Coast counterpart since the 1990s, and arguably leading to the death of both Tupac and Biggie. Now the criticism and subsequent fallout he receives from his rivals is laughable by comparison, but they still gotta hurt. Most recently, 50 Cent has fired shots in a Sirius XM radio interview.
50 Cent was asked about his sponsor, Effen Vodka, which prompted the slowly declining rapper to once again hang shit on Puffy’s Ciroc Vodka and question the Bad Boy founder’s artistic credibility.
“[Diddy] is a guy who stands next to the guy. I am the guy. He’s next to Biggie, he’s next to Ma$e, he’s next to Craig Mack, he’s next to The Lox, Lil’ Kim. When have you ever seen him by himself and it’s exciting? Even when it’s tribute music, there’s three or four other people because he’s not an artist. He’s a party promoter, a businessperson, a producer. A lot of different things but not an artist.”
Although that may well be true, Puffy has never had to file for bankruptcy and get called out for flashing around fake cash. No doubt, this latest insult will be like water off a ducks back, with Puffy continuing to conduct business as usual, and maintaining the carefully crafted music empire which he has managed to notch out for himself, one, which although not the brightly burning torch it once was, is most definitely still shining through.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM_hw_rQwLY]
Image: thestrut
Woah woah woah! When did the noughties come back?! Looks like not only Puff Daddy’s moniker has come full circle. The artist formerly known as Puffy, P.Diddy, Diddy, Sean Combs, is back with a new video, and a new Family. The clip for the 2015 track You Could Be My Lover dropped this week, featuring Puff Daddy, Ty Dolla $ign and new Bad Boy signee Gizzle.
Beginning with a kind of fairytale narration – but one geared towards a stereotypical macho culture, as illustrated by Cribs pretty much – the start of the clip details the sheer wonder of the prince’s life after he narrowly avoids marriage. A tongue-in-cheek wonder comprised of pretty much hip-hop cliches; riding motorbikes, shooting hoops, “eating pussy”, never paying child support of alimony, dating younger women… and to top it off, he leaves the toilet seat up. All whilst wearing a Versace robe, naturally.
So far so good. The clip continues with some excellent noughties cliches; a wild LA party, and Puff, Ty and Gizzle severely outnumbered by half naked women. This is the return of denim cut offs, black underwear and white fur. Hood opulence at its finest – almost demanding viewers shout “Go shawty! It’s your birthday!” at the screen.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM_hw_rQwLY]
I’m just not sure I wanted to come back here. Reuniting the original Family is one thing, but revisiting the kind of male money fantasy that’s playing out across my screen? The opening narration sets the tone as a bit of joke, fair enough. But I don’t believe these guys are joking, and I can’t believe I’m watching another video of a nameless, vacant faced, scantily clad girl being led by the hand. It feels like Puff is flogging a dead horse here. I’m not sure the glory days are coming back – especially given that, so far, the media has surprisingly little to say about this clip. Negative or otherwise.
The Bad Boy head has announced a one night only reunion of the original Family; a live show in honour of the Notorious B.I.G. and held on his birthday, May 20. According to the release, the event will include performances from Puff, Faith Evans, Lil’ Kim, Mase, French Montana, Total, 112 and Mario Winans. New York reps Jay Z and Mary J Blige will also be on-hand to perform.
Puff Daddy onstage in 2015. Image via Billboard
Puff has described the concert as “hip-hop history”, and even while history repeats itself, I can’t help but feel that the clip for You Could Be My Lover is reverting to a place I don’t think we want to be.
Image: Fanart
Never one for subtleties, New York’s own Sean Combs, A.K.A Puff Daddy has no problem when it comes to self esteem.
In an interview with Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning to celebrate the release of his free birthday mix tape MMM, a prequel to his final album No Way Out 2, Puff decided to give himself a pat on the back when it came to discussing producing.
“I am the best. As far as producer, I have sold the most records. And when you back on that music game you have to let it be known just to make sure that we are clear…. when I’m behind that board its serious business.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMh_VsTuXtE
It’s a serious claim from P.Diddy, which is not exactly helped by the fact that his last LP, 2010’s Last Train to Paris, was his lowest seller to date, amassing 270,000 copies in its first year of release in the United States. Compared with contemporaries such as Kanye (327,000 copies of Yeezus in its first week) and more recently Kendrick Lamar (324,000 for To Pimp a Butterfly), MMM has some serious work to do.
The rapper went on to talk about the NYC hip-hop scene, remarking how when it came to the question of any artists doing anything special; “I don’t know enough information. I can’t say I feel that at the gate…for this level of courage that it has to take. You can’t be rocking with what’s just rocking… you gotta be able to last forever.”
Cop that New York. The world’s best producer isn’t impressed. Watch below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQkQHiIZWSk
With 2010’s Last Train to Paris being Diddy’s least successful album to date, something had to change. True to form, that something is of course his name. Yup, in a switch that happened for what seemed like the umpteenth time in March, Sean Combs reclaimed the moniker by which he first found fame. With an announcement of a new album coming out, it all makes sense.
While all his official social media accounts still retain the name Diddy. With nothing being official these days till its internet official, an unfortunate situation has arisen with someone else having already claimed the Twitter handle @puffdaddy – and they’re not up for selling it.
Lols
The album, titled MMM, will be the first completely solo album for the rapper since 2006. The first single from MMM, is Big Homie. You can watch the video for it below, you know, if you wanna watch Diddy Puff Daddy bust out a fur coat, ride in his Rolls Royce and hang out with Rick Ross and French Montana in a bodega…