Clizbeats.com has posted the audio from the Danity Kane and Making the Band 4 guys conference call that I was on the other night. I'm at the very end - I asked the last 3-4 questions.

Watch below.

Shaheem Reid reports from Tuesday night's Bad Boy R&B showcase at Spotlight Live.

The Making the Band 4 guys, Cheri Dennis, Danity Kane and newcomer Janelle Monae all performed. On Monet's set, Reid says:


Edit: Mario Winans also performed.

Danity Kane, the Making the Band 4 guys and Donnie were all on Hot 97's Miss Jones in The Morning yesterday. You can listen on the Hot 97 website.

From the New York Post:


I guess all that boycott stuff has blown over...

Watch below.

This press release notes that Soul Diggaz will have production on the upcoming albums from Danity Kane, the Making the Band 4 guys and Donnie.

Ken Lewis reports that Danity Kane's new album features a track called "Ecstasy", produced by The Runners.

Cheri Dennis will be going on a promo tour in advance of the physical release of her album. Here are the cities where she will be:

From the official site:

From the official site:

From the official site:

From the official site:

VH1 has opened up casting for the new VH1 reality series that will help Diddy to find a new personal assistant. Previously, he had announced that he would be hiring three more assistants through the show. They'll be holding open casting calls in February in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Boston and Miami. You can also make a video submission.

SOHH.com reports that they'll be picking 20 candidates and the reality show will follow those 20 as they attempt to become Diddy's assistant.

For more information (and if you'd like to try your hand), check out workforpdiddy.com.

BallerStatus.com has an interview with Danity Kane.

From Black Voices:


Here at Bad Boy Blog, we wish them a long and happy life together. Congrats.

WSFA 12 reports that Diddy is expected to attend a rememberance of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march, which will have occured 43 years ago this year. The four day event will begin on March 27 in Selma, Alabama.

According to Atlantic Records, Danity Kane has been removed from the soundtrack to Step Up 2 The Streets. Cassie's "Is It You" remains as does Cherish's "Killa" which features Yung Joc.

We reported on this back in October but Bad Boy has officially announced the promotion of Harve Pierre to President of the company.

"Harve's promotion to President is well deserved," Diddy says. "He has been with Bad Boy since the beginning and has worked hard to learn all aspects of the business. He has always been an important part of the A&R process and it is only fitting that Bad Boy would house his imprint, Crazy Joint. I look forward to Harve's continued success."

Bad Boy and Atlantic will begin distribution of Crazy Joint in May of this year.

Bad Boy has launched a Making the Band 4, season 2 blog.

Watch below for a TV spot for Danity Kane and the Making the Band 4 guys.

This evening, on a conference call with the press, Danity Kane and the Making the Band 4 guys (minus Michael, who was sick), talked about their upcoming albums. Diddy and Harve Pierre also jumped on the call to share some of their thoughts on the projects.

"It's a strange time for the music industry. Even with that being said, I'm extremely excited about this time for Bad Boy. I think we've come up with a new movement - we've come up with a new form of success," Diddy said. "We're tying in television and radio and live touring with some incredible groups and some groups that have a lot of urgency."

He mentioned that their albums were finished and that they would start touring in June. He also eluded to a big Bad Boy tour (I'm trying to confirm this, however); saying, "We're comin' with that fire. We're comin' with that heat this year. We're coming with a lot of groups packaged together, so [when] we come to the cities, we have a full movement going on. So, look out for Danity Kane, Making the Band, Donnie. You got Cheri Dennis, Yung Joc, Cassie, myself coming to a city near you and this is the start of something big."

Of course, both groups have been working with Diddy to complete their albums. "Surprisingly, he's a lot more hands on than what I would have thought he'd been. He's very active in both projects. Because of him, we have some hot records," Brian said. Dawn talked about his involvement, as well. "Diddy was very involved in our record. ... He respected our vision. At the same time, we respect him for his guidance and his vision," she said.

Danity Kane's album features production from Bryan-Michael Cox, Scott Storch, The Runners, Tha Corna Boys, The Stereotypes (who produced the single, "Damaged") and Danja. Danja produced "Striptease", which is written by Danity Kane. "Is Anyone Listening" is another track that Dawn called, "very deep - very powerful." "Poetry", "Key to My Heart" and "Lights Out" will also be featured on the album. "We have some really great interludes that should be full songs," D. Woods added.

The album from the Making the Band 4 guys will feature production from Cox, Mario WInans, The Runners, Danja, Jim Beans, Kwame, Melee (not sure if I'm spelling this correctly) and Adonis.

Harve Pierre said that a Donnie single is likely going to be serviced to radio in the next four weeks. Will mentioned how Donnie has it tougher being a solo artist without group members to rely on for support. He also talked about how Donnie's project isn't really talked about as far as this season is concerned.

I asked them what they had as far as guest appearances. Both of the groups will appear on each other's albums. For the Making the Band 4 guys, Danity Kane provided vocals on "If It Wasn't For You" and "Ain't Goin'". They also mentioned that Diddy will be on their album. In what capacity, we don't know.

Danity Kane is keeping their guest features a secret. D. Woods explained, "We are definitely all over it. We have the guys involved. We cannot confirm and we will not speak on some of the other features that are in the works because it's very political. But, the name of our album that we are working with right now is called "Welcome to the Dollhouse." And the theme is like we're welcoming the audience in a little bit deeper. Yes, you've watched us on the show, you've seen us in the Making the Band houses from the first two seasons. Well, my first two seasons. But, actually three with Aubrey and Aundrea and then with me, Dawn and Shannon joining. So, we want to welcome you in a little bit more... get deeper into our heads, see all these different personalities that we can convey and all these different sides of a woman. We're very sensual, we're very emotional. And we want to welcome you into this very manufactured, constructed package that we have been in. So, that's "Welcome to the Dollhouse." It's going to be very high energy, but a lot of emotion and that's the theme we're working with."

The show opens with Diddy welcoming you back, pumped for a new season. After a quick recap of last season, he says that this season, you'll be watching the Making the Band 4 guys, Donnie and Danity Kane making their albums. "This is like super Making the Band. This is like Making the Band on steroids."

The first thing we see is an airport with the guys arriving and greeting each other. They're back in New York City. We see Donnie arriving separately, walking the streets of New York. The band guys arrive at the place where they'll be staying. They walk into one room and notice that there are only four beds. One of them says that someone is kicking kicked out. But, then they discover two other beds. Donnie arrives and all six guys are in the house. The guys are staying at Flatotel.

A limo rolls up and out comes Danity Kane. They all talk about the success and great experiences that they've had over the last year, including their platinum selling album and tours. We see Dawn, Aundrea and Shannon talking in a room... we don't know where that room is. (We later find out that it is at the Le Parker Meridien).They're talking about where they want the album to go. Next, we seem them walking down the streets in the evening for a meeting at Bad Boy with Diddy. And then we see the guys walking to the offices as well.

» Read More

Minutes after I posted my entry on the rumor that Janelle Monae had signed with Bad Boy, a representative responded to my request for comment with a simple yes.

This is an interesting signing for the label as Ms. Monae (official website) represents a sound that they have not really explored. As I mentioned in the previous entry, she is, according to Wikipedia a "futuristic rock singer". She released an EP album, "Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase", the first of a planned four album series. She appeared on both the Big Boi compilation, Got Purp? Vol. II and the soundtrack to Idlewild.

Edit: A Bad Boy representative responded to me instantly, confirming this story.

SOHH Soul Man has this:


Janelle Monae (official website) is, according to Wikipedia a "futuristic rock singer". She released an EP album, "Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase", the first of a planned four album series. She appeared on both the Big Boi compilation, Got Purp? Vol. II and the soundtrack to Idlewild.

It looks as if this rumor has made rounds, including the Creative Loafing Atlanta blog, who points to a ConcreteLoop.com post that features photos of Diddy attending Monae's album release party in August.

The Creative Loafing Atlanta blog quotes Monae's plublicist, in November, has saying that they have no comment, but they should have an announcement ready soon. It's now almost February and it looks as though no announcement has been made. Also in November, she posted on her MySpace that a career decision was coming soon, but there was no further elaboration. So, really, this is just a rumor for now.

I've contacted both camps for comment.

SOHH.com has some videos with Cheri Dennis where she sings, talks about her album and just generally jokes around.

Programming note: I'll be liveblogging the first episode of Making the Band 4, season 2 tonight. The show starts at 10:00 PM ET on MTV. So, check back and comment during and after the show. Thanks.

In denying the recent reports of a name change, Diddy told the New York Post's Page Six: "If I change my name again, y'all can have me certified as crazy. Alright? But I'm not crazy, so I won't change my name."

Via PR-inside.com.

Making the Band 4, season 2 premieres tonight at 10:00 PM ET on MTV. The focus on this season will be following Danity Kane, the Making the Band 4 guys and Donnie as they try to complete their albums in five weeks.

"Everybody is competing for the focus of the label - and myself," Diddy told The New York Post. "It's that behind the scenes pressure, when you're on a record label and trying to all come out at the same time, that people usually don't get to see."

On how they finished their albums so quickly, Diddy explained to the Miami Herald, "I came down with some tracks that I already picked and the albums were about 50 percent done. But still, in three weeks, they got it all done.''

On his blog, mix engineer Ken Lewis may have let slip the name of the Making the Band 4 band. He says:


826 Boys? First reaction: it doesn't really strike me in a memorable, unique way. Also, I don't think it really fits the image they seem to be crafting, as far as the whole image they were crafting out. These are men, not boys, right? This is an unconfirmed report and I will follow up to see if I can confirm it. For now, regard it as a rumor.

Danity Kane are featured on the cover of the March/April issue of KING Magazine with D. Woods featured on a special second cover. Here they are:


Via The Pop Culture Junkie via KING Magazine and KING Magazine.

SOHH.com has a quick interview with D. Woods on the new season of Making the Band 4.

Gorilla Zoe is on a remix to Rick Ross' "Speedin'". It also features R. Kelly, DJ Khaled, Plies, Birdman, Busta Rhymes, Webbie, Fat Joe, Torch and Gunplay (of Triple C's), Flo-Rida, Brisco, Lil Wayne, DJ Drama and Bigga Rankin. You can listen to it on his MySpace.

Here is the single cover for Danity Kane's "Damaged".

Danity Kane's new single, "Damaged", is the MySpace Single of the Week.

Reuters has some quotes from Diddy while MTV has a full interview with Diddy from the Sundance Film Festival, where "A Raisin in the Sun" is being screened.

The new single from the Making the Band 4 guys, "Got Me Going" will be released on iTunes on January 29, the day after the new season of Making the Band 4 premieres. You can listen to the track in our audio player. The single cover is below.

News has been spreading fast that Diddy has changed his official stage name once again - this time to Sean John. I've held off on reporting it because, well, something is a bit funny here.

Everyone who reported it referred to a quote in the Daily Star or the Daily Mail. I don't understand why Diddy would announce it to a publication that is outside of the United States, where the announcement would make the most impact and generate the most buzz.

Sensing this strangeness, I reached out to a few different people to make sure I could verify it before I reported it. A few minutes ago, I heard from an official spokesperson for Mr. Combs. "Recent reports of a name change are totally false, he is still Diddy. He is currently in "Sean John" mode as the upcoming Sean John fashion show is scheduled for February 8th in New York," she said.

So, there you have it. It's not true.

You can listen to the new Making the Band 4 single, "Got Me Going", in our audio player. It's produced by Mario Winans and Diddy and features some ad libs from Diddy.

Dawn Richard's MySpace announced that "Damaged" has been selected as the new Danity Kane single. You can listen to it on her MySpace. Diddy's on the outro.

From E! Online:


Via EURweb.com.

Jordan McCoy's manager, Debbie Hammond, tells me that the Jordan McCoy reality show project, "Good Girl/Bad Boy" has not yet been picked up by a network, ending speculation on the matter. They haven't even shopped it, yet, as the pilot episode has not finished production. Once this happens, she is optimistic that it will be picked up.

"We haven't finished the final edits to the pilot, but will have shortly. Networks have been asking for it already! Diddy and Jordan do make really great TV!", Hammond told Bad Boy Blog. "It will probably be a Viacom channel, but you never know who may scoop it up."

Viacom's networks include MTV (home of the Diddy executive produced reality series' "Making the Band" and "Run's House"), MTV 2, Nickelodeon, The N, VH1 and others. Any of these networks could make sense, depending on the spin of the series.

She told me that a trailer was coming (no timetable on that) and went on to praise Diddy's instincts and express her appreciation for the continued loyalty and support of Jordan's fans.

Update (1/24/08, 8:59 AM): First paragraph adjusted to reflect the fact that the show has not yet been shopped.

Watch below.

This is a cool video. At the end, you'll see a little promo for Ciroc as Diddy gives Felli a bottle.

According to Video Static, a video for "Juicebox" by Gorilla Zoe featuring Yung Joc has been shot. It was directed by Mr. Kelly, who also directed the upcoming video for Yung Joc's "I'm a G".

Gorilla Zoe has a new mixtape with DJ Teknikz called "Joog Music". You can listen to it for free (and purchase it for $1.95) over at LiveMixtapes.com. See the cover and tracklisting below.



Via Gorilla Zoe's MySpace.

The January 5 issue of Billboard Magazine featured a "What's Great In '08" story as part of their "Best Bets '08" section. In February, they featured Cassie's sophomore album. They note that she's worked with producers Mario Winans, Bryan-Michael Cox, Eric Hudson and Ryan Leslie. The album doesn't have any features, "with the exception of a couple of cuts with Kanye West that haven't been finished."

The track titles "Thirsty", "My House" (produced by Seven) and "Push It" are mentioned, with "Push It" as a potential first single.

I just spoke exclusively with former Bad Boy Records Senior Director of A&R, Conrad Dimanche. Yes, the rumors are true - he has resigned from the label. His final day was December 14 with his resignation being submitted around a month prior. But, the rumors are only half true, according to Dimanche.

While it is true that he left, he flat out denied that it was anything but a good, respectful parting of ways. He said that money and the work environment had nothing to do with him leaving Bad Boy. According to him, when he told Diddy and Harve Pierre of his plans to resign, they offered him a substantial pay raise to stay. When he opted to leave, they were supportive of his decision.

He told me that the reason he resigned was to focus on PMP Worldwide where he has a new role as President of the company. He's still consulting on A&R, a relationship that he says is likely to continue well into the future.

When we spoke, he was at Daddy's House working on finishing up the Danity Kane and Making the Band 4 projects. He's been grooming Daniel "Skid" Mitchell, one of the top people at Daddy's House, as his replacement. Though, no decisions have been made by Puff and co.

Mr. Dimanche expressed disappointment in the media as he tried to reach out to some outlets (he specifically named one gossip site that isn't worth mentioning) and they didn't even get back to him. He called it an example of the "media finding or making up a reason to run Puff's name through the mud."I told him that this didn't surprise me. This is why I always caution people who read these major gossip sites.

I read about the story a couple weeks ago but hadn't had the chance to chase it down due to traveling. I had a chance this evening and I contacted him myself. To say he was approachable and willing to help with the story would be an understatement. He responded to me within 15 minutes of e-mailing, asking for a number where he could reach me and we spoke soon after - at 10:44 PM ET. He was very affable and forthcoming. It simply reaffirms what we already know about gossip sites - it's about pageviews, not truth. It only took 2 minutes for me to reach out to him.

Here at Bad Boy Blog, we wish Mr. Dimanche much success in his new role.

Correction: On initial publishing, the article stated that his final day was January 14. This has been corrected as it was December 14.

Here are the airdates for Making the Band 4, Season 2:

First Episode: January 28th (Monday) at 10:00 PM ET
Second Episode: February 4th (Monday)
Third Episode: February 11th (Monday)
Fourth Episode: February 18th (Monday)
Fifth Episode: February 25th (Monday)
Sixth Episode: March 3rd (Monday)
Seventh Episode: March 10th (Monday)
Eight Episode: March 17th (Monday)
Ninth Episode: March 22nd (Saturday)
Tenth Episode: March 22nd (Saturday) – Live on MTV

The release dates for the upcoming Making the Band 4 and Danity Kane albums have both been pushed back a week. The Making the Band 4 album is now slated for March 11 while the Danity Kane album is set for March 18.

In a bulletin from Jordan McCoy's MySpace, her manager Debbie Hammond revealed that Jordan's upoming debut album ".. will be released with a TV show called, GOOD GIRL/BAD BOY, that Jordan did with Diddy! We are hoping it will be no later than April (if not sooner.) The writers' strike has delayed all TV. "

What isn't immediately clear from this is whether or not the show has actually been picked up by anyone. I wouldn't assume it has, from this message. I've contacted Ms. Hammond for clarification.

According to the JAMM Entertainment site, Dustin, Kelly and Patrick (from B5) will be filming supporting roles in the upcoming Warner Brothers film, "Nicetown". The filming will take place in Philadelphia from March 8 through March 18.

The track "Rockstar" has been added to Jordan's MySpace.

Watch the video for Gorilla Zoe's "Tryna Make a Jug" featuring Big Gee. It features cameos from Jody Breeze, Block, Rick Ross, DJ Drama, Yung Joc and Big Duke.

As Big Gee must have been in jail by the time of shooting, they used various archive footage during his verse with people like DJ Drama and Big Gee lipsyncing parts and wearing "Free Big Gee" t-shirts.

According to her MySpace, Aubrey O'Day is the new face of the Famous Stars and Straps clothing line (see their website), created by Travis Barker.

Watch below.

Listen to this song on the Block Entertainment MySpace.

Last week, MTV ran an article (cache) describing a track with Diddy called "Party All the Time". The song, produced by Danja, would sample the Eddie Murphy track of the same name. Previously, MTV had reported that Diddy would sing on the Fat Joe album.

After the article went up however, MTV updated it to note:


Unfortunately, this would make it seem like Diddy will not appear on his album. I've submitted a request to Fat Joe's new distribution home, Imperial Records, for comment.

Baller Status and SOHH.com have interviews with D. Woods. From Baller Status:


In the interview with SOHH.com, she mentions how they were influenced by Destiny's Child. Watch below.

AllHipHop.com and SixShot.com have interviews with Jody Breeze, where he talks about Bad Boy and Boyz N Da Hood.

Billboard has a quick blurb on the physical release of Cheri Dennis' "In and Out of Love", due out February 26. There are three notable items in the article.

When Cheri spoke with me in November, she mentioned that the physical release would be different. Billboard notes that bonus tracks will be included.

They also note that "Remind You" will be the third single from the album. Finally, Cheri is hoping to go on tour later this year.

From the AP:


See the article for more.

Shaheem Reid reports on last week's Chris Brown show at Madison Square Garden, where Diddy came on stage in support, performing "It's All About the Benjamins" and "Last Night".

David Betancourt has an interview with Rev. Run where he talked about how the idea of "Run's House" came about.

Gorilla Zoe has a YouTube channel. It has some random videos, radio appearances, etc. Watch the intro below.

A Raisin in the Sun is one of the films featured at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It's being screened three times:


Via Daniel Kreps.

Watch below.

Fat Joe's video to "I Won't Tell" featuring J. Holiday features cameos from Diddy and Mario Winans. You can see them at the 2:00 mark.

Via RapWeekly.com.

Bad Boy has launched a poll where you can vote for Danity Kane's next single. Unfortunately, the audio links are not working. The singles are named "Damaged" and "Pretty Boy". At the time of writing, "Damaged" holds 58.1% of the vote.

I didn't intend to be away for this long, but I'm back now and everything should return to normal. We've got some catching up to do.

Thank you for visiting Bad Boy Blog.

I just wanted to mention that posting may be light over the next couple weeks. I'll be around for the most part, but won't have as much of an opportunity to post.

Thank you for visiting Bad Boy Blog.

MTV has put out the following release:

From the press release:

You can download it from Clinton Sparks' site. See below for the front cover, back cover and tracklisting.



Via The Lyons Den.

Diddy is hosting DJ Clue's Birthday Ball tonight at Spotlight Live on 1604 Broadway. Ryan Leslie will be performing.

From AOL's Black Voices blog:


I've requested confirmation on this story. Until I get it, I'd treat it with a degree of suspicion.

ABC has a preview of the "A Raisin in the Sun" movie.

SOHH.com spoke with Yung Joc. Let's sum up the key points:

Apparently, there has been a rumor floating around that someone from Block Entertainment gave police information that led to them arresting T.I. Joc says that this is untrue.

He expressed disappointment with how the gun charge situation played out, how it looked like he didn't have any respect for the judicial system. He maintains his innocence.

He's working on his third album, but his third single will be "I'm a G". For more, check out the links and/or the videos below:

Watch below.

From SixShot.com:

From MTV:

It appears that Bad Boy quietly launched an official Cheri Dennis blog a couple of weeks ago. There are two posts so far - a welcome and Cheri's top 5 most wanted holiday presents. Stay tuned.

From the official site:

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From the official site:

» Read More

From the official site:

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This track is now in our audio player, toward the right about half way down the page.

Here's the audio from our interview with Beanie Sigel. You can catch some of "Shake It For Me" featuring Diddy at the beginning of part 2.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Besides YouTube (1 and 2), you can also find the video on MySpace (1 and 2) and imeem (1 and 2).

SOHH.com has an interview with Russell "Block" Spencer, CEO of Block Entertainment. Among other subjects, he squashed the rumors that Atlantic/Bad Boy had dropped Block Entertainment. Watch below.