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Jose Sanchez of Channel 5 Belize reports from a visit to a prison in Belize made by former Bad Boy rapper Shyne, now going by the name Moses Michael Leviy. As he has not been a Bad Boy artist for some time, we haven't covered his release from prison, except for the Bad Boy and Diddy related angles of it.
In September, Diddy said he had spoken to him and talked positively about his release in October. But, that month, Shyne said that Diddy hadn't spoken to him at all. Nonetheless, in his speech at the prison, Shyne admitted that he took responsibility for his actions in the club shooting.
“I understood I made a mistake. I accepted responsibility for my mistakes. I didn’t blame nobody for my mistakes. It wasn’t my co-defendant fault that I shot somebody in the club. I did that s***, it was a terrible mistake, and I moved on. That’s what I challenge you guys to do. Don’t blame the C.O., don’t blame the police that caught you, don’t blame the dude that you shot. You have to take accountability for your actions and you have to decide what your future is going to be.”
Thanks Theo for the tip.
From the official Block Entertainment YouTube channel, check out "Thow'd Off" by Supplya featuring Block Boyz - which apparently includes Gorilla Zoe. There are four rappers mentioned in the tags of the video, they are Kollosus and Diego Cash, in addition to Gorilla Zoe and Supplya. That might be the group.
Over the last week or so, we've heard four remixes to Dirty Money's "Angels." We've seen the additions of Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco, Aasim and Raekwon. Now that they've had a chance to sink in, I thought I'd ask: what's your favorite? Click the links below to download or listen.
1. "Angels (Remix)" by Dirty Money featuring Rick Ross
2. "Angels (Remix)" by Dirty Money featuring Lupe Fiasco
3. "Angels (Remix)" by Dirty Money featuring Aasim
4. "Angels (Remix)" by Dirty Money featuring Raekwon
Please let me know what you think in the comments. I'll mention my favorite remix there later.
Latifah Muhammad of The Boombox reports that Day26 is exclusively signed to Atlantic Records now and no longer a part of the Bad Boy Records roster. Group members Willie Taylor and Qwanell "Que" Mosley, quoted in the article, were very complementary about their time at Bad Boy. Willie expanded on his thoughts in a trio of Twitter messages:
IN BUSINESS THINGS HAPPEN, WE LOVED OUR TIME OVER AT BADBOY, THE $ WE MADE WAS GOOD, AND OUR LAST ALBUM WE DID OURSELVES, SO WE HAD FREEDOM
THE BADBOY CURSE THAT EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT, WE CANT VOUCH FOR, CAUSE I HAVENT SEEN NO PARTS OF IT, AND @IAMDIDDY GAVE US OUR START!!!
MANY BLESSINGS TO BADBOY/INTERSCOPE, AND DIRTY MONEY, AS WELL AS MANY BLESSING TO @DAY26 ON OUR NEW ROAD WITH ATLANTIC, GOD IS AMAZING!!!
If accurate, this isn't a total surprise. It's also not as big a deal as some publications are making it, in an attempt to make this more of a story than it is. It's not "splitsville," Day26 didn't leave anyone. It's highly unlikely that they had the authority to say "we're not signed to Bad Boy anyone." There was almost certainly some level of negotiation and a decision by Bad Boy to allow them to be Atlantic exclusively.
Day26 has always been signed to Atlantic through Bad Boy Records. For their entire career. When Diddy's deal with Atlantic was set to expire, he opted not to continue with them and signed with Interscope Records.
At the time, it was also made clear that any artists that were signed to Bad Boy up to that point would remain at Atlantic - including Day26. Diddy also said that he still had the Atlantic imprint and that he would continue to work with the artists he had signed.
Willie Taylor spoke about the group's situation in October. "It might be Bad Boy/Atlantic, it might just be Atlantic," he said. "Right now, it’s up in the air. We know we not gonna be Bad Boy/Interscope though. That’s not even part of the situation." So, we already knew this was an option, just last month. And, apparently, after negotiation they will just be signed to Atlantic Records. If that is the case, we here at Bad Boy Blog wish them well.
I've reached out to both Atlantic Records and Bad Boy Entertainment for further confirmation.
Diddy will appear on HSN, the Home Shopping Network, on Monday, November 30 at 11:00 PM ET and Tuesday, December 1 at 1:00 AM ET as the network turns it's focus to Sean John products for the holiday season.
The shows will be aired live and will feature Sean John fragrances, holiday gift sets and an exclusive Sean John robe. Laurel Pinson of NBC New York reports that the network has built a special set for the occasion, and it will work more like a talk show than a sales pitch.
"With the help of HSN, I'm going to be coming to your living room for the holidays," Diddy said in a press release issued by Sean John (included below). "I can't wait to show HSN's viewers my lineup of Sean John Fragrances for men and women. It's the perfect time to shop for the holidays."
"We are very excited to partner with Sean 'Diddy' Combs and bring to life on HSN the compelling story behind the success of his top-selling fragrances for both women and men," said Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, Inc. "Offering our customers a wider array of luxurious fragrances has been a focus for HSN as we continue to expand our beauty business. Mr. Combs is a lifestyle icon who will provide our customers with unique experiences and the quality products we strive to deliver."
The gift sets will revolve around the fragrances, including the following packages for men (click to purchase):
Unforgivable Deluxe Holiday Set: 4.2 oz Eau de Toilette spray and signature watch
Unforgivable Classic Holiday Set: 2.5 oz Eau de Toilette spray and deodorant
I Am King Classic Holiday Set: 1.7 oz Eau de Toilette spray and 3.4 oz After Shave Balm
All three of these sets will be in come with a Sean John signature bag, as well. The Unforgivable Woman Holiday Set will be available for women, including a 4.2 oz scent spray, body lotion and corresponding makeup bag, along with Unforgivable and Unforgivable Woman Bubble Baths.
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Our audio player has another remix for Dirty Money's "Angels" featuring an opening rap verse from Raekwon. The repeating verses from Biggie are removed. This could just be one of those tracks where a rapper throws a verse on it and puts it out, rather than an official remix - that much is unclear.
It follows remixes featuring Lupe Fiasco, Aasim and Rick Ross. Another remix by Ted Smooth is expected soon.
YumSugar interviewed Diddy in a pair of pieces on their site: one dealing with the creation of the perfect party and another focused on alcoholic beverages.
On a newly released track called "NYC Angels," DJ Self takes the instrumental from Dirty Money's "Angels" and has Red Cafe rapping over it.
This actually isn't a new track, as it appears to have been available online early this year, at the latest, but I hadn't heard of it and didn't mention it, so I thought I'd mention it now. "On and On" by Tha Dogg Pound features a sample of The Notorious B.I.G. from Biggie's "Nasty Boy" and it sounds like some ad libs from Diddy may have been kept, as well. You can purchase it from iTunes.
In the clip below, Millions of Milkshakes of West Hollywood, California launches the Day26 "So Good" Shake with the group on hand to make it. It consists of vanilla ice cream, caramel, a chocolate Hershey bar and walnuts, topped with whipped cream.
A new track by TLC member T-Boz has hit the internet featuring Yung Joc and Too Short. It's called "Get It Get It" and call outs on the track indicate it was produced by Bangladesh.
In honor of Tina Turner's 70th birthday, Christian John Wikane of PopMatters has a tribute to her "Private Dancer" album which is 25 years old itself. Janelle Monae is quoted in the piece:
Of the three productions Terry Britten produced, “I Can’t Stand the Rain” was the lone cover. Like Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”, it scored a major hit for the Hi Records label when Ann Peebles recorded it in 1974. After a succession of covers by Graham Central Station and the disco outfit Eruption, Tina Turner merged the soul and synthesized versions with a sui generis style of her own. The recording stands as one of Janelle Monáe’s favorite songs from Private Dancer. “It has a really funky groove and vocal approach,” she says. “I instantly connect with the emotion in her voice. I love when she performs it live. She is so raw, but yet so polished at the same time. I have always admired the attention she gives to her performances.”
Janelle Monae was nominated for the "Left Field Woodie" award in the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards but, unfortunately, was not able to pick up the award. It was given to Tech N9ne. Metromix New York has a picture of Monae before the show.
If you're in the U.S., you know that today is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when retailers attempt to draw shoppers to their stores (online and off) through sales and, in some cases, through the discounting of highly advertised products, with the hope that the purchasers will buy other things, too.
Sean John's online store is having a Black Friday sale, offering 25% off on orders of $125 or more and free shipping within the United States. You don't have to be in the U.S. to get the 25% off, though.
Some of my favorite items in the store right now would be the "Big City Bright Lights" and "Move in Silence Tee" t-shirts and the Cross Plaque Antique Nickel belt.
Here are Bad Boy's positions on the most recent Billboard U.S. album and single charts, released yesterday. Not a whole lot worth mentioning here. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money moves up a couple of slots on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart to a new high.
Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
66. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (down from 65).
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
66. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (down from 65).
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
23. "Angels" by Dirty Money (re-entry).
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop
37. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (a new high, up from 39).
If you were waiting for the high definition version of the new Dirty Money music video for "Love Come Down," it's been released online and you can watch it below.
On his Twitter, Diddy shared a couple of free download links to rapper fueled remixes of Dirty Money's "Angels." One features a long opening verse from Aasim and the other features two shorter verses from Lupe Fiasco. Both of them have Biggie's repeated verses removed.
Earlier this month, Aasim had tweeted that he was working on a remix to "Angels" and just last week Diddy said that the Lupe remix was on the way. To download, click the links below:
"Angels (Remix)" by Dirty Money featuring Lupe Fiasco
"Angels (Remix)" by Dirty Money featuring Aasim
Thanks Theo for the tip.
Day26, nominated in October in the "SOUL/R&B - Favorite Band, Duo or Group" category in the 2009 American Music Awards, did not pick up the victory during tonight's program. On his Twitter, group member Willie Taylor mentioned that The Black Eyed Peas had been given the award.
MTV News reports on Thursday night's star-studded 40th birthday celebration at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. The guest list included Trey Songz, Tyrese, Red Cafe, Andre Harrell, F. Gary Gray. Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Kim Kardashian, Martha Stewart, Gayle King, Jimmy Fallon, Bell Biv DeVoe, Jimmy Iovine, Bono, Russell Simmons, Nelly, Estelle, Herbie Hancock, Regina King, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Kid Capri, Al Green, Spike Lee, Cassie, Dawn Richard, Kalenna, Lupe Fiasco, Sean Garrett, Rev. Al Sharpton, Dennis L.A. Green, Derek Hough and Shannon Elizabeth, as well as Diddy's mother, Janice Combs; sons, Quincy, Justin and Christian and Justin's mother, Misa Hylton-Brim. DJ Cassidy, D-Nice and Q-Tip provided DJ service. MTV News has quotes from attendees and photos.
Here are some clips inside the ballroom:
Attendees pass along their well wishes:
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On his Twitter, Red Cafe shared this new track, "Nasty Girl" featuring Sheek Louch and Ross Fortune. Listen below.
On Wednesday, Funkmaster Flex on Hot 97 premiered a new remix to Dirty Money's "Love Come Down." The remix featured three new rap verses from Jim Jones, Fabolous and Red Cafe - the Red Cafe verse had previously been released by itself.
The remix is now available in our audio player. In addition to the new verses - the remix also removes Diddy's initial rap verse, keeping the shorter, track closing one. I am all over this mix. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.
Check out our audio player for the brand new Rick Ross featured remix to Dirty Money's "Angels." The remix is close to the original, except for an opening rap verse from Ross and the removal of Biggie's two, repeating verses. The mix recently premiered on Hot 97.
Philadelphia DJ Benja Styles has teamed up with Ness to remix Cassie's "Let's Get Crazy." The track gets an entirely new treatment with a lead rap verse from Ness, but keeps Akon's vocals. Download now. The package also includes a clean version without Ness and an instrumental.
Last night on Hot 97, Funkmaster Flex interviewed Dirty Money and Diddy mentioned that veteran DJ Ted Smooth would be remixing some tracks for them, but he didn't specify what those tracks were.
On Twitter, Ted Smooth was kind enough to RT (retweet, which means to pass the message forward on Twitter) the story and so I asked him for some details, which he graciously provided. He told me that the remixes would be of "Angels" and "Love Come Down," Dirty Money's dueling lead singles. The "Love Come Down" remix will feature Jim Jones, but it will not be the remix that Flex played last night that featured Jones alongside Fabolous and Red Cafe. When the remixes are released, we'll have more.
Here are Bad Boy's positions on the most recent Billboard U.S. album and single charts, released today. This week's loan gain: Dirty Money's "Love Come Down" debuting on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart.
Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums
22. "Ready to Die" by The Notorious B.I.G. (unchanged).
Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
65. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (down from 63).
96. "So Good" by Day26 (down from 87).
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
65. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (down from 63).
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop
39. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (debut).
Dirty Money came on Funkmaster Flex's show on Hot 97 tonight for a great interview and during it, Diddy mentioned that there are remixes of "Angels" coming that feature Rick Ross and Lupe Fiasco. They played the remix with Rick Ross.
He also shouted out Jim Jones, Fabolous and Red Cafe while talking about the remixes and, sure enough, they played a remix of "Love Come Down" that featured all three. Finally, he mentioned that some remixes with Ted Smooth are coming "next week."
Funkmaster Flex asked Diddy about Black Rob during an interview tonight on Hot 97. He asked him if he was still on the label. Diddy didn't exactly answer that, but he did echo some of the things I've been saying.
"What I am... I'm a provider of an opportunity," he said. "I own a label called Bad Boy. I don't have a secret type of spell to control people's lives. I can't keep Black Rob out of jail. That's something that I could not do. I love Black Rob to death. That's what happened to Black Rob. If Black Rob was here and around, I know he'd be making great music."
Diddy gave what is perhaps his most revealing answers about the situation with Mase tonight to Funkmaster Flex on Hot 97. Recently, he had discussed the possibility of Mase returning to Bad Boy. Then, in October, video surfaced that showed Mase supposedly bum-rushing Diddy during a radio show appearance and getting the Bad Boy CEO to sign a piece of paper. At the time, it was unclear what exactly this piece of paper was - but, Diddy says that Mase is now off of Bad Boy and is free to sign wherever he wants. He also went into detail about the financial issues between them.
Diddy: "[When Mase came back for "Welcome back"] that was the second big check. Everybody was wondering 'yo, what's going on? why ain't you letting him do the 50 thing?' We just had some unfinished business after the first one when he decided to become a pastor. He had decided to become a pastor after he had just got a big check."
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Hot 97's Funkmaster Flex had Dirty Money on his show tonight and he asked about the talks with The Lox and on bringing them back to Bad Boy. Diddy told Flex that he wanted to bring them back - but only for one album.
"I just have a dream," Diddy told the DJ. "I feel like they are definitely some of the dopest emcees that are out in the game right now and I just think we were stronger together. To be honest, I just want to do one album. I don't want us to start not loving each other. I want it to be a lovefest."
During tonight's interview with Dirty Money, Hot 97's Funkmaster Flex asked Diddy about the situation with Red Cafe and whether or not the deal was official with Bad Boy. He confirmed that the deal was not official, but that they were working as if it was.
"We have a handshake deal right now," he said. "A lot of people don't understand with closing deals, it's not an overnight thing. There's so many things you have to go through in a long term contract. Both of our lawyers have the contracts, we're in the studio working. Once it's fully negotiated and we're both happy, then we'll sign the ink on the dotted line. But, we are moving as if it's done."
A very official sounding remix of Dirty Money's "Love Come Down" just premiered on Hot 97. Unfortunately, the live online stream switched to Usher's "Confessions Pt. 2" at the very start and I missed a chunk of it. I'm not even kidding. But, it came back on and what I did hear was Jim Jones, Fabolous and the Red Cafe verse from the "Love Come Down" remix in our audio player. When the full version of the track becomes available for online listening, we'll have it.
A remix to Dirty Money's "Angels" featuring Rick Ross premiered on Hot 97 tonight, during Funkmaster Flex's show. It's unclear if the remix is an official remix or just something that Ross threw a verse on as the track was identical to the single version of "Angels," except for an opening verse from Ross and Biggie's second verse removed.
Doug Elfman of the Las Vegas Review-Journal spoke with Diddy when he was in town for the recent Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto boxing match at the MGM Grand. They talked about a handful of random subjects including Diddy's own casino (in the future), the new flavors of Ciroc, Joaquin Phoenix's rap efforts and more.
Already nominated for an award, Janelle Monae will now also serve as a presenter at the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards. The show will air on Friday, December 4 at 10 PM ET on mtvU, MTV, MTV2 and Palladia.
A few years ago, Bad Boy utilized i-Squad, a digital street team system where fans were encouraged to promote Bad Boy artists by requesting their videos on TV, songs at radio, participating in contests and more. In exchange for this, the members of the team were given points that could be redeemed for merchandise and memorabilia. I actually participated in the Bad Boy i-Squad pages and racked up a lot of points.
However, in July of 2006, they opted to close their groups, leaving many members with unused points. It left a sour taste in my mouth and with plenty of others, I am sure. What made it particularly bad was there was no attempt to make nice - there was no warning or opportunity to use your points on whatever was available. They simply closed it.
Today, Bad Boy launched a similar effort, working with i-Squad competitor Fancorps. You can now join the Bad Boy Street Team on Fancorps (if you'd like me to get credit, please say that iFroggy referred you. I appreciate it).
Once registered, you'll be given a profile and access to a list of orders which will update over time. Orders are basically jobs or tasks that you are currently asked to do that can earn you points. Things like requesting "Love Come Down" on Hot 97 and adding "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money to your MySpace profile. I was concerned going in that some of the orders would ask members to spam or post advertisements on forums, blogs, etc. that they did not own. But, I was pleasantly surprised. The one questionable thing that is currently being asked is for people to post multiple reviews of a single song on iTunes, which is misleading and likely a violation of iTunes terms of service. So, you might want to skip that one.
In the "Propaganda" section, you'll find Bad Boy related graphics, eCards, embeddable videos and more, making it easier to share the latest label happenings. There is a Twitter background, a forum signature and some graphics advertising the release of "Angels" and "Love Come Down."
The store, where you can redeem your points, currently offers a promo CD for Dirty Money's "Angels," an audio drop or shout out from Dirty Money for your blog or website, an autographed Dirty Money poster and an unsigned one. The shout out is currently not available for purchase, however.
The "Intel" section appears to be an attempt at localizing promotional efforts, providing a list of companies, stores and venues in the area where music could presumably be promoted. Some make a lot of sense, some ("Counseling/Treatment Centers"? "Smoke Shops"?) don't.
In all, I would say that it is a worthwhile fan experience. Unfortunately, given what happened with the i-Squad, it is difficult for one to trust that the points collected will actually be redeemable. But, if you are a fan of Bad Boy or it's acts and have some time to help promote and earn some points and, hopefully, some free stuff, I'd say to at least take a look. Take it lightly and enjoy it for what it is.
On Wednesday a new Dirty Money track titled "Hurt" featuring a rap verse from Drake leaked online. The supposed source was an upcoming Drake mixtape. Bad Boy apparently did not want the song to be available this early and has been requesting it's removal from various websites.
The song features Diddy singing prominently throughout along with Dawn Richard and Drake coming in for the final verse. Previously, Diddy had revealed that the Toronto, Canada based rapper would be featured on "Last Train to Paris."
Thanks Theo for the tip.
Diddy, Bad Boy and Interscope have launched a new website dedicated to Diddy/Dirty Money. Located at diddydirtymoney.com, the site doesn't feature much outside of the "Love Come Down" music video and a Twitter stream for the hashtag #diddydirtymoney.
You are able to grant a Diddy/Dirty Money Twitter application access to your profile and messages sent through that page will say they are sent from "Diddy Dirty Money" with a link to the website. See the stream for examples.
According to a Spike TV issued press release, Diddy will be featured on an episode of "Unique Autosports: Miami," a new show coming to the channel in February.
Last November, I shared a clip from a meeting between Diddy and Will Castro, the owner of Unique Autosports. It's unclear if this is a clip from the show, but it might be.
Diddy's making the TV rounds: tonight at 12:05 PM ET, he'll be on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and on Monday, he'll be visiting "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" ( check local listings).
Here it is: the music video for Dirty Money's "Love Come Down." I love it. The track hit a new high on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart earlier today and will hopefully be headed much higher.
Update: In case you can't see the MTV version, here's the YouTube one:
Here are Bad Boy's positions on the most recent Billboard U.S. album and single charts, released today. Dirty Money's "Angels" makes a move toward the big chart, making it's debut on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. "Love Come Down" moves up, as well.
Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
94. "Don't Feed Da Animals" by Gorilla Zoe (up from 96).
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums
22. "Ready to Die" by The Notorious B.I.G. (re-entry).
Songs
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
16. "Angels" by Dirty Money (debut).
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
63. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (a new high, up from 68).
87. "So Good" by Day26 (down from 77).
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
63. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (a new high, up from 68).
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
12. "Angels" by Dirty Money (a new high, up from 18).
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop
40. "So Good" by Day26 (down from 37).
contactmusic.com reports that Diddy will be the featured interview in an upcoming issue of Playboy Magazine (presumably the December issue). Given our general "safe for work" stance here at Bad Boy Blog, this may or may not be our only mention of it.
Emerging Artist USA magazine has an interview with Donnie Klang, who is featured on the cover. Donnie talks about his first album, working with Diddy, Michael Jackson and more.
MTV News reports that the music video for Chris Brown's "Crawl" will premiere on The Wendy Williams Show on Friday. The video features Cassie as Brown's love interest. Check your local listings for show time.
Yung Joc is featured on a new single from RL (of the group Next) called "We in the Club."
Have you wondered by Ciroc is called Ciroc? Well, wonder no further. Watch this video from the Ciroc Facebook page.
On his Twitter, Aasim posted a message saying that he was in the studio working on a remix to Dirty Money's "Angels." Here's the message:
IN THE STUDIO GOING CRAZY....I JUST WENT IN ON THE ANGELS REMIX....ITS THAT DIRTY MONEY AH HAAA
Thanks to Theo for the tip.
On tonight's episode was "I Want to Work for Diddy 2," Zach was eliminated from the Uptown team after being the general leader of the Sean John photo shoot themed challenge. Below, check out his exit interview.
Last month, singer Justin Bieber directed a message at Diddy on Twitter asking if Diddy wanted a song that Bieber produced and sung, for Diddy's upcoming album. Some of Bieber's fans spread it around and Diddy responded, saying to send it over.
Well, in the clip below, we see Diddy and Bieber having a little fun, as Diddy jokingly promises Bieber a car when he turns 16. Diddy also talks a little bit about doing the Usher album and how he had legal guardianship of Usher while he was working on it.
In March, we reported that Ness was working on a reality show called "Swamp Vision TV" and, in July, we had a trailer. Below, check out webisode 1 of the show.
Thanks Theo for the tip.
VH1 has released a 10 minute, 28 second preview of the second episode of "I Want to Work for Diddy 2." Check out it below. The full show airs on Monday at 10 PM ET on VH1.
A few days ago, we reported that Ciroc had a pair of new flavors due out: coconut and red berry. Well, in researching this, I found that Drinkhacker.com reviewed them in Seprember. Check out the review for details and product images.
The Stand Up for Skateparks website says that Diddy is a Benefit Committee member for Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks. The organization "raises critical funds to support the Tony Hawk Foundation’s mission to bring high-quality, free public skateparks to youth in low-income communities across the U.S." They'll be holding a festival in Las Vegas and Diddy will be attending.
Included below is the music video for Donnie Klang's "Prisoner of Love." On Twitter, Donnie commented that it may be a rough cut, but that he couldn't confirm that as he wasn't near a computer.
Thanks Nick Eden for the tip.
"Beauty's a B****" by Day26 is now in our audio player. The song sounds as though it may be unfinished, with a break in the middle where a guest verse could presumably have gone.
Our audio player has a new track from Black Rob. It's called "Three Course Meal."
Syfy has released a video preview of the November 6 episode of "Stargate Universe." It's called "Earth" and it will feature Janelle Monae. The show airs at 9 PM ET. In the preview below, Monae is performing "Many Moons."
In an interview with BallerStatus.com, Yung Joc revealed that he has been released from Bad Boy Records/Block Entertainment.
BallerStatus.com: So what's going on with the whole label situation for you?
Yung Joc: I just got my release and one of the terms of the release was a defamation clause, so honestly, I can't really talk about it too much. I've been released, severed the business ties. May God bless them and their regime, but I'm doing my own thing now. ...
BallerStatus.com: Could you see yourself working with those guys again sometime in the future?
Yung Joc: Definitely. That's what the game is about man. You join forces, you disperse and somewhere down the line, it happens again. Either you bump heads or you join heads. You really just never know with it. I'm not going to yes, but I'm not going to say no. There could come a time when we all get over this and say "haha" and get a drink or two. It's all about how you go into things sometimes too; the level of respect is different. I felt as I grew as an artist, the level of respect for me as an artist dropped some between me and that regime. As a businessman and CEO, when I started becoming more successful, either I was seen as a threat or it just wasn't respected.
I have requested some form of confirmation from Bad Boy.
Here are Bad Boy's positions on the most recent Billboard U.S. album and single charts, released today. Dirty Money's "Love Come Down" moves up, as does Day26's "So Good."
Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
96. "Don't Feed Da Animals" by Gorilla Zoe (down from 91).
Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
68. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (a new high, up from 74).
77. "So Good" by Day26 (up from 78).
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
68. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (a new high, up from 74).
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
18. "Angels" by Dirty Money (re-entry).
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop
37. "So Good" by Day26 (a new high, up from 40).
VH1 has released a bonus clip from episode 1 of "I Want to Work for Diddy," season 2. It's Noelle's exit interview. Watch below.
Last night, I was inspired to share some thoughts on the music industry, the mentality of blaming Bad Boy and Diddy for everything that happens to their current and former artists and the responsibility that artists have in general. I did this on the @badboyblog Twitter account. I received a lot of positive feedback and @TrueSplurge suggested that I post the stream as a blog entry here on the site. After @empirequeen asked for more details on what I posted, I decided to do so.
I recognize this isn't for everyone: it's basically a stream of my Twitter messages which are short and limited by 140 characters. So, please feel free to skip this post. But, if you'd like to hear my thoughts on these topics, please read on.
If you do choose to comment, please read my thoughts first and consider what you know as first hand knowledge and what you heard from someone else. As always, our User Guidelines apply to all comments. Here's the stream:
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Our audio player features a pair of remixes to Dirty Money's "Love Come Down." They both follow the same format: an opening verse from the guest rapper and then the rest of the song as in the original version of the track. It's unclear if either of these is an official remix, or not, however.
Check out our audio player for a relatively new track from Gorilla Zoe: "Alright (Shots of Patron)."
While I was on the road, a few new Gorilla Zoe guest appearances popped up online. Zoe is featured in Lady Dolla's "Gotta Get My Money," which also has B.G., Yung L.A., TC and Bun B.
He's also featured on B.A.M.A.'s "Ya Know It," which you can listen to below, care of B.A.M.A.'s Twitter.
Finally, Skent Dukes has sampled Gorilla Zoe's "Hood Figga" for the chorus to his "Steady Watchin'." You can listen to it on his MySpace (you may need to scroll down and to the right of the MySpace comments area to see the player).
Here are Bad Boy's positions on the most recent Billboard U.S. album and single charts, released last Thursday.
Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
91. "Don't Feed Da Animals" by Gorilla Zoe (re-entry).
Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
74. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (down from 71).
78. "So Good" by Day26 (down from 77).
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
74. "Love Come Down" by Dirty Money (down from 71).
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop
40. "So Good" by Day26 (debut).
Liz Davis, the recently crowned winner of "P. Diddy's StarMaker" was interviewed at the end of October by The Madison-County Herald and The Clarion-Ledger. Check them out for reaction to her win.
A couple of weeks ago, Vibe published an interview with Diddy, focused on the touring plans for Dirty Money and some "Last Train to Paris" album details.
"This time it's a different approach," Diddy told VIBE of his touring plans for Dirty Money alongside his band mates Dawn and Kalenna. "We're more open to going into intimate venues. We're more open to go out with people we [usually] wouldn't go out with to touch different crowds. And we really don't care about headlining. Somebody else can headline and we'll go on before them. We just want to entertain the people and have them see us and hear us. Because, at the end of the day, I started the stadium tours, so I don't have anything to prove from that angle."
Also of interest: he says that Dirty Money has "about 55" songs in the can that they hope to narrow down to 12-14 and that Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, Drake and Jay Electronica contributed to the album. Previously, Drake, T-Pain, Rick Ross and Wayne had been mentioned by Diddy, with Jay-Z being a potential contributor.
The video for "Someone to Love" was directed by Nabil Elderkin, according to the article. He directed Kanye West's "Paranoid" and "Welcome to Heartbreak" and John Legends "PDA," among others. They've also worked with photographer Terry Richardson in some capacity ( in February of this year, Diddy did a video blog with Richardson by his side).
From Complex's interview with 50 Cent:
Complex: Shifting gears, in your VH1 Behind The Music episode, there was a part that talked about Diddy taking a meeting with you, and him getting shook because you brought a gun to the office…
50 Cent: This is what happened. Jennifer Lopez told Puffy that I was a great writer because Corey Rooney signed me to Columbia Records. Jennifer had been exposed to my material, so she told Puff she thinks I’m somebody he should work with. I came down to write and I was in there writing a couple of joints and Puff left the actual room. There was rustling and rambling at the door and s*** like that. I jumped up—when you get hurt as bad as I got hurt, either your fear consumes you or you become insensitive. So I jumped up and figured “as you come through the door, I’ll shoot your a** down right there in the door.” The paranoia heightens your senses. You start to see every little detail, every little thing. You don’t want to miss anything and have it turn out there’s someone shooting you again. When I heard the rambling outside, I jumped up, I had a Mac-10 on me. Pulled the joint out and Puff came in and looked, said, “Oh s***, I can’t do this.” As a matter fact, it was Shyne and Wolf, wrestling outside. Puff was going through that actual case when he called me in to write and I’m in his office with a Mac-10. He was like, “I can’t do that.” After the fact, I looked at it and was like, That’s a legitimate call.
Speaking to XXLMag.com, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie revealed that Diddy and Ness will check in with guest spots on the second Madd Rapper album, which he is hoping to release at the start of 2010.
Elle Magazine's Andrew Goldman has a love and relationship focused interview with Diddy.
The Frederick News-Post has a feature on Daniel Orrison, a contestant on "I Want to Work for Diddy." Meanwhile, The Enterprise has a little bit of information on another contestant, Blake.
Malcolm Venable of The Virginian-Pilot has a feature on four artists in the Hampton Roads, VA area. One of the artists is Tifanii Songbird, a contestant from Making the Band 3.
She says that she lied about her age to get on the show, which required participants to be at least 18 years of age. She was 15 at the time and her real name is Dav'rielle Smith. She used her cousin Tifanii's ID to get past the restriction.
Once there, however, she injured herself during a challenge and was sent home. She says that Diddy called but that she was not able to return because she had not fully recovered. It was at this point that she admitted her true age.
"He said, 'I'm not even mad at you, because you're a hustler.' " He offered her a beginning deal, she says, but the package likely would have seen her shelved for a while, so she turned it down.
In mid-October, on Twitter Game thanked Diddy for his "contribution to R.E.D." Game's forthcoming album "The R.E.D. Album" had been slated for a December 8 release but has been pushed back.
It's unclear exactly what Diddy's contribution was. But, in September, a song called "American Dream" leaked online with a verse that sounded like it had been written for Diddy.
Via Ronnie Gamble.
AllHipHop.com is reporting that Block Entertainment has signed a distribution deal with Capitol Records to put out rapper Kollosus' first album.
It remains unclear exactly how Bad Boy's move to Interscope affects the deal that Block Entertainment had with Bad Boy to release albums as Bad Boy South. Diddy has said that any new artists he signs from this point forward will be Bad Boy/Interscope, which could indicate that there would not be an opportunity for Block Entertainment to put out new artists, like Kollosus, on Bad Boy.
During an appearance on BET's 106 & Park in October, Diddy also said that everyone who was on the Bad Boy roster is still on the roster. If this is true, then the artists that Block Entertainment distributed through Bad Boy would still be signed to Bad Boy. Namely, Boyz N Da Hood, Gorilla Zoe and Yung Joc.
Of course, Yung Joc has been publicly vocal about his unhappiness with his situation, with remarks generally targeted toward Block. In an interview on The Ed Lover Show Diddy said that he had washed his hands of the Yung Joc/Block Entertainment disputes and that it was between Joc and Russell "Block" Spencer. I don't know how likely another Boyz N Da Hood album really is at this point, so the primary remaining artist from the partnership would then be Gorilla Zoe.
The article also says that Block Entertainment severed ties with Bad Boy in 2007, which is incorrect. There were rumors at the end of 2007 that Atlantic had decided to no longer distribute them. But, Spencer himself came out and said they were false and that was in January of 2008.
Thanks Ricardo for the tip.
Last week, MTV News reported that Cassie would appear in the music video for Chris Brown's "Crawl." Brown has released a series of photos from the shoot and one of them includes Cassie.
The second season of "I Want to Work for Diddy" will premiere on VH1 tonight at 10 PM ET. The first episode is also available for free download on iTunes. Enjoy.
Bloomberg reports that, according to Ciroc's marketing director Marc Strachan, Diageo will soon release new flavors of the grape based vodka: coconut and red-berry.
Furthermore, they also revealed that 400,000 cases of Ciroc were sold for the year ending June 30. Compare this to 60,000 cases that sold for the six months ending on that same date in 2007. They would partner with Diddy in October of that year.
Thanks Theo.
Speaking to Power99FM's Uncle O, Jadakiss revealed that Diddy has offered The Lox a one album deal on Bad Boy.
"It's about the evolution, it's about growing," he said. "We came into the business with him. Despite our differences we had over of our lack of knowledge of the game of publishing and what so, we still learned a lot from him and to be able to work all them things out and make a full 360 and possibly work again with him after ten years for the tenth anniversary of the third Lox album, that would be incredible. It shows maturity as artists, it shows respect as men and it's good for the outside - for he can do for us and what we can do for him. He got them networks on smash with the reality shows. Ciroc vodka. The sky's the limit."
In an interview with Ms. Drama, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (specifically Krayzie Bone, Flesh Bone and Wish Bone) was asked about working with Biggie and whether or not they were looking forward to Diddy/Dirty Money's upcoming album, "Last Train to Paris."
"To me, Puffy has always made good music," Krayzie said. "People may say they ain't really feeling him or whatever, but Puffy is responsible for a lot of people's lives today. ['A lot of hits,' interjects Wish]. For real. A lot of hits. And if he was that whack, I don't he would be as successful as he is today. You really got to give credit where credit is due. He real cool."
Check out the interview below. The Bad Boy related segment starts at 5:37.
Thanks Theo.
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