Diddy Talks Bad Boy Reputation, Rick Ross's Remarks
Diddy's clearing the air in 2012, paving the way for a Bad Boy renaissance by speaking out about his legacy and what he feels are unfair criticisms of the iconic label. In an interview with DJ Whoo Kid on his RadioPlanet.tv show, Diddy said that in recent years Bad Boy has been the victim of a smear campaign.
"Over the last couple of years, there’s been a strong propaganda movement that’s been brewing in the negative sense against Bad Boy, against what it is to sign to the Bad Boy label, if it’s a detriment to your career,” he said. “Just hate. Just regular hate and also a lot of people not understanding how this industry works.”
Diddy described the music industry as a dog-eat-dog world and pointed out that, all things considered, Bad Boy has outlasted the competition.
"This is a hard industry. This is not for kids. This is not for the weak. If you are weak, you will get eaten alive in this industry. This industry has a life expectancy of like two years," he said.
"It started a couple of years ago like, ‘What happened with this artist? Why isn’t this artist still on the label?’ So people started to try to give us a bad rap and spread that propaganda through the new generation," he continued. "When honestly, nobody on Def Jam’s still on Def Jam. No one who was on Roc-A-Fella is still on Roc-A-Fella. There’s not even still a Roc-A-Fella. It was named something else. We the last people standing, we the last crew standing. And I’m not saying that with any disrespect towards anybody’s name who I just said. We not letting that propaganda ride.”
Diddy also took the opportunity to clarify remarks he made last year comparing Rick Ross to the Notorious B.I.G.
“I said on the ‘Angels’ verse, I think he channeled Biggie at night. A lot of emcees, they channel Biggie in some of their verses. You hear the influence. When you channel the influence, that doesn’t mean they’re comparing someone to them," he said.
"I think I also said that he was the Biggie of the South, because I was there. I knew the effect that Biggie was having on New York and the world. I saw the effect that [Ross] was having on the South. If anyone can say that, I think I can say that.”
Bad Boy has a refreshed talent roster that now includes French Montana, Machine Gun Kelly and Red Cafe.
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