andPOP » p. diddy

Shyne Speaks Out After Nearly a Decade

Stephen Baldwin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:00:49 +0000

Former Bad Boy rapper Shyne held a press conference in Belize yesterday; his first public appearance since being released from prison and immediately detained by immigration officials for four weeks, and then deported to his native country Belize last week.

Shyne changed his name from Jamal Barrow to Moses Michael Leviy while serving a nine-year sentence after a shooting in a New York City nightclub. Sean ‘P.Diddy’ Combs was also present during the incident, but was acquitted of all charges.

Speaking to students and reports at Wesley High School in Belize city, Leviy expressed the spirituality that influenced his name change. I want to be like Moses or King David or King Solomon. Those are the guys I aspire to be like. I didn’t want to be like the kingpin on my block; I wanted to be like the guy who parted the sea, that’s why I chose that name.”

He expressed the meaning and importance of education, drawing on examples from his own childhood. “I came up on the streets with guys that gangbanged and were into criminal activity, and those tools never worked,” he said. “Those tools, you either end up spending the rest of your life in prison or sleeping in a grave.”

Leviy told students how his father, now the Prime Minister of Belize, continually told him to go to school and get an education, but he never listened. He regretted the lifestyle he chose.

Shyne also covered questions on the future of his music career, confirming that he will continue to pursue the industry with the same raw style that made him famous. “Life is violent, life is troublesome sometimes — so don’t expect my music to be sanitized. I am just going to talk about what’s going on in the world.”

P. Diddy Goes Back To School

Emma Renda — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:45:34 +0000

P. Diddy is getting ready to go back to school just like the rest of us. In response to protests about poor administration at Howard University, Diddy’s alma mater, he took to Twitter to express his support.

“NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!!! Let me know if yall need me to come down there yall! I got yall BACK! Let’s go!!! (sic)” Diddy said via Twitter. “Do what we did and take IT OVER!!!! Let’s go! And do it in a peaceful way but DO IT!! … If your at HU go to the A building now and make sure they feel you!!! And send me updates!!! Let’s go!”

Students gathered en masse on Sept. 4 outside the administration building to voice their concerns over extreme delays to process financial aid or registration. The school is taking the protest seriously, and has scheduled for the president and students to meet next week.

Diddy attended the Washington, D.C. university before dropping out to persue a top position at Uptown Records (where he signed Mary J. Blige) in New York.

P. Diddy Gets Hollywood Star

Eva Lam — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:18:15 +0000

P. Diddy received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame Friday, during a ceremony attended by the hip-hop mogul, family and friends, celebrity well-wishers and hundreds of fans.

The star, No. 2,362 on Hollywood Blvd., was introduced by actor Jamie Foxx, who led attendees in a chant of “Diddy! Diddy! Diddy!”

“Today is proof that if you believe, all your dreams can come true,” P. Diddy, real name Sean Combs, told the crowd. “I’ve gone from Harlem to Hollywood.”

He dedicated the star to his father, who was shot and killed in 1972.

The rapper and producer also paid tribute to his late grandmother and his mother Janice, who stood at the podium alongside her son.

“If it wasn’t for my mother, I wouldn’t be here,” Combs said. “I hope it makes you proud, mom.”

Diddy Sings About JLo On New Album

andPOP Staff — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 19:05:10 +0000

Diddy has admitted he used his high profile relationship and breakup with actress Jennifer Lopez as inspiration on his new album.

Diddy, real name Sean Combs, said he never loved Lopez, but was actually in love with current squeeze Kim Porter the whole time.

Porter and Diddy have an eight-year-old son, Christian. Porter is pregnant with the couple’s twin daughters.

“When I was with Jennifer I got caught up. She was fine. The hype can pull you together, and it’s feeling good, and the relationship is genuine,” Diddy says. “There was love there, but it just wasn’t this type of love.”

Porter was also the inspiration for tracks from Diddy’s new album, Press Play.

Diddy Pays for Dropping the ‘P’

andPOP Staff — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:33:00 +0000

Rapper Diddy (formerly known as P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, and Puffy) has settled with an obscure British music producer over a name dispute.

AFP reports that Richard Dearlove brought a lawsuit against the hip-hop icon (real name: Sean Combs) when he dropped the “P” from his moniker.

Dearlove has worked in Britain under the name Diddy since 1992.

“I was gutted,” Dearlove said of Combs’ latest name change, according to The Guardian newspaper. “I started getting emails from Puerto Rican girls asking if they could be in my video and people were asking me to look at their clothing line.”

The two reached a settlement in London’s High Court that will see Combs paying Dearlove close to $275,000 U.S. in legal fees and damages.

Diddy will also be forced to stop using his current moniker in Britain, and rebrand any existing ventures that use the name.

Puffy Expecting Third Child

andPOP Staff — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:21:33 +0000

Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is expecting his third child in total and the second with longtime girlfriend Kim Porter.

A rep for Combs confirmed the news to People magazine.

“The couple is thrilled about the news,” said the spokesperson.

While Diddy has one child from a previous relationship (12-year-old son Justin, with fashion stylist Misa Hylton-Brim), this will be his second with Porter, a model. The two have an 8-year-old son named Christian.

The 36-year-old Combs and 35-year-old Porter have been together since the 90s. Though they split in 1999, they later worked out their differences and got back together.

Interview: Loon Ready to Prove Why He Is the Future of Bad Boy

Adam Gonshor — Tue, 19 Aug 2003 16:40:22 +0000

After three failed attempts at breaking into the hip-hop scene, Loon still has earned the overwhelming support of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. In a track off the Bad Boys II Soundtrack, Diddy goes as far as calling Loon “the future” of his Bad Boy label.

With the expected pressure that this would bring the average budding rap artist, Loon, the Harlem-born MC, remains at ease.

“[Being called 'the future'] has a certain level of stress to it, but overall I got a great team behind me,” he tells andPOP, on the line from New York. “Bad Boy has a great staff. I got a great management team. All those forces play a roll in harnessing the pressure that comes with my situation.”

Loon is quick to point out that even though he is under the guidance of Diddy, he is where he is now because of his own skills.

“Without P. Diddy I probably would still be somewhere making a hot record because at the end of the day, I have a talent of my own that surpasses Puff when it comes to writing and rapping, where Puff himself is the ultimate entertainer.”

Loon will get the chance to showcase these skills when his long-awaited album drops on October 21. When describing the sound of the album, Loon’s precision is mixed with a business-savvy approach.

“It’s more of a sophisticated collegiate approach to hip-hop without excluding any other market or age bracket,” he says.

The album will include 14 tracks, which he says are all potential singles for the clubs and radio. Guests include: Missy Elliott, Trina, Claudette Ortiz from City High, Kelis, Aaron Hall, Carl Thomas, and of course, Diddy.

One aspect of Harlem especially affected the lyrics that Loon wrote for the album, but it had nothing to do with the area. While growing up in Harlem, his grandmother stumbled over one of his rhyme books. She told him he wasn?t going to make any money with the vulgar language he was using.

“Back in the day when I first started rapping, I didn?t really have the dialogue to express myself. I didn?t really know how to articulate words that well so I was using a lot of profane words to get my point across. She ultimately was the one who converted me into taking a professional approach to music.”

Besides preparing for the album, Loon has been busy with other projects. He hopes to be part of the Nike-sponsored Broadway play, “Ball,” which is in pre-production. “I’m just excited that I could get the opportunity to be the first Bad Boy artist that’s actually in a Broadway play.”

He also has a role in “Death of a Dynasty,” a Roc-A-Fella film featuring a huge list of talent including Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Jason ‘Jam Master Jay’ Mizell, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Carson Daly, and Walt Frazier.

Although it will be Loon’s first acting gig, he is no stranger to performing. Loon has been most identified with his part in last year’s hit, “I Need a Girl” with Diddy and Usher. In the song, he raps about his desires for women, but he says now that was all an act.

“I wasn’t really in dire need of a girl and I wasn?t suffering from any relationship problems. It was ultimately like an acting job that I was able to relate to personally because I had been through situations where relationships didn?t work.”

The roll Loon took in the song was more to support Diddy and the Bad Boy family.

“We were a target for the backlash of the court case with Shyne. And we were a target for the separation with him and Jennifer Lopez. I had to take the initiative to get in the middle of that and turn it all around and it turned out to be a humongous record and it added more light to the work ethic.”

He has the right backing and attitude he needs to succeed. Is the fourth time the charm?