S. Samuel
Rap mogul Diddy speaks on his dominance in hip-hop, fashion and charity in his new XXL Magazine feature.
Based on an excerpt from his June cover, Puff speaks on his non-stop industry run.
“I was the first on the jet. I was the first running the marathon. I was the first donating millions of dollars. I was the first. I was the first with the 10 million records sold. I was the first with the label. I was the first with the renegotiations. F*ck a Forbes list–I was on the cover of Forbes. There is going to be someone that will pass me, but as long as I’m on the court, they are not going to be badder than me, because there is too much catching up to do…There is not one muthaf*cka that’s here now who is going to outwork me. That is not going to happen, not right now. Maybe if I slow down, but to this day, no one can f*ck with me when it comes to getting busy and working.” (XXL Mag)
Last summer, Diddy ranked at No. 2 on Forbes‘ annual Hip-Hop Cash Kings list.
Jay-Z raked in a reported $35 million starting in June 2008, from touring and other business ventures. Although his earnings were down substantially from last year’s $85 million, he still managed to edge out fellow mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who came in at No. 2, with $30 million. Third place went to Kanye West with a respectable $25 million, earned through profits from his ‘808’s and Heartbreaks’ album and ‘Glow In The Dark’ tour. 50 Cent landed at No. 4 with approximately $20 million, a steep drop from $100 million in 2007. (The Boom Box)
Bad Boy Entertainment’s Red Cafe recently talked about being inspired by Diddy’s habits.
“The main influence is Diddy’s work ethic,” Red said in an interview. “You can never say that you made it. You got to keep working. I’m up everyday 8am-9am no matter how late I been at a show or event. Your obligation becomes bigger than you. You got a team, family and you trying to open doors for them as well as build your brand and you gotta get up each day full of energy and ready to take that on. Diddy motivates me because he works at a bunch of other endeavors while still giving 110 perecent to each one. How could you fall back when you running with the man who never sleeps.” (The Sermons Domain)
Earlier this year, Diddy said he was even willing to be an opening act while touring this summer.
“Me and my crew, we’re putting together a whole new team and we coming to smash and spread a lot of love,” Diddy told radio personality Tim Westwood. “And we wanna do shows and we wanna go on right before anybody who wants to open up for them. Whoever wants us to open up for them, we just wanna open up and we’ll take shorts on the money, we’ll make you a better performer…I’m just coming to do what I do, I’m not putting anybody under pressure, I’m just here to raise and elevate the level of the game…Hey UK, you know I’m coming there. Any UK artists want me to open up for y’all or whatever, put your boy on. I’m gonna do some collaborations out there with some cats you know, just look out for that Last Train to Paris coming at the end of June…” (Tim Westwood TV)
In the past, Diddy has stressed the groundwork he has laid out for younger generations.
“With me and [Jay-Z], you gonna have to get down or lay down anyway,” Diddy said in an interview. “There’s other rules to this game that you gonna have to abide by. At the end of the day, we understand. We understand the importance of telling the truth. If you’re just getting into the game, you’re probably telling a lie anyway because you’re telling somebody else’s game. If we still here, we’re still here because we’re telling the truth. Number two, we have relationships, and number three, we still know how to make hit records. That’s what this thing is about. You could be five years old, 70 years old — you make a hit record, it’s gonna stand the test of time. It’s something the game has to get used to.” (MTV)
Check out some recent Diddy footage below:
