By: Adriene Morton
Bad Boy Records founder, Sean “Puffy” Combs chopped it up in an interview with Big Boy Neighborhood on Los Angeles’s top radio station, Power 106, and gave his opinion on the rap game today since Compton rap star, Kendrick Lamar dropped his “Control” verse.
When asked about his thoughts on being crowned during the “Ain’t Worried ‘Bout Nothin’ Remix” performance on this year’s BET Hip Hop Awards, Diddy responds, “For me, it was just a regular day. Because I am a king and I feel that there’s a king in all of us. People use the word ‘king’ too loosely and too lightly. And you have to be ready to be a king. You have to be ready for that responsibility. I’ve earned my crown” proclaimed Combs.
The rapper sustains an immeasurable amount of pride while owning his title as “the king”, but also gives credit where its due to the new king on the block, Kendrick Lamar, who not only entered the game but revived the game and supplied that lyrical life support needed to keep hip hop alive.
“You have to be a prince sometimes before you can be a king. And I think that Kendrick is deserving of his crown because he took hip hop and put it on its back so crazy. And he is giving birth to just a whole type of real hip hop generation. He went back to the essence of what hip hop was about. Us challenging us to be the greatest.”
Diddy stated that Kendrick’s “King of New York” line, said in his “Control” verse, “Turned me up, you know what I’m saying? I was just like, “Woah, yo. This cat is bold, man.’ And I was like, ‘I love every minute of it.’ You know, I tweeted that I loved every minute of it.”
The 43-year-old mogul adds, in concern to all the rappers in the game facing this abrupt yet inevitable change in hip hop, “Yo, what are y’all cats gonna do now?’ A lot of y’all don’t take your time. Even if I get some of my rhymes co-written, I’m at least taking my time on what I’m saying. Certain cats, they don’t even take their time on what they are saying. They’re not really into the details and into the importance of it. And I just think he put the game in perspective and he ignited a fire in the game that was needed.”
“That boldness is what hip hop is about,” he adds. “hip hop done got a little bit too soft. You know what I’m saying? And it’s not even about beef. It’s about the quality of work. Some of the quality of work is just not up to par.”
P. Diddy says that the rap game is “too soft” in terms of the quality of work that’s being executed, and tips his hat to rapper Kendrick Lamar as his contrary approach launches a boomerang effect in hip hop.
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