Throwback Thursday: "Mo Money Mo Problems" -- Notorious B.I.G. ft. Puff Daddy & Mase

There was a good five year period where I couldn't hang out at a frat party without hearing this song playing. Still a great track, simply for accomplishing the rare feat of being both strong lyrically (...for like 2/3 of it, at least) and a huge mainstream hit.

(And yes, I called him "Puff Daddy." This is a throwback post, after all.)

Diddy Jet Dance

Yup... All day.

Throwback Thursday: "Juicy" -- The Notorious B.I.G.

Everyone knows this one. I remember being shocked at walking into dorms and frat parties at my damn-near-all-white college as a freshman and hearing this track bumping over the stereos. Crazy. R.I.P. Biggie.

Throwback Thursday: "Honey [Bad Boy Remix]" -- Mariah Carey ft. Mase, The LOX, & Puff

I've said before that 1997 was Mariah's peak, and this video does nothing to change my mind. '97 MC was like the '06 Kobe Bryant of Pop/R&B singers.

The song itself is nothing groundbreaking; it came at the height of Bad Boy's "shiny suit" days. And Mase, Jada, and Styles P treated their verses like the last day of work before Christmas, doing just the minimum required of them. But I'll tell you this: This looks like one of the more fun videos to be a part of. I'm always a sucker for a clip where everyone's just goofing off and not mean-mugging the camera like they're about to go to war with Liam Neeson in an Eastern European brothel.

Stalkerazzi: Halloween 2012

Here's just a quick sampling of some of this weekend's celeb Halloween costumes. Diddy's might be the best, for sheer comedy. But Jessica White's...damn.

Diddy (as Prince)

Cassie (as Cleopatra, with Diddy)

Jessica White (as...the woman of my dreams?)

Kanye and Kim (as Thurston Howell—I'm guessing—and a mermaid)

(...who knew it was possible for Kim to wear MORE makeup?)

Alessandra Ambrosio (as the hottest Russian general I've ever seen)

Fergie (as a kitteh)

Throwback Thursday: "Bigger Business" -- Swizz Beats ft. Diddy, Baby, Jadakiss, Cassidy, Snoop Dogg, & Ronald Isley

Whole lotta firepower up in this 2002 banger. (With the exception of Baby, of course. God he's terrible.) A slew of famous cameos up in the video, too.

My crew did a mixtape track to this instrumental once. Personally I think the only thing that kept it from being hotter than the original was Swizz getting Ronald Isley for his. That's just not fair.

(Oh, and special love to Jada for rocking the Jerry Rice Silver & Black.)

Grown Folks is Talkin'

My love for his daughter, Rashida, should in no way be seen as evidence of bias when I say that Quincy Jones is a great man (although it is worth noting that he helped raise her to be as incredible as she is, which is certainly no small feat). His standing in the music world, of course, is beyond reproach. And, as such, when he fires shots your way, there's not much you can do about it but smile and accept it.

From The Wrap:

Spotify brought producer Quincy Jones to launch their new app featuring artist-curated playlists on Tuesday, but the music legend couldn’t resist dinging P. Diddy for being a music illiterate while touting the music technology.

“P. Diddy wouldn’t know a B-flat” if it hit him, said Jones in a conversation with musician Bruno Mars to mark the occasion of the app launch. “P. Diddy has a doctorate in marketing…. He’s got clothes companies and Ciroc vodka.”

The comment came after Jones responded to an audience question with an admonition to “learn your craft.”

I'm also a Diddy fan, and have a lot of respect for what he's accomplished in his lifetime. But...damn. Quincy don't play.

It's the Weekend

Time to get back to your roots...

Throwback Thursday: "Special Delivery (Remix)" -- G Dep ft. Ghostface Killah, Diddy, Keith Murray, & Craig Mack

TJ suggested this week's track, one of the few highlights from G Dep's brief career. Not a bad call at all...

Man Confesses to Shooting Tupac in 1994

AllHipHop.com has obtained the written confession of Dexter Isaac, who claims to have been paid $2500 by James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond to rob and shoot Pac at the Quad City Studios in '94. It was this shooting, which took place while Biggie and Diddy (nee Puff Daddy) were upstairs, that forever fractured the friendship between Pac and Big, and eventually led to East Coast/West Coast beef that dominated the hip-hop landscape until Biggie's death in 1997.

Isaac came forward Wednesday (June 15th) with the information on the eve of what would be Tupac's 40th birthday.

He confessed to his involvement in the November 30th, 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur to AllHipHop.com, after Jimmy Henchman identified him in a statement, relating to Henchman's indictment for dealing numerous kilos of cocaine.

"I want to apologize to his family [Tupac Shakur] and for the mistake I did for that sucker [Jimmy Henchman]," Dexter Isaac told AllHipHop.com from prison. "I am trying to clean it up to give [Tupac and Biggie's] mothers some closure."

AllHipHop.com also posted a scanned copy of the confession letter, seen below. However, there is an interesting piece of this letter that doesn't seem to have been given much notice in the coverage of this news so far: Isaac indicates that Diddy may have had a hand in the incident as well.

Jimmy, you and Puffy like to come off all innocent-like, but as the saying goes: You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

Mr. Rosemond, I ask you: Are you going to flip on Puffy when the feds get you? To save yourself like you have done in the past? Because that's what a rat does. So in closing, we shall see who the rat is, in the near future.

Dexter Isaac's letter (click to enlarge)

If Isaac is telling the truth—and it's certainly hard to imagine why he wouldn't be at this point—then this news could only grow bigger in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

"Cut the camera!! Cut the camera!!"

*dead*

Video: Diddy-Dirty Money ft. Skylar Grey -- "Coming Home"

The newest release from the group's upcoming "Last Train to Paris" album looks over Diddy's past and asks some interesting questions of a man who's found more than his fair share of success while dealing with more than his fair share of controversy. I'm definitely feeling this track (though I get the feeling Kev won't lol).

Throwback Thursday: "Shake Ya Tailfeather" -- Diddy, Nelly, & Murphy Lee

Every time I hear this song, I think back on the summer of 2003—and the Baja Beach Club—and sigh.

Putting Money Where Their Mouths Are

Who was hip-hop's top earner in the past year? No surprises here.

From MSN.com:

Four years ago Jay-Z issued a lyrical taunt to his fellow rappers: "What you call money, I pay more in taxes." Turns out his line was more than just a boast.

Jay-Z pulled in $63 million over the past 12 months, earning him his second-straight hip-hop cash crown. His income level places him in the 35 percent tax bracket, which means he'll pay Uncle Sam about $22 million this year -- a sum greater than the total earnings of any other rap star besides second-ranked Diddy.

Given today's financial landscape, as well as the woes of the record industry, it's worth noting that just about everyone in Forbes' top 20 has another hustle besides rap. And in most cases, the performer saw a significant portion of his earnings come from his other business ventures.

Diddy discusses the relationship between Pac and Biggie

"It was like two children in grade school that just hit it off..."

Diddy also says that the west/east beef broke Biggie's heart.

Sarah Palin haunts Diddy

I gotta give it up to Diddy for his latest blog as he taps into his creative side and mocks Sarah Palin by comparing his fear of her to the Blair Witch Project. I have to say I agree with Diddy and to be honest the clip he shows of her is hilarious as she fails to recognize one news publication that she read.

Diddy Responds

Background info: a couple weeks ago, Diddy released a video blog stating that he is no longer flying in his private jet, but taking commercial flights due to rising gas prices.

Earlier this week, someone did the research on Diddy's 'private jet' and found that there are no airplanes or aircraft of any sort registered to Sean Combs or any of his numerous companies.

Here is his response, he was obviously faking on owning a jet.

Is Diddy busto?

Here's a vlog from Diddy about how he has to fly commercial now because gas prices are too high to fly in his private jet from NY to L.A. twice a month.

Poor guy. I'm sure he turned in his Bentley for a Civic too.

Marriage

Fellas, it may be a wrap for Cassie. The internets reports that Diddy has proposed to the 21-year-old actress/model/singer/etc. and that she has accepted.

Move on to the next one.

Tail Report: Angela Lola Love

At the album release party for "Day 26" (Diddy's new "making the bad" group.