Sean Combs...what a name. Internationally renowned, but then again, for what? The man is a jack of all trades, and at the same token, a jack of no trades. Let's put this into perspective. He is classified on wikipedia as a record producer, rapper, actor, and fashion designer. Now add talent manager to that list as well. Is he really good at any of those? Let's investigate....
1. Record Producer
He definitely deserves his props for lifting Bad Boy Records from the ground up and starting that movement in the 90's. In the mid to late 90's you always heard songs from Biggie, Ma$e, or the man Puffy himself all over the radio and mtv. However, he is NO RECORD PRODUCER. He's an executive producer, entrepreneur, and businessman yes; he has the money and he can make the moves, but him trying to hop in and take producing credit? That's just downright dirty. I'm not talking about how he's always on every song saying his trademark "yea, badboy, can't stop won't stop!" and in every video, I'm talking about actual production credits under "Diddy & The Hitmen". Puffy has never been known for actual studio production, aside from shouting orders at the producers he has in the studio at the time. The Hitmen are the ones that do the actual production work. And funny enough, The Hitmen has a lineup that constantly changes. Is this just Puffy's way to squeeze more money out of all the songs released on Bad Boy Records? It just may be.
2. Rapper
Rapper? Does he even write his own rhymes? His albums have progressively sold less and have been more critically panned with each release and in recent years he's struggling to find his own genre...let's just skip this one...
3. Actor
He's been in a few movies like the sequel to Carlito's Way and he's done a few Broadway shows, but he's far from being recognized in the film industry as an "actor". Good for him for branching out though. Seems fun.
4. Fashion Designer
His clothing line Sean John is pretty popular. I don't wear any Sean John but from what I've read its a pretty lucrative business venture and people seem to like it. Does Puffy actually design the stuff? I'm not sure. He might take credit for designing the Sean John styles just like he "produces" records.
5. Talent Manager
Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj are in for some TROUBLE! They are the first two to sign to his new management firm. Both trust Puffy as a very knowledgeable man and the one to take them to music success. However, should they trust their career to Puffy and put it in the hands of someone who doesn't have any successful artists on his record label? This is the one that gets me. The whole management firm thing is new, but Puffy has always revered himself as a good talent scout and manager. Is he really? I don't know....do the names Danity Kane, Dream, Day26, Donnie Klang, Kain, Black Rob, Mark Curry, G.Dep, Craig Mack, Carl Thomas, and 112 mean anything to anybody? Ya...didn't think so. They have all gone by the wayside after initially having the hype of being on Bad Boy Records and the seal of approval from the man himself. Did I miss any? Bottom line: Every artist Puffy has "discovered" and signed has failed (or died). Ma$e didn't necessarily fail but he quit to become a pastor. Soon as he decided to come out of retirement, Puffy put the final nail in the coffin of his career.
Oh and I almost forgot. He's the spokesman for Ciroc vodka. I'm sure he can put that on his everlasting resume. But let's wrap this thing up....
**DIAGNOSIS: The man is out of touch with the music industry and scrambles for ways to stay relevant. He's good at nothing but average at everything. However, it works. He's a good businessman. That's what he does. People need to stop giving him credit as a "musician" though.
**PRESCRIPTION: Nothing at all. No matter what, he'll do just fine. Cheers Puffy
'Til next time world! Leave a comment!
~Dr. M
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