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It might not be fair, or even totally accurate, but the phrase "Diddy is a snake" has become a common quip in hip hop and music industry circles. While the Bad Boy CEO is well-known as a charismatic personality and tastemaker, his role as a guiding hand at his record label has been an uncomfortable roller coaster.
Faith Evans, 112, Carl Thomas, Danity Kane, Dream, Da Band, Black Rob, Shyne and Total were all at one point artists under Diddy's tutelege. None remain so today. They've either disbanded, moved on to new deals or dropped out of the industry all together. Is Diddy greedily shortchanging his artists for his own personal wealth and gain? Puffy says, no way. SOURCE: HipHopDX.com
"There’s an off perception that needs to be addressed about me that I have ever robbed somebody or mistreated somebody. Or tried to be ruthless or whatever in this game. Like, all this year I’ve heard people say, 'Where’s Carl Thomas, where’s Black Rob, where’s G.Dep? Where are these artists?' And for some reason they go ahead and equate that, cause those artists aren’t with me, that I’ve done something wrong or malicious or conniving. It’s something that I do have a problem with because they don’t have no proof that I’ve ever done nothing like that," he said.
Diddy's defense is that a lot of artists come and go in the music industry. Some people are meant to stick around and some aren't. You know, don't hate the player, hate the game.
"But people don’t understand this game that were in. You have a short life expectancy. It’s rare to be a me, to be a Jay-Z, an LL, a Nas. That shit is a rarity. That’s not even one percent of the rappers. If you look at any artists that were on Ruff Ryders, where they at? If you look at any artist that was on Def Jam at the time we started, where they at? If you look at any artist that was on Roc-A-Fella, Jive, where they at? It’s not like anything was wrong with them. It’s just that you have a four, five-year average in this game."
Yes, that's true, but he places himself on a pedestal with Jay-Z and Nas when his situation is sharply different from theirs. As the CEO and artist on his own label, Diddy has pretty much limitless opportunities to "win" on the charts. When his singles flop, he just releases another, and another, and another, and throws in a remix on top of that, until he finds something that sticks. That's hardly the same generosity he extends to his artists who often find their projects shelved after a 2nd single fails to take.