Can't Stop, Won't Stop: Sean Combs and Modern Society

By Jake

Puff Daddy, Diddy, P. Diddy, Puffy or just Sean Combs, whatever you choose to call the head of Bad Boy Records, it still ultimately leads to one question: is Puffy still relevant in today's society? In the midst of economic crunch and a music industry that is morphing before our very eyes, does Mr. Combs still captivate our imaginations with his Diddy Bopping, music production and the latest artists to sign to Bad Boy Records?


In the mid to late 90s Bad Boy Records had mainstream America turned upside down. Notorious B.I.G. dropped two classic LPs before finally getting fatally shot. These two classics are rarely rivaled in overall quality in rap music, which is a genre of music built on singles more than it is built on having fully realized albums. While there is no doubt that Notorious B.I.G. has remained relevant, while also remaining dead, there is still the question about Puffy hanging over our heads.

One may argue that Sean Combs' production on Ready to Die and Life After Death is enough for him to remain in our minds and hearts, some say that his incessant Tweeting is a cry for attention. I agree more with the latter than I do with the former.

Puffy has executive produced many great albums, has had a handful of hit songs and even introduced the world to Young Jeezy via the Boyz in the Hood album on Bad Boy South. Even that was several years ago. Gorilla Zoe is not a suitable replacement for Jeezy, and I doubt many will argue with that point. Is that a sign of Diddy's slipping? I say yes.

Mase became a preacher, joined G-Unit and went back to the cloth, Lil' Kim is dancing with other stars, Faith Evans is probably somewhere doing something (who knows, really?), but what about Puffy? He's on Twitter proclaiming that Bad Boy is coming back with a slew of hits. Where are these hits, P.?

Puffy's Twitter, which I consider following to be one of the most grating experiences I've ever had, is full of proof that he's merely trying to get attention any way possible. If he's not urging his followers to celebrate Earth Hour, then he's praising God like a humorless Heidi Montag. Here's a few sample tweets:

im still partying !!!! what yall doin? so high off life rt now! so blessed to be alive! and all my kids are healthy! GOD IS THE GREATEST!!!!

Thank GOD its friday!!! Where we gonna go WE DON'T NEED NO ROADS!!!!! Let's gooooooo!!! Let the games begin!!! Can you DIG it???

DIDDY CODE: Don't HATE CONGRATULATE!!!! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!!!

Several things can be noted here. 1) Diddy always ends his tweets with hyper punctuation, which could be a cry for help or attention. 2) I don't follow the Diddy Code, nor would I want to follow anything with "Diddy" title. 3) Puffy thinks God is great and has to make sure we know about it several times a day. 4) He quotes Back to the Future.

With plans to release a new solo album in September, Diddy is putting himself on the line. Will people actually go buy his album? Some might, but I seriously doubt that it will be flying off the shelves like it would have in 1997. Regardless of the fact that most people don't head to the record store anymore to pick up CDs, when they can get music online for a fraction of the price (or free), hip hop albums do still tend to sell fairly well. I still doubt that Puffy is going to sell more than a million. On September 22, we will learn whether or not Mr. Daddy is still relevant to America or if he's just another aging rapper who doesn't know when to fade out.