Confessional: P Diddy Isn't the Anti-Christ

Looking back, I suppose it was the unbelievably cheesy tribute to Biggie that killed any chance for Sean Combs in my book. I mean, nothing wrong with a good tribute and there's nothing wrong with sampling a great song to rap to. But those lyrics and that production of "I'll Be Missing You" -- so cheesy they made MC Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit" seem cool. Just look at these lyrics --

Verse One: Puff Daddy
(Yeah... this right here... goes out to everyone who has lost someone they truly love)

Seems like yesterday we used to rock the show
I laced the track, you locked the flow
So far from hangin on the block for dough
Notorious, they got to know that
Life ain't always what it seem to be (uh-uh)
Words can't express what you mean to me
Even though you're gone, we still a team
Through your family, I'll fulfill your dream (that's right)
In the future, can't wait to see
If you open up the gates for me
Reminisce some time, the night they took my friend (uh-huh)
Try to black it out, but it plays again
When it's real, feelings hard to conceal
Can't imagine all the pain I feel
Give anything to hear half your breath (half your breath)
I know you still living your life, after death

Chorus: Faith Evans
Every step I take, every move I make
Every single day, every time I pray
I'll be missing you
Thinkin of the days, when you went away
What a life to take, what a bond to break
I'll be missing you

Verse Two: Puff Daddy
[Puff] I miss you Big
It's kinda hard with you not around (yeah)
Know you in heaven smilin down (eheh)
blah, blah,

Faith Evans:
Somebody tell me why, One Black Morning
When this life is over, I know I'll see your face

112 Outro:
Every night I pray, every step I take
Every move I make, every single day
Every night I pray, every step I take
[Puff] Every day that passes
Every move I make, every single day
[Puff] Is a day that I get closer
[Puff] To seeing you again
Every night I pray, every step I take
[Puff] We miss you, Big... and we won't stop

etc etc


Can it get cheesier? Even the intro is a transparent pandering to the public's feelings for Biggie. Gimme a break.

Oh, and then Puffy's "Come with Me" destruction of Led Zep's "Kashmir". Again, conceptually a sampling of "Kashmir" could rock. But Puff was all puff and no substance and over-the-top and, yes, transparent.

So I've long hated Puffy and his whole schtick. And then came last Thursday night. As with my foray into becoming an American Idol fan, exhausted and braindead from a long day/week of work, I ended up watching a marathon of Making the Band II, as reality show of P Diddy taking some rough rappers and turning them into a hip hop band.

And goddammit if he wasn't the real deal. He broke these kids down and then rebuilt them. He had a strategy for it from the start. They show up expecting to be entitled now that they'd been selected to to be in the band. P Diddy puts 'em in a Best Western -- in one room for the six of 'em. They're so pissed. Then he makes do all kinds of seemingly pointless tasks -- like walking to Brooklyn to get him some cheesecake at 4am or reading Russell Simmons' biography outloud on the street.

They were so pissed, but they learned several important lessons --

1. Getting a break just means that the work really starts. It's what you do with your break that makes the great ones great.

2. Appreciate the opportunities in front of us.

3. Respect your elders and those supporting you.

Frankly, P Diddy's strategy for handling these kids reminded me of how Andrew Lanyi, my first boss on Wall Street, handled me. P made these kids professionals despite themselves.

And now I have to confess that I admire the man. Hate that.