Diddy reveals that Biggie actually wanted to be his manager
The Bad Boy Records founder shared untold stories to celebrate his ‘Last Train To Paris’ anniversary.
Yesterday (Dec. 14) marked the 10-year anniversary of Diddy – Dirty Money’s album, Last Train To Paris. To celebrate the milestone the REVOLT chairman unearthed archived clips from the project’s studio sessions and shared never-before-heard stories with fans on Clubhouse.
On the social media platform’s designated Last Train To Paris Appreciation Room, Diddy told stories about his come-up, inspiration and his famous partner and longtime friend, The Notorious B.I.G. In one story, Diddy revealed that prior to becoming one of the most revered rappers of all time, Biggie had actually wanted to be his manager.
“It was really Biggie’s idea for me to start rapping,” the Bad Boy Records founder explained. “It wasn’t like I was a cat [who was] banging on the lunch table. It was more like I followed in the footsteps of the star producers — like Dr. Dre and like Teddy Riley.”
“I was teaching [Biggie] the game and he was like, ‘Yo, I wanna manage you. I’ma write your rhymes.’ And I was open to it,” Diddy continued.
Under Biggie’s management, the pair released “It’s All About The Benjamins” and “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” which featured Mase. Both tracks landed on Diddy’s studio debut, No Way Out.
“We did them at the same time; released them at the same time,” Diddy said of the songs. “So, that’s one of the reasons why I’m here.”
Diddy also reflected on the moment he realized the power of hip hop and setting trends — which, for him, was seeing thousands of people bum-rush the stage during a Run-DMC show.
“You have that first tier; that’s the floor. Then you have that second tier. I was in that second tier to the left, like, 12 rows back,” he began. “I was sitting there… and Run had held up his Adidas and said, ‘Everybody hold up your Adidas.’ And I saw 30,000; 35,000 extra cats just bum-rush the door. Like, the [barrier] was on a tilt. And when I looked up there I was like, ‘I don’t know what that is, but I wanna do that.’”
“That was like the tipping point,” he continued. “That triggered me as far as understanding the power of us and making brands… I was like, ‘I wanna do that up there, but I [also] wanna do everything.”
Through the power of manifestation, Diddy ended up selling out his own show at that same venue years later.
“They would put me up in the air [for the show] and I saw that seat that I had been sitting in,” he recalled. “I saw that seat that I was sitting in… and I came down to victory. It’s just the manifestation; the belief. Everyday’s a new day.”
Revisit Diddy – Dirty Money’s classic Last Train To Paris below.