In an impromptu speech at Justin’s in Atlanta, Bad Boy Records founder Sean “Diddy” Combs declared his label to be the last of the great hip-hop outfits. Diddy also tried to make the case that Bad Boy’s survival is necessary to prevent the extinction of rap labels in general. Here’s the quote:
The thing that’s bigger than Bad Boy is that we are the last label standing. No disrespect to the other labels, but there is like no Roc-a-fella. There is no Ruff Ryders. There is no Death Row or any of the other labels. And so, if this label doesn’t make it, this is the last of the labels and that means nobody else will come out with a label. Then it just turns into production…
His pseudo-desperation reminds me of a statement recently made by Ja Rule: “We fighting against other genres,” Rule said in an interview with 57thave (via SOHH). “We fightin’ against motherf*ckin’ rock. We fightin’ against pop. We fightin’ against these other genres of music.”
Both Diddy and Ja Rule are calling for rappers to unify their fight against other music genres, but with 50 Cent on tour with Fall Out Boy, Lil Wayne’s new rock album on its way, and new Diddy’s bromance with the Arctic Monkeys, that’s going to be an uphill battle.