Diddy (file)
Photo: Dave Hogan/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — It's been the same story for ... "how many years we been doing this now?" Diddy asked his staff Wednesday night at Sony Studios.

OK, so he might not have known the answer at that particular moment, but nevertheless, the more important answer is always the same when it comes to Diddy: No, he won't stop.

And on Wednesday night, he kept true to his word.

The Bad Boy CEO previewed a slew of new music and ventures from his label that he plans to release in the next few weeks and months. Diddy's new stuff ranged from his next Press Play single (see "Diddy Enjoys His 'Most Heartfelt #1' As Press Play Tops Albums Chart") — the Mario Winans-assisted "Through the Pain" — to the first single from Yung Joc's forthcoming sophomore set to a sneak-peek clip of the upcoming season of MTV's "Making the Band 4" (see " 'Making The Band 4' Hopefuls Vie To Be Diddy's New Cheesecake Men").

He even announced plans for a Press Play remix album (see "Diddy Praises Lil' Kim's First Post-Prison Rhymes: 'She Ain't Miss A Beat' ") and a second edition of We Invented the Remix. "We make statements, anthems and slogans," Bad Boy Executive VP Harve Pierre told the crowd gathered inside. "We're definitely known for working multiple albums at once."

Elephant Man (a new acquisition to Bad Boy via a partnership with VP Records), Winans, Ryan Leslie, Cheri Dennis, Joc, upstart rapper Aasim and Diddy's manager Chris Lighty were all in attendance for Diddy's early evening soiree.

Diddy kick-started the session with Dennis' "Portrait of Love," featuring himself and set to be the first single from the singer's long-delayed debut, due this summer. "I just wanna keep it real loose in here," Diddy said. "So if you have to go to the bathroom, go. You ain't gonna get in trouble."

Next, Diddy played snippets of tracks by Winans ("Here Comes the Pain" and "Put Your Arms Around Me"), during which he served as part hype man, part salesman. "Listen to the infectious melodies," he yelled. "New album coming soon!"

Then he breezed through tracks by Joc, whose new album, Hustlenomics, is set to feature production by the Neptunes and appearances by the Game and Young Dro; Elephant Man; Cassie; and boy band B-5. After those new songs, Diddy paused momentarily to talk about his young singer, Jordan McCoy, who was featured on the "American Idol" spinoff "American Juniors."

"Sometimes you have to diversify your portfolio," he explained of her addition to Bad Boy. "I was creepin' in Illinois and I bumped into her. That's how I found her." Diddy described the 15-year-old singer as having the same kind of vibe as Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry.

Other notable projects the Bad Boy general featured included tracks by the newest incarnation of Boyz N Da Hood, with new member Gorilla Zoe. Diddy said a new BNDH album is set for August, while a Zoe solo album is due in September.

Diddy didn't comment on an alleged altercation with "Making the Band" choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, who, according to reports, filed a complaint with police after a confrontation with Diddy escalated. He did briefly play a clip of the pair's argument. But overall, Diddy kept the mood light and festive.

"Fourteen years we been rocking and doing this," Diddy shouted after he learned the answer to his first question of the session.

"We ain't never gonna stop," he continued. "We gonna keep going. I feel like y'all. I don't wanna leave."

And then Diddy cued the songs again from the top.

• Diddy
• Elephant Man
• Boyz N da Hood
• Yung Joc

• Young Jeezy
• Killer Mike
• T.I.
• Ludacris
• Bobby Valentino

Coldplay's Will Champion, Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland (file)
Photo: Roland Magunia/Getty Images

The British invasion of Billboard's albums chart will carry on for a third straight week, according to the latest SoundScan figures.

England's favorite rock sons — the Chris Martin-led melodic quartet Coldplay — continue to outsell the rest of the music industry's current players with their third studio release, X&Y. The LP, which managed to clear the 1-million-sold hurdle in two weeks, achieved third-week scans of more than 186,000 and holds the top spot despite a 42 percent sales plummet.

As the latest figures reveal, it was a rather languid week for retail, with practically every album in the top 200 having experienced some sort of sales deceleration. One of the few gainers this most recent sales week, My Chemical Romance, jumped from the chart's #79 to #58, thanks to a 7 percent sales upsurge for their latest offering, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge; the disc moved close to 17,000 units.

The reduction in cash-register activity aside, many big records did make positive chart moves. Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi, for instance, climbs two positions to this week's #2, selling 131,000 plus after 11 weeks out. The Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business finishes as the chart's #4, thanks to sales of more than 103,000, up one from last week's #5 spot. But Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters fall from #2 to #3, with second-week sales of 116,000 for their fifth disc, In Your Honor.

It was a solid week for debuts, but none performed as strongly as the self-titled LP from Hotlanta MCs Boyz N Da Hood. The record opens at #5, with scans of more than 101,000. Oakland-born songstress Keyshia Cole's Way It Is follows at #6, moving nearly 89,000 its first week out. Dexter Holland's Offspring check in at #8, with the band's retrospective Greatest Hits release; opening-week sales totaled 70,000 and change. The second solo effort from Cash Money constituent Birdman, Fast Money, debuts at #9, with sales of close to 65,000.

Haunted Cities, the latest from the Tim Armstrong and Travis Barker collaboration the Transplants, opens as the chart's #28, having sold close to 34,000 during its first week in stores. Smashing Pumpkins mastermind Billy Corgan's first crack at a solo career, TheFutureEmbrace, finishes at #30, with first-week scans of more than 32,000. No Limit Records head Master P takes the #39 slot, with debut week sales of more than 25,000 for his latest, Ghetto Bill. The Warrior's Code, the fresh batch of punk tunes from Boston brawlers the Dropkick Murphys, is the only other debut LP to break into the top 50.

Backstreet Boys, who've returned to pop's forefront following a five-year break, slip four spots on this most recent sales chart to #7, having opened the previous week at #3 with their new one, Never Gone; the album suffered a 73 percent sales plummet, finishing out week two with less than 79,000 scans. The chart's #10 belongs to System of a Down's Mezmerize, which sold close to 63,000 copies — enough to keep original "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway out of the top 10. Clarkson checks in at #11, with sales of more than 61,000.

Gwen Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby continues to soar off store shelves, coming in at #12 with nearly 61,000 scans, followed by country king Toby Keith's Honkytonk University at #13 with sales of 58,000 plus. 50 Cent's The Massacre is in at #14 with 54,000 units sold, and Shakira's Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 takes #15 with sales of 50,000 and then some.

Other noteworthy debuts popping up on this most recent Billboard sales list include TLC's re-released Now & Forever: The Hits, opening at #53 with close to 18,000 scans; Clutch's Robot Hive/ Exodus debuting at #93, with sales of just under 13,000; Dredg's Catch Without Arms comes in at #124, selling 9,000 plus; Sugar Ray's Best Of opens at #138 with 7,600 scans; and the Bam Margera-compiled Viva La Bands debuts at #141, with over 7,500 units claimed.

For an in-depth feature on Coldplay, check out "Coldplay: The Quiet Revolution."

• Coldplay
• Mariah Carey
• Boyz N da Hood
• Foo Fighters
• Black Eyed Peas

Birdman's <I>Fast Money</I>
Photo: Universal

His new album doesn't hit stores for almost two months, but Kanye West is already making his presence felt in record stores. The rapper/producer's skills are featured on new albums from three R&B, soul and hip-hop up-and-comers this week.

West produced "I Changed My Mind," the first single from R&B newcomer Keyshia Cole's debut album, The Way It Is. Cole, who also enlisted jailed MC Shyne for the track, had once gotten her musical tutelage from none other than MC Hammer. For soul singer Leela James, Kanye collaborated on a pair of tracks on her debut album, A Change Is Gonna Come. James, who defines her sound as "back-porch soul," also worked with Raphael Saadiq and Wyclef Jean on the disc. North Carolina-bred hip-hop trio Little Brother, meanwhile, got a nod from West on "I See Now," a track off The Chittlin Circuit 1.5.

Out Tuesday, June 21:

• All Good Funk Alliance - On the One (Sunswept)
• Amici Forever - Defined (RCA Victor)
• Eric Benét - Hurricane (Reprise)
• B.G. - Life After Cash Money: Chopped and Screwed (Koch)
• Birdman - Fast Money (Universal Motown)
  Read: "Baby Keeps It Down-Bottom With Fast Money"
• Tracy Bonham - Blink the Brightest (Rounder)
• Boom Bap Project - Reprogram (Rhymesayers)
• Boyz N da Hood - Boyz N da Hood (Bad Boy)
• Wade O. Brown - All Night, All Love (Groove United/33rd Street)
• Laura Cantrell - Humming by the Flowered Vine (Matador)
• Chicago Blues Harmonica Project - Diamonds in the Rough (Severn)
• Cintron - Back in the Day (Ark 21)
• Corey Clark - Corey Clark (Bungalo)
  Read: "Corey Clark Nabs Scott Storch, Peas Members For His 'Hot To Death' LP"
• Clutch - Robot Hive/Exodus (DRT Entertainment)
• Keyshia Cole - The Way It Is (A&M/Interscope)
  Read: "Keyshia Cole Has Kanye, Shyne On LP, Proof That Stalking MC Hammer Pays Off"
• Billy Corgan - The Future Embrace (Reprise)
• DBG'Z - P'hissed Off! (Bungalo)
• Down to the Bone - Spread Love Like Wildfire (Narada)
• Dredg - Catch Without Arms (Interscope)
  Read: "Stone Age Success Means Brighter Future For Prog-Rockers Dredg"
• Dropkick Murphys - The Warrior's Code (Epitaph)
• Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart - Communion Bread (Funzalo)
• Eldissa - What a Difference ... Disco Meets Acoustic Lounge (Le Maquis/Dreyfus)
• Evergreen Terrace - Sincerity Is an Easy Disguise in This Business (Eulogy)
• Foreign Born - In the Remote Woods (EP, StarTime International)
• Gothminister - Empire of Dark Salvation (Dancing Ferret)
• John Hiatt - Master of Disaster (New West)
• Chris Hillman - The Other Side (Sovereign Artists)
• Leela James - A Change Is Gonna Come (Warner Bros.)
• Mark Knopfler - One Take Radio Sessions (EP, Warner Bros.)
• Patti LaBelle - Classic Moments (Def Jam)
• Left Alone - Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts (Epitaph)
• Little Brother - The Chittlin Circuit 1.5 (Koch)
• Lost Boyz - Forever (Contango)
• Luca - You Win Again (Funzalo)
• Master P - Ghetto Bill: The Best Hustler in the Game (Koch)
• Mayday - Bushido Karaoke (Saddle Creek)
• Me'Shell Ndegeocello Presents the Spirit Music Jamia - Dance of the Infidel (Shanachie)
• Method Man Presents Street Life - Street Education (X-Ray)
• Stina Nordenstam - The World Is Saved (V2)
• The Offspring - Greatest Hits (Sony)
• Ol' Dirty Bastard - The Definitive Ol' Dirty Bastard Story (Rhino)
• On Broken Wings - It's All a Long Goodbye (Eulogy)
• David Poe - Love Is Red (The LAB)
• Prodigal Sunn - Return of the Prodigal Sunn (Free Agency/Godz Inc.)
• Ra - Duality (Universal)
• Ratchets - Heart of Town EP (Hell Bent)
• Redwalls - De Nova (Capitol)
  Read: "Redwalls Bring The Sound Of Liverpool To Lake Michigan"
• Sasha - Fundacion NYC (Global Underground)
• Special Generation - Take It to the Floor (reissue, Bungalo)
• Al Stewart - A Beach Full of Shells (Appleseed)
• Stutterfly - And We Are Bled of Color (Maverick)
• Télépopmusik - Angel Milk (Capitol)
• Kevin Toney - 110 Degrees and Rising (Shanachie)
• Trini - Like No Other (reissue, Empire)
• The Vanity Project - The Vanity Project (Flagship)
• Gene Watson - Then and Now (Koch)
• Matthew West - History (Universal South)
• Wiggles - Sailing Around the World (Koch)
• Without Gravity - Tenderfoot (One Little Indian)
• Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice - XIAO (Troubleman Unlimited)
• Various artists - Bam Margera Presents: Viva la Bands (456 Enterprises)
  Read: "Skater Bam Margera's Latest Trick: Making Bands Blow Up"
• Various artists - Instrumental Icons: Music of Lil Jon (Fastlife)
• Various artists - Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime (Cornerstone)
• Various artists - Ultimate Trance Remixed (Water Music)
• Various artists - "Herbie Fully Loaded" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - "My Summer of Love" soundtrack (Milan)
• Various artists - "Rize" soundtrack (Social Capital)
• DVD: "Foo Fighters: Guardian Angels" (Chrome Dreams)
• DVD: "Placebo: Androgyny" (Chrome Dreams)
• DVD: Blindside - "Ten Years Running Blind" (DRT Entertainment)
• DVD: Cruxshadows - "Shadowbox" (Dancing Ferret)
• DVD: Kool Keith - "Global Enlightenment Part 1" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Lamb of God - "Killadelphia" (Epic)
• DVD: Sarah Jane Morris - "In Concert" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Ian Parker - "Whilst the Wind: Live" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Various artists - "Metalmania 2004" (Music Video Distributors)

June 28:

• DMX - Here We Go Again (Ruff Ryders)
  Read: "Mase Advises DMX To Rap Again, Wait For The Lord's Call"
• Fountains of Wayne - Out-of-State Plates (Virgin)
  Read: "Fountains Of Wayne To Spout 26-Song Rarities Collection, Tour In June"
• Longwave - There's a Fire (Red Ink)

July 5:

• R. Kelly - TP3 Reloaded (Sony)
• Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Various artists - "Fantastic Four" soundtrack (Wind-Up)

July 12:

• All-American Rejects - Move Along (Interscope)
• Black Dahlia Murder - Miasma (Metal Blade)
• Bow Wow - Wanted (Sony)

• Corey Clark
• Keyshia Cole
• The Offspring
• Ol' Dirty Bastard
• Clutch

MTV.com Exclusive: Boyz N Da Hood Photos 06.15.2005

• Boyz N da Hood