'Five Letters, One Word': Diddy Drops The 'P'
The ads for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards that refer to the host as "Diddy" are not misprints. The letter "P" in Sean Combs' moniker was left off for good reason: He's dropped it like it's hot.
On Tuesday morning (August 16) in New York, the man behind Sean John clothing and Bad Boy Records told MTV News that from now on, "It's five letters, one word."
"The name is changed," he said in the "TRL" greenroom. "We made it simpler. We removed the P. The P was getting in between us. We're entering the age of 'Diddy.' "
If you're one of the fans or his many friends who were already calling him Diddy, keep doing what you're doing. Diddy says this is nothing as radical as when he switched up from Puff Daddy to P. Diddy.
"A lot of my peeps in music been calling me 'Diddy,' so it's not a drastic change for them. But people around the world didn't know what to call me. We was at [Madison Square Garden] rocking with Jay-Z. The last time I was there, half the crowd was chanting 'P. Diddy,' half the crowd chanting 'Did-dee.' We gonna stop the confusion. 'Did-dee. Did-dee, Did-deee!' Simple. To the point and it sounds strong. It sounds like something is about to happen. It sounds like something is about to go down in history."
You don't think Diddy is going to alter his moniker and just talk about it in an interview, do you? Expect something grandiose around, let's say, August 28.
"To be honest, the unveiling of Diddy, you gonna see that at the [Video Music Awards]," he promised. "You gonna see that in the entrance. You gonna see that swagger. You gonna see how I'm gonna navigate you through the journey. I'mma play my position, my role. The artists are gonna play their role. We're gonna have an incredible, incredible party."
The party is remixed this year, according to the host. Diddy's awarding $100,000 to the best-dressed male and female artists, and more surprises are guaranteed. "I'm encouraging the artists to have a good time with your acceptance speeches; say something that's gonna make or break your career, or something you'll regret," he said. "If you feel like getting naked, run across the stage butt-ass naked. It's a battle of the bands. Let's not sugarcoat it. When I perform on the awards, I'm trying to decapitate anything before or after me, let it be known who I am. Coldplay want to do that to 50. 50 wants to do that to Green Day. They want to wear the ring at the end of it and have the kids say who rocked the most. I heard what Kanye is doing is gonna be incredible. Start tuning in now. It's gonna be off the chain."
