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American Morning
Showbiz Today Reports: Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs Discusses Latest Ventures
Aired July 09, 2001 - 11:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LAURIN SYDNEY, CNN ANCHOR: A Swiss newspaper is reporting that former Beatle George Harrison is being treated for a brain tumor. The paper says Harrison was treated at a Swiss cancer institute. The director of that institute has declined to comment, but is expected to make a statement today. The 58-year-old guitarist had surgery at the Mayo Clinic in May to remove a cancerous growth from his lung. He was also treated for throat cancer in 1999.
It is very rare when musical artists such as the Beatles capture the sentiments of a generation and make an impact on society.
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has also done that, as the founder of Bad Boy Worldwide entertainment group, one of the world's premiere urban entertainment companies. Tomorrow that company will add more to its $300 million bottom line with the release of his third album "P. Diddy & the Bad Boy Family: The Saga Continues..." Here's a bit.
(PLAY VIDEO CLIP)
SYDNEY: Good stuff.
Joining us now is the artist, the clothing designer, and the costar of the new movie "Made," Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.
Welcome to "Showbiz Today."
SEAN "P. DIDDY" COMBS: Thank you for having me.
Puffy, at the very beginning of this year, you were in the newspaper making headlines for reasons other than your music, but yet you said that you really focused on this album and the movie. How did you do that with all you had going on at the beginning of the year?
COMBS: God blessed me to be able to come out of that situation, and a lot of the fans and their prayers of support, and the support of my family and my companies. I was able to make it through that. As soon as I was able to get out of that, weather that storm, I just wanted to make music and have a good time. I just wanted to take walks on the beach and play with my kids, and one of things I did late at night was I would go and make music. So before I knew it, within three or four weeks, I had an album finished, and I said, you know something, I don't want to overthink the situation. Let's just throw the album out. Hopefully people will like and love it. Give them something to dance to.
Right now there's really not a lot, in the music industry, of people having fun. So I just wanted to share my new vibe and my new feeling of just being carefree and enjoying life, being appreciative of the simple things, and giving people some music, getting back to giving people music to dance to, and not all the headlines, not all the drama, not all of that -- just good music. Whether you love hip- hop, or you never even heard hip-hop before, you'll love the album. So I would tell everybody check it out.
SYDNEY: So headlines in Billboard magazine and not the other kind.
COMBS: Really just listening to some music in your car or your Jeep, or in your house or on the dance floor. We have every day for headlines.
SYDNEY: That's right.
COMBS: Right now, it's about the music.
SYDNEY: Puffy, you did what you always do, and that's take a combination of veteran artists and merge them with up and coming?
COMBS: Yes. On this album, I took it back to my first album on the way out, where I played more of a producer role, and I'm featured on a bunch of tracks, and I'm highlighting some of my newer up-and- coming artists, along with the veterans, like Carl Thomas and Faith Evans and rappers like Black Rob and G-Depth (ph). Then you have a whole other new slew of other rap artists -- Kain Monk (ph), Kurrian Lune (ph). I just surrounded my whole team together and just tried to give you all a masterpiece of work that you could enjoy.
A lot of time artists make music so much for themselves we become selfish. This record, to me, was made for the people, for them to enjoy. So it's no really personal underlying meaning, but just some good, hot music.
SYDNEY: Speaking of personal underlying, you're wearing your underwear -- sorry -- it's coming out in two weeks.
COMBS: You want to check it out?
SYDNEY: Keep the cameras back, but I did get a sneak peek in the green room -- it's quite stunning.
COMBS: Definitely. I'm releasing my new underwear. I'm going head to head with Calvin Klein. So Calvin, look out, buddy. I bumped into Calvin at a party, and I said I think there's room for one more person on the block. We've had a great success with Sean John, the clothing line. We were just nominated for a CFDA Award. So this year, we wanted to come out with something new. So look out for our underwear, Sean John underwear, in two weeks.
SYDNEY: A look out for the movie "Made," because not only are you doing underwear, you're starring in a new movie. COMBS: Yes, that movie made with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. It's my debut. And I would like everybody to go see it. It comes out this week. It's an independent release. And it's my acting debut. It's a small role, but it's something I'm very proud of. I have my sights set on the big screen right now. So I mean God is good.
SYDNEY: Absolutely. Very quickly now, something that was so interesting to me: that you attribute your whole career with the internship that you had. I told our interns today pay attention to that. Therefore, you hire so many interns and so many inner-city kids throughout your whole Bad Boy corporation.
COMBS: Right now, we're probably going to say we have over 600 employees hired on the Bad Boy entertainment, and most of them are minorities. As a black man, that's what I'm trying to do: open up doors and lay down foundations for young up-and-coming youths to come and live out their dreams. Our internship program goes to all age groups as far from high school to college, and you know, all ethnic groups, and it's a positive thing because you bring all worlds together, and they work hard and learn. Just like someone had to give me a chance, so I try to give other people a chance.
SYDNEY: Definitely.
Puffy, you're the man. Thank you so much.
CD tomorrow, movie this week, underwear...
COMBS: Make sure you get that album. It comes out tomorrow: "P. Diddy & the Bad Boy Family: The Saga Continues..."
SYDNEY: What a salesman you are.
COMBS: I try.
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