Byron Lee's Writing Blog

Last month, we profiled two of rap's major power players: Nelly and Jay-Z. This month, we turn the spotlight towards the industry's two most successful and polarizing figures: Sean "Diddy" Combs and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.

FLAUNTING IT: Diddy styles and profiles in the sun.
No one has taken Russell Simmons's blueprint of brand diversification to more successful heights than Sean Combs, who was recently listed by Fortune Magazine as the most wealthy person in rap. He embarked on his career by dropping out of Howard University and working as an intern at Uptown Records under then President Andre Harrell. The polite, professional Combs worked hard and was eventually, at the age of 19, named Division Director, which put him in a position to develop acts. He would quickly make a name for himself by exposing the public to talented R&B acts with a hip-hop edge, such as Jodeci (which contained K-Ci and JoJo Hailey, who would eventually become a superstar duo on their own) and Mary J. Blige.

The success soon went to Combs's head, and his arrogance alienated his co-workers to the extent that he was fired from Uptown. After sulking in his apartment for a weekend, he plugged his phone back in and found a message from Arista Records. Industry legend Clive Davis was impressed by Combs's work and wanted Combs to operate a new urban music imprint being started through Arista. Combs agreed and christened the imprint "Bad Boy."
Bad Boy would find its flagship artist when DJ luminary Mr. Cee introduced him to a charismatic, rotund, lyrically gifted MC from Brooklyn. His given name was Christopher Wallace, but he rapped under the name Biggie Smalls. Combs would give him the iconic moniker The Notorious B.I.G. Along with energetic lyricist Craig Mack, of "Flava in Ya Ear" fame,B.I.G. helped put Bad Boy in the public eye. It was not long before Biggie's presence, personality, and Billboard track record ("Juicy," "Big Poppa," and "One More Chance (Remix)" were massive hits) overshadowed Mack, a point that was made clear when Biggie was chosen to be the first person to rap on Mack's landmark, star-studded "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)." B.I.G.'s first album, "Ready to Die," sold 4 million copies, while the follow-up, the double album "Life After Death" achieved diamond status (10 million copies sold).
However, after Biggie Smalls was gunned down in early 1997, after the murder of rival Tupac Shakur a few months earlier, Combs would be accused of milking Biggie's death in order to better shape his own public image (many people felt that while Biggie was alive, the two complemented each other perfectly, Biggie being the "Ghetto" to Diddy's "Fabulous".) The release of "I'll Be Missing You" which featured a prominent sample of the Police's "Every Breath You Take" and an accompanying video that featured Combs dancing through rain puddles, only furthered the criticism. (The track was from 1997's "No Way Out," Diddy's first solo album, which boasted the hits "Been Around the World" and "All About The Benjamins" and sold 7 million copies domestically.)
It was in 1998, at the height of his musical power, that he wisely decided to branch out his empire into the fashion arena. The "Sean John" clothing line, named after his first and middle name, became a wildly successful urban clothing line. Combs went on to win the fashion equivalent of the Oscar in 2004 when he won the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Menswear Designer of the Year award.

POWER COUPLE: Sean Combs and Jennifer Lopez provided fodder for urban, fashion, and tabloid journals during their courtship.
While his clothing line got off the ground, his romantic life became more public. Combs struck up a rapport with pop culture hyphenate Jennifer Lopez while the two worked together on the video for Diddy's single "Been Around The World." Soon, the two were inseparable, making headlines with their public appearances at award shows, particularly Jennifer Lopez's iconic green dress at the 2000 Grammys. (It is also rumored that Combs gave Lopez the boost she needed in order to take the step towards a recording career.)
The relationship encountered rocky waters in December of 1999, when a shooting occurred at a nightclub where Diddy, Lopez and then-Bad Boy artist Jamal "Shyne" Barrow were celebrating. The resulting negative publicity (both Combs and Barrow faced charges, while Lopez was not charged) created a fissure that never truly closed. The couple announced their break up on Valentine's Day 2001.

Combs, with the aid of his own, separate defense team, which featured Johnnie Cochran, was acquitted of charges of weapons possession and bribery (the latter stemming from allegations made by Combs's former driver), while Barrow was convicted of first-degree assault, gun possession, and reckless endangerment. Barrow is currently still serving a ten year jail term for this conviction. The belief that Combs turned his back on Barrow, thus setting up Barrow to be the fall guy, has badly hurt Combs's image.

ON THEIR OWN: Feeling neglected by Combs, acclaimed R&B quartet 112 eventually started their own independent record label.
The public's perception of Combs is rooted in a concern over how he treats his artists as a whole. Carl Thomas and Black Rob, who were, at one point, two of the most popular artists on the Bad Boy label, went 4 years and 6 years, respectively, without releasing albums. However, when Combs released one of his own albums, the LP seemed to receive all of the attention of Bad Boy's promotions department. 112, another staple of the label's glory years, were so disenchanted with how they were been handled that they tried to leave the label. (Eventually, an agreement was made to split professional interest in the group equally between Bad Boy and Island Def Jam. 112 is now presiding over their own independent label.) Finally, veteran group New Edition, who released their 2004 album "One Love" through Bad Boy, severed ties with the label over Combs's refusal to release a track produced by hitmakers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
While his label struggled, Combs found some success in another area: acting. He won raves for turns as a hot headed record mogul in the Jon Favreau/Vince Vaughn film "Made" and as Halle Berry's doomed, estranged husband in "Monster's Ball." Combs also brought a new audience to the theater, while receiving mixed reviews, with his role as Walter Lee Younger in the 2004 stage revival of Lorraine Hansberry's "Raisin in the Sun"
Combs, no doubt inspired by Simmons, also tried his hand at social activism. He raised 2 million dollars for New York City schools by participating in the New York City marathon, and spearheaded 2004's "Vote or Die" campaign, an effort to get young people interested in voting. While most people respected his efforts, some felt that the marathon was more about drawing attention to himself and that the "Vote or Die" campaign was awkward and politically-biased in favor of the left wing.

BEST FOOT FORWARD: Diddy finishes the New York
Marathon.
Diddy would soon have an incentive to return to his first love. Bad Boy received a new lease on life last year when Warner Music Group purchased a large minority stake in the label and bought out the remainder of the agreement between Bad Boy and Universal Music Group. New artists such as Cassie (whose "Me and You" has dominated R&B charts), Danity Kane (the multicultural singing group comprised of winners of Diddy's second installment of MTV's "Making The Band") and Atlanta rapper Yung Joc have put the label back on top of the charts. Soon the head honcho will be back in stores when Diddy's new album "Press Play" arrives in mid-October. It seems that, regardless of what people may think of him, Sean Combs cannot be stopped.

THE NEW SCARFACE?: 50 Cent has often drawn lyrical parallels between his rise to power and that of Tony Montana, Al Pacino's character from the cult film "Scarface."
Another powerful force in the rap industry in recent years has been Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Jackson was born in Jamaica, Queens, N.Y. to a drug-dealing single mother. (After his mother was gunned down, he went to live with his grandmother). His mother's friends introduced him to drug running, and a series of plea bargains on drug charges would lead him to stints in both rehab and a military style boot camp. He eventually poured his bravado and his hunger for a better life into rhyme. DJ Jam Master Jay, of the pivotal group Run-DMC, took 50 under his wing and signed him to Columbia Records, where 50 recorded the satirical song "How To Rob," in which the rapper deliberated as to which successful rappers he should rob and how he should go about it. Suffice it to say that many of the real-life rappers mentioned in the song did not find the track to be all that humorous, and the struggling rapper found his name on the lips of many rap heavyweights (Jay-Z famously mentioned 50 on "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)" from Jay's 4th album "Vol. 3".)

POINT BLANK: This photo, from the album jacket of 50's Shady/Aftermath debut, "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'," made his image perfectly clear.
In 2000, an event would forever change his life. He was shot nine times outside of his grandmother's house by a rival (the rival was murdered several weeks later). Jackson miraculously drove himself to the hospital. While convalescing, he was dropped by his record label.
Struggling to get back to recording, he was aided by producer Sha Money XL, who allowed 50 recording space to make songs for mixtapes (In the rap world, mixtapes are compilations of new songs, or of new freestyles performed over the beats of popular songs, that are released to the streets in order to create, or continue, buzz on a certain artist.). It was during this time that 50 took a major step in building his empire: he recruited rappers who were more skillful than he was, chief among them lyrical monster Lloyd Banks, in order to strengthen his crew.
Learning from his experience in his previous profession, ("Consistency is the key" he said in a 2003 interview with Rolling Stone.) his crew, G-Unit, flooded New York with high quality mixtapes that kept the streets talking. The recordings were bolstered by 50's new gruff, mumbled delivery, a result of a shot he took to the face during the attempt on his life. The buzz became so deafening that it drew the attention of Shady/Aftermath Records, the label run by Dr. Dre and Eminem. The duo flew 50 out to Los Angeles and, impressed with his demeanor, signed him to a recording deal worth 1 million dollars, and gave him his own imprint, G-Unit Records, in order for him to make money off of the artists he brought to the label.
Jackson immediately started securing trademarks for G-Unit, while industry veteran Chris Lighty, who signed on as 50's manager, started looking for endorsement deals. The rapper now has his own shoe deal (through Reebok), his own video game (50 Cent: Bulletproof), his own clothing line (G-Unit), and his own Vitamin Water (Vitamin 50). 50's 2003 Shady/Aftermath debut, "Get Rich Or Die Tryin," sold 6 million copies, bolstered by the irresistible pop anthem "In Da Club," and the public disclosure of what 50 referred to as "street beef" with then-chart reigning pop rapper Ja Rule. Releases from G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck appeared shortly thereafter. Furthermore, in what was an inevitable move, 50 appeared in a movie loosely based on his life, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," last year. While the film did not fulfill expectations at the box office (it was noticeably released in far fewer theaters than Eminem's 2002 flick "8 Mile," the success of which "Get Rich" was clearly patterned to mimic), 50 seems undaunted.

A POOR SHOWING: Plagued by poor distribution, 50 Cent's film debut, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" failed to find box office fortune.
Perhaps the performance of the film is a sign of declined public interest in Jackson. There seems to be a feeling amongst many that the rapper is overexposed, rimarily due to the products he released in 2005 (his sophomore LP, "The Massacre," the aforementioned film, the soundtrack to said film, and an autobiography, "From Pieces To Weight".)

Furthermore, his immaturity, as evidenced by both his insults toward actress Vivica A. Fox soon after he escorted her to the MTV Video Awards and his abrupt dismissal of Compton-bred G-Unit affiliate The Game, has become rather tiresome. (He even had a very brief feud with Diddy over Diddy's refusal to release MA$E from his contract with Bad Boy in order to allow MA$E to fully join G-Unit.)

THE BEGINNING OF THE END: Music lovers seem to think that the poor commercial performance of G-Unit albums, such as Tony Yayo's "Thoughts of a Predicate Felon", signal the end of G-Unit's reign on top of the charts.
It seems as if one could set their watch according to his latest publicity stunt. Finally, even though he has a talented stable of performers on his label, few of them could be marketed as superstars. The infectious energy of Tony Yayo couldn't power "Thoughts of a Predicate Felon" to commercial success, and even rap stalwarts Mobb Deep failed to move units with the release of the album "Blood Money."

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Many feel that The Game's dismissal from G-Unit was fueled by 50 Cent's fears that the Game might overshadow him.
Regardless of how many setbacks they face, today's Hip-Hop Moguls will find a way to be triumphant.

To view more writings, articles and perspectives from the cultural analyst known as Mr. Byron Lee please visit his official blog @ http://www.bleebus.blogspot.com/