Jadakiss Speaks On His Past Dealings With Diddy.
BallerStatus.com: Do you think his business ethics are bad?
Jadakiss: Diddy learned from somebody else. Now that I’m grown and understand the game, I can’t really be mad at what he learned. This business was here 100 years before Diddy became a CEO. He makes his business and his contracts beneficial for him, which there’s nothing wrong with that. If you conducting business and you got the right lawyers that’s telling you to write what these contracts are saying, at the end of the day, when you’re signing any contract it should be beneficial for you. But if you’re just blind to the fact and you’re just happy to be down with Bad Boy like [The LOX] was ’cause it was so hot, we just signed some sh** we didn’t really look at ’til two, three years later. And this is happening today. There’s going to be a bunch of people making books like Mark Curry. There’s going to be a bunch of more people riffing with label heads about publishing and money that’s owed to them, so that’s going to always go on, because if you don’t pay attention, it’s really on you. He can’t do nothing contractually that you didn’t agree to.
Interview via BallerStatus (Shout out to Monique B.)
I guess you don’t become rich by being honest and fair.
Suggestion Box
February 25th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
True a lot of people get too emotional in this game because it’s music but at the end of the day this is the music BUSINESS. It’s mostly about being profitable at the end of the day. Otherwise it wouldn’t exist!
February 25th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
who’s fault really is it? Is it Puffy or is it the artist who was too lazy to read the policies and contract before signing them?
Yes those policies and contracts can be like 50 pages long and in 8pt font size, but it’s better to read it, so the consequences don’t come back bite you in your ass.
Always read something thoroughly before you sign it. That goes with anything in life. Mortgage, lease, car lease, etc. ya digggg
February 25th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I hear ya but still………karma has run over Suge and it’s going to catch up to PDiddy eventually……..
February 25th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
@BigLou: I get what you’re saying, but there’s a big difference between “pipe to the knee” negotiations and getting shafted because you didn’t read what was in front of you.
Suge intimidated his way to the top and now he’s got a long way to fall. Puff just has smart lawyers. Good to see Jada admitting he was young and stupid and taking responsibility for his role in getting screwed over at Bad Boy.
February 25th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
fuck diddyz bitch azz
February 25th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
@ 4
Wrong is wrong though. Sure, Diddy is more legit with his but Mark Curry claims dude was charging cats for appearances on their own videos. Come on man, grimey is grimey!
February 25th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
actually you mean the hustle is the hustle. that’s why prices go up like gas. are we gonna think it’s not a rip off when the whole country gets affected like with gas? my point is it’s the seller’s price at the end of the day and if Diddy’s videos is that hot for having people to be seen in the video to get recognized that way, that video is an advantage for that artist that diddy is charging. It’s like buying 8 dollars for water in the club. and people buy that shit anyway. and still don’t feel like they got ripped off. don’t hate the player hate the game. it ain’t nothing grimey. it’s just you got to pay the toll if you crossing any bridge. if you building bridges in the first place. it’s all who you know (politics) and business. it’s the way of the world. what is grimey is if diddy didn’t follow his contracts. that right there my friend is illegal.
February 25th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
^^^^^^^^difference is that with high gas prices you still have a choice…ie public trasportation, riding a bike or dare I say walk…..water in the club?….well you can go the bathroom and drink the tap…lol
my understanding from the excerpts of the book that Diddy didn’t give his artist a choice whether or not they wanted him in the video….he appeared in them….and chaged them…….that’s grimey
February 25th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Funny how none of the artist who diddy supposedly charged for being in their video is saying this but someone who never had a video is saying this… People so quick to hate on puff because of who he is .. Now if it came out 50 was doing the same thing to Buck, he would just be considered a disgruntled employee..Business is Business..Also funny that mark curry is y’all reference…smh
February 25th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
I’m with you Big Lou, Puff is foul, fuck that business is business talk. Puff has to have 24/7 security from cats trying to get at him for his foul ways (including for his children and baby mammas). This cat Puff is grimey and he thinks he is the reincarnation of his father “Pretty” Melvin Combs, who was a well respected hustler in Harlem in the 60’s and 70’s, before he was murdered. One of the reasons why this nigga Puff ain’t 6 ft deep already is because his father’s old partners have intervened on his behalf when REAL gangsters was getting ready to pop his head off. I used to run in the same circles as Puff in the early Uptown and BadBoy days; I give him credit, he is very intelligent and extremely hardworking, no one can deny his work ethic, he set the standard for his generation in going for the gusto and achieving.
Look at the Bad Boy roster…Craig Mack, Biggie, Mase, 112, Total, Shyne, Carl Thomas, Faith, Lox, etc. All gone, why is that? If an artist signs a shitty deal early in their career, well you live and you learn. But when you realize you signed a shitty deal and come back with the proper representation and demands for a new contract commensurate with your worth as an artist based on previous sales and success, this cat wants to keep you a slave, so the artist bounces. If it’s “just business” why not sign the artist to a more equitable share of the profits? Ultimately, business has to be “win-win”, not equal, just “win-win”. Your boy don’t want nobody to “win” but himself. Greedy bastard.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
So I guess Puff must have blackballed all of the above artist because with the exception of Big (murdered) and Shyne (jail) they’ve ALL had a chance to make their mark and have yet to do so (including the Lox).Some people will sell their soul for a shot at fame, they just need to learn to read the fine print.
February 26th, 2009 at 12:09 am
cosign #7 shine95 thats realtalk
a wise man once told me, money and ethics dont mix !
@ big shorty, that roster is from like 10 yrs ago, are u sayin that becuz puff jerked them on the contractual side of things, they music didnt stand the test of time? we all know one thing, puff makes hits, radio hits. on ya hot 97 everyday thats my word, remember that, thats was from like 10yrs ago and he still doing it. if those artist had any real potential to last 10yrs puff woulda had them still. thats why i dont understand niggas say jay is grimey for droppin beans freeway state prop. this is a job, sometimes u make friends, but eventually u get a better job and move on. yea puff was a con man, but all these niggas brag about bein hustlers and gettin money. puff is hiphop, fuck u pay me
February 26th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Peep this, County and Chiz, if the rumors are true, I don’t know if they are or not, but before he was murdered, Biggie was looking to leave Bad Boy and Puff for shady business dealings. Puff was also alleged to have offered to buy Biggie’s publishing for 500,000 dollars, knowing his publishing was worth millions. After Big’s murder, this dude was runnning around saying he was Big’s best friend…what best friend would take advantage of your ignorance and lack of business acumen? And as it relates to his roster from 10 years ago, it just shows how he knows how to find and groom talented artists, he just doesn’t invest in the longevity of their careers by giving fair business deals. Take Clive Davis, he signed Aretha, Whitney, Santana, and a host of artists 20-30 years ago, and still has positive business relationships with them all, due to his willingness to negotiate deals that are beneficial to the label and artist. Puff’s money is from everything but music, he don’t make his bread from music, that was just a launch pad for the clothes, tv, and other money making entities that make him money.
Business can be conducted in a variety of ways, I’m just saying that the “shady” model is not the only way to do business. In the entertainment field, the tradition has been to jerk the artist and exploit them to the bitter end. You can be successful without exploiting others, I’m not on some “We are the World” shit, but business can be mutually beneficial to all parties involved. How much more paid would Puff be if he still had that above mentioned roster, duke might be close to a billionaire.