Diddy Visits Jimmy Kimmel: Opens up about His Empire, New Documentary and East Coast/West Coast Feud
Sean “Diddy” Combs graced the studios of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in LA this week, clad in his usual tinted aviators, Faith Connexion star motif denim jacket, a Hermes accent scarf, and Common Projects sneakers. This pricey ensemble was the perfect get-up to accompany his divine reverie that kicked off the interview, as the mogul exclaimed:
“How am I? I am in the greatest mood, and having the greatest time of my life!”
Diddy amped up the crowd to match his exuberance, as 2017 has been an incredible year for the New York native. Sitting at the top of his $827 million empire and number 1 on this year’s Forbes Five (joined by the likes of Birdman, Dre, and Jay-Z) Diddy’s Bad Boy Records and investment partnerships with Ciroc and TV network Revolt have resulted in a massive pay-day.
The 47 year old let slip to Kimmel that his dip into the fountain of youth hasn’t been via Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP-branded vitamins, but is instead a result of the presence of God living within him.
“I feel like I look pretty young and fresh. I feel good, I feel like I got God in me, and it’s just shining. God, yes. FEEL the energy, of love!”
Diddy continued his motif of divine inspiration when asked by Kimmel about the origins of his new documentary, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story.
“It was my idea,” the mogul revealed. “I said to myself, because my belief is so crazy and I would just talk to God and he would let me know it was alright when I was coming up, I said to myself somebody needs to get the cameras rolling on me because I think that my life and whatever is going to happen can be inspirational. I started shooting this movie when I was 19.”
Diddy’s come-up can’t be referenced without the infamous East Coast VS West Feud that dominated the 90s hip hop scene. With heavy-hitting casualties like Biggie Smalls and Tupac and Diddy’s Bad Boy Record label continually attached to the controversy, there’s no evading the bloodied and brutal topic that forever changed the cultural landscape. On the feud, the hip-hop exec states:
“You gotta understand, that was one of the biggest things to happen in our culture. Right now, we’re living in the results of the hip-hop culture. So as crazy as it sounds, there was an East-West war over music, and people were killing and getting killed. We deal with that in the movie, and it was something that was just so surreal and so serious, and so unfortunate and so sad, but that’s something that we’ve had to deal with.”
Not all love is lost between the coasts, as Diddy continued with the hard-won reconciliation that followed the conflict’s bloody peak:
“We were all scared. Sometimes things in your life could just get out of control, but we never wanted to have problems with each other,” he said. “We were all fans of each other and it was just something in that day and age that spun out of control. We’ve all been friends ever since. Snoop Dogg is one of my best friends. Dre is one of my best friends. It always should have been like that, but sometimes in life, there’s tragedies so people can learn from them. This is God’s world, but the greatest thing is he put us all back together.”
For further exploration of the much-debated hip-hop coast war and of Diddy’s origins, check out Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story dropping on Apple Music June 25.