USA: Sean "Diddy" Combs returns with his first album in five years

Sean Combs, also known as P. Diddy and now simply "Diddy," makes his much-anticipated re-entry into the music world with his album, "Press Play," his first new release in five years. The album, as well as it's first single "Come to Me," is fuelled by dance beats, combined with a unique funk-soul quality that's radically different from the classic Diddy tunes. Diddy said his sound was influenced by his world travels and his self-exposure to an international club scene, something he hopes will make "Press Play" appeal to world-wide audiences. "I think the sound is hip-hop soul. I think it represents the evolution of my sound as a producer, from the sounds of growing up in the seventies, and listening to hip-hop in the eighties, making music in the nineties, and you know, where it all has evolved to, all my travels, the sounds I've heard from Ibiza and dance clubs in Miami and just international sounds, fused in with authentic hip-hop. It's music that makes you want to dance, music that makes you feel good and is also music that I got a chance to be vulnerable and talk about different things," said Diddy. In "Press Play," Diddy also makes use of his Hollywood connections, using collaborations with several other artists like Mary J Blige, Christina Aguilera, and Jamie Foxx. Diddy says that every person plays a different character, likens their appearances in the album to the cast ensemble in a film. And for those who are having trouble keeping up with his ever-shortening name - from Puff Daddy, to P. Diddy, and now just Diddy - he explained that sometimes it pays off to be a man of many names. "I'm Diddy in the United States, in the U.K., I'm P. Diddy. It was just lucky for me that I have more than one name to choose from. I got a call, somebody said that they had the rights to the name Diddy and I was like, I respect that. I have no problem with it. I'll just be P. Diddy in the U.K. So, it's kind of funny to me. Everybody jokes about the different name changes but being that I have many names, it came out as a blessing," Diddy said. And life is a blessing for Diddy; the entrepreneur has produced a successful clothing line, Sean Jean, a line of fragrances, and his crowning achievement, Bad Boy Entertainment, his record label produced in conjunction with Warner Music Group. Being so successful has launched Diddy into super-stardom, and thus a role-model for many young adults. That's the reason Diddy launched "Citizen Change," a program designed to encourage young people to register to vote and to become active in politics. "Organizations like Rock the Vote and my organization, Citizen Change, I think are having a huge success with getting young voters engaged. The overall problem is that young people can see through the B.S., and they know a lot of politics is B.S. so they would just rather not deal with it. It's fighting a struggle to get young people to understand the importance and the power of their one vote. I think we made a lot of headway, and I think for this next election coming up, I think you'll see a lot of young people out in force," said Diddy. "Press Play," will be available on October 17.

ITN Source | October 5, 2006

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