In his 30s, he learned what a good relationship really means. “If you love somebody you don't force it,” he said. “You don't love them because of what you can get out of them. You don't love them because they look good or because they make you look good. She can be the hottest chick in the world, but if she can't brighten up your day and your darkest hour, it don't even matter. Now I really want to try to get it right.” (Porter is expecting a child this winter.)
On some songs Combs gets romantic in a low, conversational voice: “Let me give you some passionate loving that you won't forget.” “A man has his feelings too.” “You stood by me through all that J. Lo stuff.” “I know I make it hard to love me.” Blatant vulnerability is rare in rap, and given that Combs once declared himself a “Bad Boy for Life,” this display of lover-man sincerity could lead to some ribbing. When asked how he thinks the street will react, Combs was silent for a while. “To be honest, I don't know how it will be received,” he said. “I wasn't afraid to be sensual and romantic. But I wanted to still hit you hard and make your body move. I just think that being honest is the most gangsta thing you could ever do.”
Both fans and the industry have set the expectations bar at Diddy's producing a crossover comeback smash. As insurance, he has recorded with an array of heavyweight friends, including Kanye West, T.I., Pharrell, Jamie Foxx and Big Boi of OutKast, who appears on Wanna Move, a stunning Southern-bounce-meets-Kraftwerk track.
A hit could potentially drive sales for Sean John, which has recently expanded; conversely, a flop from the company's namesake and advertising face could tarnish the brand. In 2005 Combs sold a minority interest in Bad Boy to Warner Music Group for an estimated US$33 million. (The label was previously affiliated with Arista and, briefly, Universal.) He has focused on revitalizing the once floundering imprint, which has since produced hits by Cassie and Yung Joc. But Bad Boy lacks a rapper who represents the label's original essence: mainstream-ready New York fabulousness. Until he finds the right young gun, Combs has a job to do.
“He's got his hands full,” said Elliott Wilson, the editor in chief of the rap magazine XXL. “He's coming into a landscape where it's hard for rap to even sell platinum. He might not be able to impact the culture the way he wants to — the way he did in the late 1990s.”
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