Former Rapper Loon Says He Left Bad Boy Records Because of Diddy’s Role as a Record Executive and an Artist
Diddy is no doubt a mogul and a huge contributor to hip hop culture. He’s given countless acts a chance at stardom, which is evident through his work on MTV’s Making The Band. But one of the major criticisms of Diddy is that his work as a CEO and as a rapper blurs the lines and his acts feel his attention is solely on him. Former Bad Boy Records artist Loon shares similar sentiments.
Loon’s time on Bad Boy Record
Loon’s rise to fame and his association with Diddy and Bad Boy began when Loon was a member of Mase’s posse, Harlem World. Interestingly, he and Mase have a similar rap flow and fans always compared the two.
He eventually landed a solo deal with Bad Boy. Several of his singles feature Diddy. His biggest hits include his feature on Diddy’s “I Need a Girl” parts one and two. He was also featured on Toni Braxton’s 2002 single “Hit The Freeway” and 3LW’s 2002 single “I Do.”
His self-titled solo debut was released in 2003.
Loon leaves Bad Boy; rumors about his rift with Diddy surface
Just a year after his solo album debut, Loon split with Bad Boy. In a 2004 interview with MTV News, he admits he left as a result of feeling the attention he was given as an artist lacked.
“Being that [Puff] has so much going on, I didn’t want to be the nagging artist,” he says. “I was happy for all his success, but I was at a crossroads as an artist. I wanted to put forth the same effort for myself that I was putting forth for Bad Boy. So he allowed me the opportunity to go out and be a budding entrepreneur and be my own man.
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Loon insists the split was amicable. At the time, he started his own company, Boss Up Entertainment, where he planned to release music as an independent artist. He also took notes from Diddy as an executive and promised to give other acts a shot.
Unfortunately, Loon would leave the music business altogether and find himself in legal trouble. In 2014, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison related to drug trafficking. He was released in July 2020 and now goes by a different name following his conversion to Islam. He still is recognized by his stage moniker.
Loon says Diddy’s role as an executive and as an artist on Bad Boy causes conflict
Loon is now speaking of his perceived fallout with Diddy. He sticks to his previous statements that the fallout is business and nothing personal, explaining that Diddy’s dual role as an executive and an artist himself is the issue for him.
In a new interview with The Breakfast Club, Loon breaks it down.
“It was certain events that were taking place professionally and personally. I believe being in the presence of a person life Puff, Puff is a mogul, Puff has a huge impact on hip hop and hip history,” he says. “To come from up underneath that, it’s almost like mission impossible. It’s very difficult for a person to give you your own identity when you’re in the presence of somebody who actually is an artist himself. That’s where people misconstrued the issues that come under Bad Boy because your CEO is an artist.”
Still, Loon says Diddy has been supportive since Loon’s prison release and Loon holds no ill will.
