[UPDATE] It’s A Wrap for Bad Boy Records…Well, Not So Fast Ms. Bels Friday, January 31, 2014 $1 Rumors, The Receipt, The Studio Scroll down for update… What may come as a shock to many…legendary hip hop label, Bad Boy Records, is rumored to have closed its doors for good. After learning that several Bad Boy employees were laid off, a huge staple of the 90’s hip hop era is now a distant memory. For the youngin’s that associates Sean “P. Diddy” Combs with Ciroc vodka, Sean John, and now REVOLT, go sift through the archives and learn about the mogul’s impact on music. He was the founder of one of the most legendary labels in hip hop. When you think of Christopher Wallace aka Notorious B.I.G., there’s Diddy. When you think of Lil Kim and Junior Mafia, there’s Diddy. When you think of Total, Craig Mack, Faith Evans, M.A.$.E, 112, The Lox, Black Rob, G. Dep, Shyne, Loon and Carl Thomas, there was Diddy. In the 90’s, Bad Boy Records had the music game in a choke hold. The label kept East Coast artists on top of the charts, making it extremely difficult for other regions to accumulate the same level of attention and success. Near the end of the 90’s era into the 2000’s, Bad Boy Records experienced a major shift. The industry was evenly consumed with artists from all parts of the country. The deep South was taking over the throne. West Coast artists held on to their position. Midwest music maintained a decent buzz. A combination of these regional movements made it difficult for Bad Boy to keep the flame lit. In the meantime, Diddy was making other business moves (i.e. Justin’s restaurant, Sean John, etc) that can be attributed to his alleged lack of attention to the music. Plus, constant rumors of artists entering bad contracts eventually cast a dark cloud over the label. He tried to savage the legacy when he turned to reality television with “Making The Band”. From the show, Bad Boy signed on fresh young talent like groups Day 26 and Danity Kane. However, those groups produced one or two albums under Bad Boy and then dismantled. Others were signed like Cheri Dennis, Elephant Man, Donnie Klang, and B5. Diddy even introduced Bad Boy South, which produced Boyz-N-Da Hood, Yung Joc, Gorilla Zoe, and even a short stint by Memphis, Tennessee legends 8Ball & MJG. In most recent years, Bad Boy managed projects for artists like Cassie, Machine Gun Kelly, French Montana, and Janelle Monae. He appeared again as an artist on the successful, Dirty Money project, which included Dawn and Kaleena. Diddy continued his entrepreneurial journey with Ciroc vodka and now a live-stream cable network, REVOLT. Over close to two decades, Diddy’s interest in music slowly fell to the back. As a CEO with less time to spare, he may have expected his team at Bad Boy to remain hungry and work hard to maintain the legacy. But, was it too late? As a brand, was Bad Boy’s alleged “bad business” reputation too much to overcome? Being the intelligent businessman that he is, consolidating selected Bad Boy employees with the REVOLT team was probably the best move. REVOLT represents a new era in Diddy’s life. By putting all his efforts into this network, there’s a greater opportunity to showcase artists and their music. WHAT DO YOU THINK? WAS CLOSING BAD BOY RECORDS THE BEST THING TO DO? UPDATE… According to XXL, a Bad Boy rep disputed the rumors that hit the internet yesterday (Jan. 30). The rep told the magazine, “Bad Boy shutting down is nothing more than rumors,” and “isn’t true.” Well, I guess that puts that rumor to rest. But, the question remains…is the label worth savaging? Yes, there is a lot of history there. But, can the brand hold up on its own and return to its old glory? It’s going to be interesting to see how P.Diddy revamp Bad Boy Records.
