Sean “Diddy” Combs and his band of artists over at his Bad Boys music label played a pivotal role in ’90s hip hop and R&B, helping catapult the already growing popularity of the genres. Known for their great music videos, eclectic dance moves and iconic shiny suits, the musical collective dominated the era. However, not everyone was fond of that particular moment in music history.
During an appearance on “The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop” podcast with co-hosts rapper Nas and veteran media journalist Miss Info, rapper Jadakiss spoke on how he really felt wearing the iconic shiny suits as seen on Diddy. “We hated the shiny suits,” said the native of Yonkers, New York.
“We never felt comfortable one time wearing it,” he said, before adding that rapper-turned preacher Mase “loved it.” ‘I’m wearing this one. He had a plan for what he was doing… When he looked in his dressing room and seen that sh-t on the hanger…he knew what he was doing. ‘Going for the money, guys, don’t mind me,’” The LOX member claimed.
However, the “Recognize” emcee said, “It didn’t really work like that” with the members of his group. He continued, “We ain’t feel right with that sh-t. It didn’t feel right. You look good, you feel good. We ain’t look good, we ain’t feel good.” Still, Jadakiss said he was aware of the rare opportunity he was given, telling Nas and Miss Info, “We wanted to be there, so we didn’t start complaining just yet.”
Elsewhere, Nas provided more context to the nature of the music business back. The Queens native stated that “at the time, everything was about platinum” and that they were “all trying to figure out what was the look — what was that money look.” He noted that Mase caught on to the trend early on. “It was a shift; it was like a look that we needed, a star look,” he said.
He added, “We was trying to find that glow for the stage that would match it because everyone’s coming from the street. … How do we make this work for arenas? Everybody tried to step up and do something different.”
Still, despite Jadakiss’ disdain for the fashion style, The Lox’s “Money, Power & Respect” album, which was released under the Bad Boy label and marked their shiny suit debut, went platinum. In contrast, their sophomore album “We Are The Streets,” which featured their signature gritty look under the Ruff Ryders umbrella, only obtained gold status.
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