Diddy Sets September Release Date for New Album

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Sean "Diddy" Combs is currently working on what he is billing as his final album. MTV.com reports that Diddy will release the new album on September 19th. So far, the untitled album will feature guest appearances by Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, Brandy, Busta Rhymes, Nas, and Will.I.Am.

Diddy said, "I'm taking from what I've learned from dance music, electroclash, techno, hip-hop, soul, and pop, and kind of fusing it together. It's like everything in hip-hop is so hardcore with guns and problems and beef, and nobody is being romantic -- not in a corny way, but just giving all of yourself. It's still going to have that gangster vibe to it, but it's a musical journey. It's going to feel good."

The mogul added, "We are going to bring a lot of high fashion, a lot of energy, a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, spirituality, good times. We're going to have something for the kids, but it's really an adult thing. It's definitely pornographic, orgasmic, gangster, to the point where your soul feels good. It's like a spiritual revolution. It's like being sanctified."

When we spoke with Diddy, he explained the void he fills in hip hop: "You know, I'm not afraid to have fun. As a rap artist, I'm not afraid to smile, I'm not afraid to dance. I mean, that's the void I fill, is just having a good time. And with hip-hop, you need balance."

Diddy's last two albums were 2001's The Saga Continues, which peaked at Number Two on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and P. Diddy amp; Bad Boy Records Present... We Invented The Remix, which debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 in 2002.

Diddy's best selling effort was his 1997 Grammy Award-winning set No Way Out, which was released under the Puff Daddy amp; the Family moniker. It's sold over seven million copies since it was released.

Diddy's platinum solo effort, Forever, came out in 1999.