Diddy Covers GQ

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was the top-paid American musician in 2017, despite not releasing any original music. With his singing reality show, The Four, he’s back to spotting talent, like he did in the 90s, specifically with Biggie Smalls. When asked if there was anyone in today’s hip hop market who gave him the same excitement as Biggie, the answer is, “no.” He does find Kendrick Lamar exciting. “But Kendrick’s already made.” He rates him as being on Biggie’s level. “He gives you that feeling,” Combs says. Amongst his other favorite current artists, he names Drake, SZA, Jay-Z, Nas, Migos, Lil Baby, and Future.

Combs has many business ventures, including alcohol and apparel, and now he’s looking into tech, to give back to the community. “I want to be an authentic, unapologetic warrior for black culture and the culture of the street and how it moves,” he says. “My thing is most importantly to change the narrative of the black race. I can’t relate to anything that isn’t about that.” Combs wants to develop an app that will allow users to look at a given city or neighborhood and see where the black-owned and black-friendly businesses are. It’s a work in progress. “This is not about taking away from any other community,” he insists. “We’ll still go to Chinatown. We’ll still buy Gucci! But the application will make it possible for us to have an economic community.”