By Ismael AbduSalaam
Building on his already lucrative portfolio of reality show brands, mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has announced the launch of his new VH1 show, I Want to Work for Diddy.
The first hour long episode is set to premier August 4 at 9:00 pm and will follow 13 aspiring assistants as they struggle through a myriad of emotional, mental, and physical challenges, for the opportunity to work directly under Diddy.
The applicant’s work will be narrowed down by a panel of judges: Warner Music VP Kevin Liles, Sean John Marketing Director and former Diddy assistant Capricorn Clark, and Island Def Jam Chief of Staff Phil Robinson.
Diddy spoke exclusively to AllHipHop.com about how the new show came about and his long term plans for his various television brands.
“This is an overall plan of mine I’ve had for the past year to take over the airwaves,” Diddy revealed to AllHipHop.com. “For the month of August I have three shows on the air. On Monday you have I Want to Work for Diddy, Tuesday you have Run’s House, and Wednesday you got Making the Band. So every time you turn on VH1 or MTV you’ll see the Bad Boy logo or hear the music. It’s a lot of real estate and brand marketing that I’m experimenting with along with the creative content that I’ve put together.”
Even with the large amount of airtime, Diddy is not worried about overkill or monotony, since each show remains distinct and showcases positive images of successful young African-American’s and Latinos.
And as a pioneer in reality TV shows focused on African-Americans, Diddy feels an obligation to show his community how to empower themselves.
“It’s a lot of African-American talent that’s on the shows,” Diddy beamed. “I’m very proud of that and to add color to MTV, VH1, and Viacom. It’s [about] the positive messages but making them all distinct. It’s about us being able to empower ourselves, not asking for any handouts. You see that on Run’s House where the children are starting their own businesses. With Making the Band we’ve taking the show on the road for the first time. You’ll be able to see the competitive nature between the groups in different cities. And I Want to Work for Diddy is about following your dreams no matter where you come from.”
Run’s House is in its fifth season and airs Wednesdays at 10pm on MTV.
I Want to Work for Diddy premiers Monday August 4 on VH1.