(AllHipHop News) Hip-hop superstar Sean ‘Diddy”’ Combs is postponing his return to music to promote new non-white artists.
The 47-year-old has not released an official studio album in a decade, although he did put out a mixtape in 2015 as a taster of his long-awaited comeback.
However, Combs now says he’s more interested in offering opportunities to the next generation of stars rather than dropping a new album himself.
“I want to dive into producing and creating content and really just supporting content creators,” he tells BuzzFeed News. “I think that the impact I want to have is to be able to empower a lot of the storytellers of color, who are not getting that chance and that opportunity.
“When I’m starting to make decisions, (I’m like,) ‘Can I have an impact that’s bigger than myself?’ Working behind the scenes, I think, will give people more opportunities and break down some doors.”
His long-awaited comeback record, No Way Out 2, is billed as Combs’ last album and is a sequel to his acclaimed 1997 debut No Way Out.
The new delay to its unveiling comes despite its purported lead single, “Finna Get Loose,” being released in 2015 to immense U.S. chart success.
Speaking about his own start in rap, which came as a talent director at New York hip-hop label Uptown Records, Combs says the lack of non-white executives in the music industry motivated him to strive for success.
“That’s all the music industry was when I was coming up,” he explains. “I mean, that’s what also gave me motivation ’cause I wanted to break down that door.”
The music mogul went on to found Bad Boy Records, home to acts including The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans and R&B group 112, in 1993, and later branched out, founding his own fashion label Sean John.