Chris Brown Reveals Diddy Wouldn't Sign Him To Bad Boy Records

The "Look at Me Now" star talked to N.O.R.E. on "Drink Champs" about Diddy's reluctance to sign him.

BYGabriel Bras Nevares
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Chris Brown may be one of the most successful R&B stars of the century, but not everyone believed in his star power at first. In a recent interview on the Drink Champs podcast, the 33-year-old star spoke about how Diddy turned him down from Bad Boy when he was much younger.

 "The funniest part- a lot of people don't really know this- but Diddy turned me down," said Brown. N.O.R.E. was eager to talk about it, asking the Virginia native if he danced for Diddy, too. "If you danced, he definitely would've signed you," joked N.O.R.E.

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"It's love now. That's family, that's my brother now," explained Brown. "Im'a keep it 100. So I was like 12, at this time. This was before I linked to Def Jam. It was me and one of my production managers' son named TJ; he's my brother to this day. Me and him were like a group."

"What was the name of y'all group?" asked N.O.R.E., to which Brown responded with "We didn't have no name."

"This is why he didn't sign y'all," said N.O.R.E. to everyone's amusement.

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Since the initial shutdown, Diddy and Brown have collaborated on songs like 2011's "Yesterday", and both were seen hanging out with Busta Rhymes and Bryson Tiller last year.

Check out the Drink Champs clip below and stay tuned for the full episode to drop tomorrow.

In related news, Brown spoke on the constant barrage of Michael Jackson comparisons that have been thrown his way, saying that MJ is "lightyears ahead.


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About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.