Diddy Reveals New Name for Business Empire

Hip-hop entrepreneur and Bad Boy Billionaire Sean "Diddy" Combs has unveiled his latest business venture, Combs Global, a rebranding of his parent company Combs Enterprises.

The company, which started in 2013 with brands such as Bad Boy Entertainment and Cîroc Vodka, has now expanded to include Empower Global, Our Fair Share, Love Records and a presence in the cannabis industry.

“Combs Global represents the next chapter in my journey as a business leader and a bigger vision to build the largest portfolio of leading Black-owned brands in the world,” Combs said in a statement on Tuesday.

"I've enlisted world-class teams of top executives, specialists and strategic partners to bring this new dream to life and put us in the best position to keep making history while leading another 30 years of dominance across industries.”

With the launch of Combs Global, there has been a complete rebranding of the website, social channels, and brand communications. The new visual identity coincides with plans to take the company and its business units international.

The new logo was unveiled in a Uber One Super Bowl commercial starring Combs where he dreams up a hit song for Uber One, a reminder of Combs' unrivaled success as a hitmaker.

Combs, who is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bad Boy Entertainment, the 15th anniversary of his partnership with alcohol brand Diageo, the 10th anniversary of REVOLT — the first Black-owned multiplatform cable music network, now reaching over 80 million homes and 20 million monthly viewers digitally — shows no signs of slowing down.

This year has already been a busy one for Combs, with his acquisition of The Nile List and his $2M investment in creator platform REC Philly. He also expanded his Capital Preparatory charter schools to now include campuses in the Bronx, New York and Hartford, Connecticut.

De La Soul’s Trugoy the Dove Dies At 54

Sven Volkens, sven.volkens@wikipedia.de, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Trugoy the Dove, one-third of the influential hip-hop group De La Soul, has died at the age of 54.

The news was confirmed by a representative of the group after first being reported by AllHipHop.

While no official cause of death has been announced. Trugoy, also known as Dave and Plug Two, was open about his struggles with congestive heart failure in recent years.

De La Soul fought to get the rights to their music back for so many years. Just when they do, Trugoy the Dove aka Dave passes. De La Soul was an innovative force of creativity that changed the perception of what “rap” could be. A true pioneer and legend 🙏 Thank you, Plug 2. pic.twitter.com/Wr3vtWKU1s

— Eric Schwartz (@ericschwartz) February 12, 2023

In the "Royalty Capes" video by De La Soul, Trugoy, whose passion for music and performing never waned despite his medical woes, spoke of his love for the stage, saying, "I miss that. I love traveling. I love being around my guys and I want that back."

Born David Jude Jolicoeur, Trugoy formed De La Soul in 1988 alongside his high school friends, rappers Posdnuos and Maseo in Long Island, New York.

The group's Prince Paul-produced debut album, "3 Feet High and Rising," was released in 1989 and solidified De La Soul as one of the genre's most influential groups.

Trugoy was notably absent from the recent Grammy's hip-hop tribute performance by the group.

Quality Control Music, home of Migos, Lil Baby and City Girls, Sold to Korean Music Giant HYBE in $300 Million Deal

Photo credit: Eric Ray Davidson

Pictured (from L-R): HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk, QC CEO Pierre "P" Thomas, QC COO Kevin "Coach K" Lee and HYBE America CEO Scooter Braun. 

Quality Control Music, the Atlanta-based record label that is home to chart-topping artists Migos, Lil

Baby and City Girls, has been acquired by South Korean Music company HYBE in a deal worth $300 million.

HYBE America shared the news on Wednesday, and while the company did not mention numbers in its announcement, a filing with Korean regulators indicates the company is paying a $250 million purchase price for the company and issuing $50 million in new stock to its founders Kevin "Coach K" Lee and Pierre "P" Thomas.

"HYBE are perfect partners for Quality Control as we come together to take our story and work global," Thomas, CEO of Quality Control said. "This partnership will create a global platform for our artists, which has been our goal since day one for them."

HYBE America is led by Scooter Braun, who has played integral roles in launching the careers of several pop and hip-hop stars, including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. The move marks his first as CEO for the company, established in 2005 as Big Hit Entertainment, which is home to some of K-pop’s biggest acts including international superstars BTS.

Braun called Quality Control "one of the most significant independent labels in the world" and implied that the label would have some autonomy under the new arrangement.

"It's important to my team and me that P and Coach continue to have the freedom, and now our global resources, to continue to do what they do best," he said.

Quality Control Co-Founder and COO, Lee, who said he and Braun have cultivated real trust and a common way of looking at the world and culture over the years, added, "P and I are ecstatic about this partnership with Scooter and HYBE and are confident they can get us to our global ambitions we've had in our scope since the beginning of our company as nothing means more than our artists impacting world-wide."