I Am King

As you may have noticed, I enjoy being a fan. Not a groupie, mind you. I find nothing more annoying than someone droning on and on about a perfect stranger and their greatness based on a carefully constructed persona. Groupieism, at its worse, is nothing more than acceptable obsessiveness, i.e., possible stalker.

But, I do enjoy being a fan. I like cheering for folks while watching their careers blossom. I often look at it from a managers perspective - if Gabrielle Union was my client, how much would I actually have been able to get the studios to play her for the role in Daddy's Little Girl. What about Idris? How much did they pay him, and how much more could I have gotten him? Where is Nia Long and why were she and Gabrielle the only leading starlets for so long? These are the types of thoughts I have.

But, then there is Puff. Despite the name changes, P. Diddy I believe being the last one, he will always be Puff to me. And there is something so familiar about his energy that I like to see him succeed, even when I complain about the artist depleting label that is Bad Boy. Puff is an entity unto himself. And, what I think I love most about Puff is that he is a fan of the music. A lover of hip hop. So his exaggerated persona keeps money in his pocket, but, at the end of the day, the man works hard and seems to love hard (his work and life anyway, I have no idea why we keep hearing about all his baby mama drama).

What I have found amazing about him lately is his genuine affection of Barack OBama. While we were all touched, Puffy seemed to take it to heart. He did Bill Maher and radio, and his excitement was undeniable. Here was Puffy, someone who did everything they said a black man could never do, visibly in admiration of Barack. Because, at the end of the day, despite how many gains we made, Barack shattered a glass ceiling that was invisible, but certainly there.

Now Puffy is at it again. A new scent - I Am King. A new advertising promo, of black man greatness, i think? And Puffy is excited, energized, hearing the OBama call and answering it in his unique, open market and raking in the dividends, way. Either way, I enjoyed the clip below, and decided that I would share with you:

Diddy Blog 35: "I Am King" Mini-Movie