Gerrard Kaonga
Rumors within the hip-hip community are nothing new, but Diddy has addressed one of the most interesting surrounding him - that he pays UK artist Sting $5,000 a day.
Puffy, Diddy, P-Diddy, Poppa Diddy Pop... whatever you call the hip hop legend, the man has never managed to escape all the rumors involving him that have circulated over the decades.
Diddy's (real name Sean Combs) finances have always been a point of interest as he is the second wealthiest hip-hop artist in North America after reaching billionaire status in 2022, second only to Jay-Z.
Now, why would the music icon be forced to pay Sting $5,000 a day for the rest of his life? Well first we have to jump back to 1997.
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Following the death of his friend and fellow legend The Notorious B.I.G., Diddy spiralled into a depressive state but came back with the hit song 'I'll Be Missing You'.
This song sampled the 1983 single by The Police, 'Every Breath You Take', of which Sting (real name Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) was the front man.
Without asking for permission to use the sample ahead of releasing the song, Diddy was forced to pay royalties.
Earlier this year, a 2018 interview from The Breakfast Club began circulating on social media where Sting was asked by radio host Charlamagne the God about the royalty payments.
"Is it true that Diddy has to pay you USD $2,000 (AUD $2,986) because he didn't ask permission to sample 'Every Breath You Take'."
The former The Police bandmate responded: "Yep, for the rest of his life," before going on to add that there was no bad blood and the pair remain good friends.
Responding to this clip on X, Diddy corrected Sting on the number, much to the surprise of social media users.
He tweeted: "Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!"
Internet sleuths turned to their calculators and estimated Diddy had paid Sting roughly $47.5 million, a pretty penny even if you are a billionaire.
However, only days later, Diddy stunned X users again by backtracking and claiming he was being facetious.
"I want y’all to understand I was joking!" wrote the 54-year-old. "It’s called being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time!
"He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for 'Missing You'. He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history."
Which, in all honesty, only sparks more questions as to why either would lie or joke about this.
Bizarre but hey, that's showbiz.