When you’re a hip hop legend like Diddy, it doesn’t take much to make a splash, but when he announced his new project The Love Album: Off The Grid had a heavy roster of some of the most influential hip hop, rap and R&B artists which includes Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Teyana Taylor and more, the impact was felt like seismic waves.
“It was me making my dream list,” Diddy exclusively told Culted. Sean Combs, the hip hop artist better known as Diddy (but also went by Puff before switching it up to Puff Daddy, and then P, Diddy before landing on simply Diddy), came to more than a few full circle moments while making this album. Another One Of Me, the catchy and sensual single featuring 21 Savage, French Montana and The Weeknd, was made 8 years ago.
“The Love Album is gonna be the Superbowl of R&B.”
There’s a blend of old school and new generation artists on this album, tying up two ends together in a celebration of what connects all of them together: the love of music. “With Mary J. Blige it’s returning that OG hip hop soul sound,” he explains. Then there are names like Justin Bieber on the album, bringing in a fresh new take on the genre. “Me and Justin’s relationship goes back to when he was singing on the streets with his guitar, so everything is full circle.”
Before this new album, Diddy hadn’t released a solo body of work in over a decade. It would take a divine intervention to bring him back to music. “God blessed me with that call one day [and] She was like “The time is now” – yes, according to Diddy, God is a woman. After that call, Diddy knew what he had to do: go off the grid to fully immerse himself into his creativity.
“It’s like date night on steroids [and] I just needed the soundtrack for it.”
What Diddy had set himself up to achieve with The Love Album was no easy feat, but when an idea came to him, his mind was set – “The Love Album is gonna be the Superbowl of R&B.” Call it the Superbowl, the Met or the Oscars, either way, this album marks a monumental moment not only in Diddy’s career, but in music history as well.
As the title of the album suggests, it’s a love story and R&B is the main character. “It’s definitely made from love, and with love,” he tells us, “It’s not about any ego [or] any sales. It’s about the impact on the way it makes you feel.” To that, Diddy has a clear vision of how it should make you feel. “It’s like date night on steroids [and] I just needed the soundtrack for it.”
It wasn’t just his own love of the genre that motivated Diddy to make this album. He served a higher purpose and a bigger cause, acting as a “unifier, bringing people together.” The Love Album: Off The Grid is really for the people. “A lot of people miss R&B that they can make love to, a lot of people miss R&B that they can dance to, and that’s what I specialise in,” he tells us.
“The red light was a mood and a frequency that I was in and a frequency you could take yourself in.”
The fiery passion that accompanies R&B and most certainly this album can be seen echoed through the album’s cover – a flaming hot red square with Diddy appearing shirtless, far off in the distance. This colour red is more than just an easily understood connotation of passion, but almost a collaborator of Diddy’s.
It accompanied him during the time he went off the grid to make this album. “I was in a time of my life where I was playing with light art,” he says, which ultimately ended up being “the colour of the music that I made” which was “in this love red hue.” Red was to Diddy and continues to be to his listeners all-engulfing. “The red light was a mood and a frequency that I was in and a frequency you could take yourself in.”
The Love Album: Off The Grid by Diddy is now available to stream on all major platforms.
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