What's in a Name?

Steve West | May 21, 2011
Apparently, to Sean Combs, names are temporary labels at best. His name this week has changed from Squiddly Diddly something to Swag. After all the name changes he's been through a more suitable name could be Sean "Identity Crisis" Combs. Seriously, I don't know of anyone who has had so many monickers in so short a period. Sadly, his ultimate nickname may be Sean "Once Was" Combs and the typical response will be, "Who?"

Scott Hardie | June 12, 2011
I thought that was already the case. He's trying to publicize a new album and attempted comeback, so he goes back to the old name-change well knowing that it's guaranteed to bring him at least a little attention, even if it's negative. Too bad for him that it doesn't seem to have accomplished much. You have to go to extremes to command attention as a performing artist these days; ask Lady Gaga. At least Combs's other old cheap-attention trick, riding the coattails of Notorious B.I.G., finally seems to have been retired.

Tony Peters | June 12, 2011
I can say with some certainty that I have never heard any of his music....I thought this claim to fame was dating J Lo

Jon Berry | June 12, 2011
A big chunk of his fame was helping "discover" Biggie Smalls.

Scott Hardie | June 13, 2011
He was pretty successful as a producer, but when he stepped up to the mic himself, he relied heavily on samples, guest appearances, shout-outs to B.I.G., and cartoony videos rather than actual talent. What is arguably his most famous song is actually a Notorious B.I.G. song that he merely appears in, which is kind of a moot point because roughly half of its running time is a Diana Ross sample on loop. The Onion pretty much summed him up. Combs's contribution to music was limited, but his contribution to late-night talk-show monologues lives on.

Jon Berry | June 13, 2011
He's also pretty famous for Bad Boys for Life xD

Scott Hardie | June 13, 2011
Watching some of Combs's old videos, I'm struck by how slow his rapping is, another unflattering indication of his lack of talent. The guests try to speed it up a little bit, but they're held up by the slow beat, as if his absence of skill is a common denominator that brings everybody down to his level (this is debatable for Ma$e). I guess not everybody can rap as fast as Busta Rhymes, who starred in commercials for Micro Machines in another life.

Jon Berry | June 13, 2011
For my money, the best rappers nowadays are Nas and MF Doom. Someone needeth simply hear a track from Hip Hop is Dead to hear the huge leap in quality from someone like Diddy, 50 Cent, or these new artists.

Immortal Technique is good too, but I'm still a little scarred by his lyrical material.

Tony Peters | June 13, 2011
other than some of the early guys the only Rapper I've ever really liked was Marshall Mathers....