Diddy took to Twitter and shared that he pays singer, Sting $5,000 for sampling his 1983 hit “Every Breath You Take” without his permission. Diddy used the sample for his 1997 Notorious B.I.G. tribute “I’ll Be Missing You.”
Rap mogul Diddy recently revealed that he pays legendary new wave rock singer and The Police’s frontman Sting — $5,000 a day in royalties for sampling his 1983 hit, “Every Breath You Take” to make his own 1997 tribute to the late Notorious B.I.G., with “I’ll Be Missing You.”
Diddy responded on Twitter to a resurfaced 2018 clip of Sting’s interview on The Breakfast Club featuring host Charlamagne Tha God asking Sting to confirm if Diddy paid him $2,000 a day for sampling his song without his permission.
“For the rest of his life,” Sting jokingly said in the clip.
Diddy quoted the tweet and clarified it was $5,000 daily:
“Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!” Diddy wrote.
Sting also said Diddy asked permission to use the sample after “I’ll Be Missing You” was released and that he and Diddy are good friends.
The song, featuring 90s R&B star Faith Evans and 112, was a tribute to the late rap legend, The Notorious B.I.G, who died on March 9, 1997.
Roddy, Young Thug, Lil Uzi & Others Who Faced Lawsuits
While Diddy and Sting are friends, there are a few hip-hop artists that have gotten hit with lawsuits. Artists who were hit with copyright infringements include Kanye West for using illegal copyright in his 2021 song “Life Of The Party” with Andre 3000.
In addition, Roddy Ricch was sued for not giving singer Greg Perry credit for his 2018 hit “The Box.” Perry alleges Ricch duplicated his 1975 song “Come On Down(Get Your Head Out Of The Clouds).”
Rapper Young Thug, Gunna, and Lil Uzi Vert were sued by publishing company Sun City for using the Memphis rapper’s 1995 song “Dem Da Lights” as a sample for their 2020 song “Strawberry Peels.” Sun City owned the rights to the song.
Diddy Enters The Race To Purchase Majority Stake In BET Networks
Diddy entered the race to bid for BET Networks, along with Tyler Perry and Byron Allen from Paramount. The rapper-turned-business mogul already owns many brands such as Revolt TV and Bad Boy Records.