Legendary music producer Quincy Jones saw through Diddy more than a decade ago – as revealed in his scathing review of the rapper’s musical abilities in 2012.
Jones, who died at the age of 91 on Sunday night, didn’t fall for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ bravado and was not afraid of expressing it either.
The music titan slammed Diddy at a Spotify launch event during a conversation with Bruno Mars and audience members in June 2012, saying the rape-accused rapper ‘wouldn’t know a B-flat’ if it hit him.
Instead, according to Jones, ‘P. Diddy has a doctorate in marketing…. He’s got clothes companies and Ciroc vodka’ while adding that artists should ‘learn your craft’.
Jones is famed for producing Michael Jackson‘s Thriller album and collaborating with artists including Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles during his storied career.
His publicist Arnold Robinson said he passed away Sunday night surrounded by his family at his home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles, California. No cause of death was given.
Jones’s family – which includes his actress-daughter Rashida Jones, who played Karen Filippelli in The Office – said in a statement: ‘Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing.
‘And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.’
Along with Rashida, Jones – known to friends as ‘Q’ – is survived by daughters Jolie Jones Levine, Rachel Jones, Martina Jones, Kidada Jones and Kenya Kinski-Jones; son Quincy Jones III; brother Richard Jones and sisters Theresa Frank and Margie Jay.
Jones’s final Instagram post yesterday wished his daughter Martina ‘Tina’ a happy birthday, and featured a photograph of the two smiling together. It said: ‘Happy Birthday to my Tina Beena! So proud to be yo papa! Big hug, I love you eternally.’
Meanwhile, Diddy is spending his 55th birthday behind bars at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center.
The rapper, who is awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, is also due in federal court later on Monday.
The New York Post reports that Diddy will be given a choice of cheese pizza, salad or pasta today for lunch.
That’s what’s on the menu at the prison, where feds seized drugs and phones last week as part of a ‘multi-agency’ operation that they insist is not tied to his high profile case.
Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, insists he is wrongfully accused.
He maintains that while sordid, the ‘freak off’ parties that prosecutors want to send him down for were all consensual.
Dozens of women have come forward to insist that was not the case.
He has also been accused by grand jury witnesses of abusing young stars, though no such claims have been substantiated.
Last week, witness Courtney Burgess went public with his claims that he had seen tapes of Diddy ‘victimizing’ at least eight celebrities.
He claims the videos came from a flash drive owned by Diddy’s ex, the late Kim Porter, who’d obtained the footage from hidden cameras in the rapper’s home.
Burgess appeared on NewsNation’s Banfield to testify about what he’d seen.
It remains unclear if the grand jury has seen the footage, or just heard about it.
The rapper’s family, including his sons, are steadfast in their support of him.
They insist he is being targeted by biased prosecutors.
Diddy’s unraveling began when a disturbing video emerged last year that showed him beating his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.
He was seen chasing her down the hallway as she tried to escape him, kicking her and pulling her hair to stop her from fleeing.
He apologized for the undeniable footage in a video statement, but says that’s as far as his bad behavior goes.
