Entertainment mogul, Sean John Combs, professionally known as Diddy aka Love, has been forced to pay musician and actor, Sting £4,020 ($5,000) each day for the rest of his life and quite shockingly doesn’t mind.
The billionaire Hip- Hop legend was forced to pay the ongoing fee after sampling one of Sting’s tracks without permission in 1997.
The sample in question was taken from The Police’s hit 1983 single, ‘Every Breath You Take’, which Diddy used in one of his most famous tracks, ‘I’ll Be Missing You”.
He confirmed the hefty fees on Twitter after a 2018 Sting interview re-surfaced.
Sting who was the front man, songwriter and bassist for new wave rock band The Police from 1977 until their breakup in 1986, originally discussed the subject when speaking with ‘The Breakfast Club’ five years ago.
In the video, radio host Charlamagne the God asked the frontman: “Is it true that Diddy has to pay you USD $2,000 (£1,608) because he didn’t ask permission to sample ‘Every Breath You Take’?” To which the 71-year-old former Police member simply replied: “Yep, for the rest of his life.”
Sting, real name Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner also stated that the R&B icon did ask him for permission to sample the track, but only after he had already released the song.
Following the clip of Sting re-emerging on social media, Diddy took to Twitter to not only confirm the statement but also correct the musician on the actual amount he is expected to pay.
“Nope. 5K a day,” he wrote, adding: “Love to my brother @OfficialSting!”
Diddy, wrote ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ as a tribute to his longtime friend Christopher ‘The Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace.
Previously discussing his inspiration to write the song, the musician said that he was contemplating quitting the profession after hearing of the passing, however, was motivated after hearing ‘The Police’ song.
“I was ready to quit; I wasn’t gonna put out any more records. Then I was watching TV one day, you know, one of those times of despair where nobody is around, and you’re like crying on the floor,” he said.
“Then I just heard ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police. I just took it as a sign.
“Sometimes you just need that little bit of light to be able to express yourself.”
Source: thenationonlineng
