Can I get some?

Diddy, Diddy, Diddy. Man, I want to be like you when I grow up.

That whole multi-million dollar hip hop empire is a good look. But that's not why I want to be like you.

I want people to blow smoke up my ass and tell me how great my books are even if in the back of their mind they're thinking - Chick is trippin'. This book is not all that!

I mean what do I care if my books are any good as long as people buy them. Right?

Note the sarcasm.

I have a serious love/hate thing going with Diddy. He's a young-ish (he's my age and I cringe at still referring to my thirty-something self as young) hip-hop entrepreneur doing his thing.

He created Bad Boy and Sean John, turned them into internationally known brands and has now branched off to fragrances.

And while he didn't create the re-mix, he certainly was the originator of both hollering "This is the re-mix," and heavily sampling hot tracks to make a newer hot track.

To boot, Diddy has had some serious talent in his stable. Biggie, Craig Mack, Total, Mase - all hit makers. Longevity? No. And I blame that primarily on Diddy. But that's a rant for a different post.

Despite their short-lived success, all of them spun a hot track into the musicsphere(or in Biggie's case a few dozen) under Diddy's tutelage.

Diddy's contributions to pop culture and his abilities to put the flash in an artists' track aren't up for debate, here. The quality of his music AND the mysterious motivation behind VJs and DJs alike to blow up a Diddy track, despite the music's solid mediocreness, is.

No matter how hard I try to blow it off, I can't help being annoyed when people overstate the quality of Diddy's music.

Are they getting his music confused with his prowess for producing hot tracks for others? Are they taking it easy on him because his golden touch extends beyond music and thus it's best to tip-toe around the things he doesn't do quite as well?

What am I missing?

Let's sketch out the facts:

Diddy's never claimed to be a vocalist...or even a rapper. He knows better.

His claim to musical fame is making people dance.

Okay, I'm with it, so far. I've shaken my butt to a few Diddy tracks. Come to Me, off his latest CD, Press Play, isn't bad. Rump shaker-worthy, no doubt.

Here's where I get lost...I've heard a few other joints off the CD and I'm telling you - it's not all that. Is one hot dance track enough to send a CD platinum or gold?

If so, I'm telling you, I have chosen the wrong profession!

Hear what I'm saying - I am not blaming people for buying Diddy's CDs. To each his own and all that blah. If you like Diddy's music enough to buy it, cool.

My beef is with the industry people. The tastemakers as it were. VJs, and DJs who beat their chops about who's hot and who's not.

We all know how subjective hotness is. But we're also more likely to take a closer look at a product if someone we "trust" gives it their hotness stamp.

Why P, are you ranting? Poor Diddy is just trying to build some buzz and move some units when the album drops.

But, I can't help it. This morning, Diddy was in the studio with Donnie Simpson of WPGC and Donnie was blowing Diddy up like his stuff was golden.

No, I don't expect Donnie to be like, Dude, this track is wack. But did he have to gush?

And I swear, I'm not hating. I told you, I'm from the live and let live school when it comes to music. But I hate when radio (or TV) forces something to be what it's not.

WPGC played three tracks and Donnie ramped up his review with every single. It went from "that's hot," to "Man, that last track was amazing."

The track with Christina Aguilera - generic and not a butt-moving groove at all. Even Xtina's sultry vocals didn't boost the song's playability.

Track 12, Something Special, was aiight, mainly because it samples Prince. But it wasn't "amazing".

On one hand, I can't be mad at Diddy. This is his fifth or sixth album in ten years. He's doing something right.

On the other hand, with the sea of aspiring music artists ever swelling, it's always hard to watch one boat sail so successfully while so many others sink into the abyss.

The publishing industry is no different.

Some of us writers will sail comfortably in a private Bay of loyal readers. Some of us will sink to the depths of Davey Jones' locker and some of us will find a readership as vast as the ocean is deep.

Ain't art a bitch?