Earn Your Leisure Podcast Archives

Diddy Says He Was “Always Fighting For Ciroc Not To Be Pigeonholed”

September 7, 2023 by newhiphopnews

During a recent interview with Earn Your Leisure, Diddy discussed the success of Ciroc. He recalled telling Diageo that he wanted to turn Ciroc around, sharing that he didn’t want it to be “pigeonholed.” He also explained how that happened to him previously with Sean John, and he was hoping not to go through it again. Unfortunately, Diddy eventually wound up suing Diageo in May, for allegedly failing to properly market the vodka.

“I was called to have a meeting with Diageo,” Diddy began. “They knew that I was kind of killing things in the culture and they were trying to fix their diversity problem and through that, a meeting was set up.” He went on, “I told them, you know, ‘I want to be an owner and that I have these ideas from promoting parties at Howard’ – just remembering that I would always get the door and never get the bar. So I said: ‘I have aspirations to have Black-owned brands owned by Black people behind the bar and a part of your organization.’“

Diddy Describes Turning Ciroc Around

“I’m looking at their portfolio and they said we could start something from scratch,” Diddy then explained. “But I’m looking at their portfolio and I remember one night I was having a great, great time with Ciroc. I had some Ciroc, it was made by grapes and I remember the light bulb went off in my head. I said: ‘I don’t want to wait and develop nothing. Let me show you what I could do with Ciroc. Let me show you how I could turn your revenue around.’”

“They were losing $40 million a year,” Diddy also revealed. “I went and turned it around and took it to 2.6 million cases from 40,000 cases. This is something that’s never been done! And so 15 years later, even though I had that success, I was always fighting for Ciroc not to be pigeonholed – not to be pigeonholed as a Black brand, not to be pigeonholed as an urban brand. I already went through that!” He then went on to share how he was pigeonholed with his brand Sean John. “So with Ciroc, it was the same thing getting into the spirits industry. No matter what industry I went into, I always came up against this ceiling that they just wanted to keep me in the color section.” Keep an eye on HNHH for more updates on Diddy.

[Via]

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Snoop Dogg Says Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline” Is The Best Diss Song

May 27, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Snoop Dogg agreed with Ice Cube’s recent take that “No Vaseline” is the greatest diss song of all time. When Cube fired off the take during an appearance on the Earn Your Leisure podcast, Snoop shared his agreement on social media.

“Hands down he does,” Snoop wrote. “Nothing comes close.” DJ Tony Neal of the Core DJs collective also agreed: “Nothing close except for ‘Hit ‘Em Up.’” Even Ice Cube admitted that “Hit ‘Em Up” is among the greatest of all time during his original comments.

Snoop Dogg Performs With Ice Cube

INDIO, CA – APRIL 16: Rappers Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube perform onstage during day 2 of the 2016 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Weekend 1 at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2016 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

The legendary N.W.A. rapper initially said on the podcast that “No Vaseline” is “the top battle song ever” and “it’s not even close.” Although, he did note songs by 2Pac, Nas, Boogie Down Productions, and Kool Moe Dee. “I mean, I would go with, you know, ‘Hit ‘Em Up’ is a good one,” he said. “‘Ether’ is dope. I would go with ‘The Bridge Is Over,’ and I don’t know, I think I gotta go with ‘Let’s Go.’”

Ice Cube dropped “No Vaseline” back in 1991 amid a feud with his former group, N.W.A. With the lyrics, he targets his ex-bandmates as well as their manager, Jerry Heller.

Snoop Dogg Agrees With Ice Cube

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Cube previously discussed the making of “No Vaseline” during an interview on The Breakfast Club in 2014, as noted by HipHopDX. He recalled N.W.A. taking the first shots. “So, for them to diss me on they EP, 100 Miles and Runnin’, I kinda threw a little jab with ‘Jackin for Beats’ at the end,” he explained. “And then they came with another couple of little disses. I said, ‘Okay, man, I’m tired of this. I’ma end this real quick. We gon’ set it all the way off.’ So that’s when I wrote ‘No Vaseline,’ recorded it. I put it on that ‘Cinderfella’ track, that Dana Dane track… we flipped it and it became a smash.”

[Via]

Irv Gotti Deems Cash Money The Greatest Hip Hop Label

December 8, 2022 by newhiphopnews

Murder Inc’s impact on the Golden Era of Hip Hop is unmatched, but label head Irv Gotti places another collective as the greatest of the genre. Gotti helped carve out the careers of artists like Ja Rule and Ashanti; however, Cash Money Records was also a leading force with an impact that continues to reverberate through all of music culture.

While visiting the Earn Your Leisure podcast, Gotti spoke on Hip Hop labels, noting their rosters and catalogs. A host questioned if Birdman was “the best that ever did it.” Irv said yes.