Diddy Talks About Keeping “American Gangster” a Secret

Sean “Diddy” Combs, who helped record Jay-Z’s “American Gangster” album, says that keeping the album under wraps, was more fun than stressful.

Diddy tells MTV News, "It was kind of fun, the whole secret sh—. At that  time, we didn’t even have time to tell people."

"Making that album was one of the best music experiences I ever had. Just the momentum and the vibe was dope. What added to it was that nobody knew what was going on. Just us all in two studios, Daddy’s House and Roc the Mic, going back and forth. We’d do beats and send them to him. And it was just this secrecy thing going on. We’d go record shopping, get sh–, bring it back, loop sh– up, chop sh– up. He’d walk in the room while we’re doing something and would be like, ‘Oh, sh–, I need that now.’

He adds that everything turned out to be unbelievably good. "Everybody at that time was on fire. I can’t explain it much. It was definitely a zone. It was like everything we put in the machine came out crazy."

More after the jump!

Bonsu Thompson, XXL magazine editor said, "I think after Kingdom Come, Jay was at the least-favorable moment of his career. He was rapping like an executive. And people still wanted Jay-Z the Brooklyn hustler. That’s what the beauty of American Gangster was.

The man continues by saying, “He actually got back to his roots. Number one, everybody loves a comeback. You get that with the Oscars [all the time]. So if Jay-Z, knowing that he was a little bit out of favor with the kids, and for him to come back and really give his core and the young’uns some really good music, I take my hat off to the [Grammy board] for giving him [the nod]. Because it was a very nutritious album."

Much agreed! That album was great! He put a lot into “American Gangster.” What’s your favorite Jay-Z solo album?

Image: Bauer-Griffin