Diddy almost signed 50 Cent to Bad Boy, but changed his mind

Yayo revealed this as he recalled a meeting between Diddy, 50 Cent and himself in the early 2000s when 50 Cent was the hottest prospect in rap.

“A lot of people don’t know this story,” Yayo revealed. “50 went to Diddy for Bad Boy. A lot of people don’t know that. We had the meeting. And it was so crazy that Diddy didn’t sign him – I know that was one of the biggest mistakes of Bad Boy. And you know, the [Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff] situation — a lot of people were scared of Preme — 50 wasn’t.”

Diddy’s about-face

Yayo claims that 50 Cent and G-Unit’s rivalries in the music industry and on the streets made Diddy think twice about signing 50 Cent, not wanting another Notorious B.I.G-like artist on his books who might have been killed in the same way.

“He was like, ‘Yeah, we can’t sign you, playboy,” Yayo said of Diddy’s decision. “It’s too much. It’s too much drama with the Biggie stuff and all that.’”

Yayo added, “We had a meeting with Diddy, it was me and 50, and he took the meeting out of respect.”

Yayo says this meeting happened in 2002, after the attempt on 50 Cent’s life in 2000.

“This was after ‘How to Rob,’ just after he got shot and he had all the mixtapes shit on smash. D-Dot was working with 50 on ‘How to Rob.’”

Tony Yayo Pulse

Three things a rapper must have

Yayo says Diddy, whom 50 Cent had ghost-written for in the past, advised 50 Cent on three things every rap star must have.

“50 wrote for Diddy before, way back, it might have been [G-Dep’s ‘Let’s Get It’], one of those joints,” Yayo said.

“What I’m saying is, out that meeting, [Diddy] said, ‘Three things about rappers: bank accounts, bitches and Bentleys.’ We didn’t have any money at that point, but it stayed in my head. And later on, I had what he said. I had bank accounts, bitches and Bentleys. And that makes you a target. I’ve been shot at numerous times, but I say those prayers before I leave the house.”

50 Cent eventually signed with Shady Records and released his multiplatinum debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin‘, in 2003. It was the best-selling album of 2003, selling 12 million copies worldwide by the end of the year. It remains 50 Cent's best-selling album, with certified sales of 9 million copies in the United States, and is the tenth best-selling hip hop album in the country.