That’s right. Diddy’s verse from the hit song “Tell Me” from Press Play was written by Mr. Ryan Montgomery. Yes, the same track with Christina Aguilera that’s been all over Billboard. Don’t be surprised. What, you thought Diddy came up with that flow?
Fans have been wanting to see Royce Da 5′9″ successfully cross-over into the commercial realm of hip hop ever since The Source proclaimed him as “The complete MC”. Core fans have been mostly disappointed though in his crossover attempts but this shows Royce does have the writing ability to make it happen. You don’t get hand-picked to write for Dr. Dre and Diddy and not have an exceptional ability.
Hip Hop Game asked Royce about writing for Diddy in a recent interview.
What was it like writing for Puffy on Press Play?
It was one of those experiences that was a blessing. I put working with Puff right up there with working with Dre because you learn so much. You learn work ethic. Those dudes were looking at me like I had a strong work ethic. Puff’s follow-through is sick. I must have written 50 verses for the “Tell Me” record. That’s not even counting the other records. The average person would sit there and complain, but when you see the way that Diddy works, it’s an around the clock thing. He has three rooms working at once. You look at that and you say, “Now I see why this nigga’s so rich. He doesn’t stop. He’s like a fucking machine. What’s driving him to be this way?”
It makes me say, “I should be this way. I was out drinking last night and this motherfucker was in the studio. I’m complaining about why his chain is nicer and what makes his music so special.” It’s because he started ten to fifteen years ago and he has not stopped since. That’s my thing.
I tell myself every day that when I’m not hearing my wheels turning in my head, that’s when I know I’m not focused. I don’t have to be focused to do my job. I realize that. I can be drinking every night and going back and forth to the studio and taking the risk of driving home drunk and still make dope records. That’s not enough. Along with that shit comes the hoops that I have to jump through. Mentally, I can’t jump through no hoops anymore. I have to get to the level I know I should be at. I’ve wasted a lot of years fucking around. That’s what I learned being around those dudes. They walk in the room, you see how they operate and you know they know what they’re supposed to be doing.
I spoke to Pharoahe Monch about his experience with Diddy. He said his work ethic completely changed through working with Diddy. Did your work ethic change working on Press Play?
Yeah. My work ethic is going to be way different from now on. I’ve never lacked as far as spending time in the studio. It’s just how my days go. If I go out one night and get drunk and I’m in the studio the next day, I’m still feeling the shit from last night. I’m not as sharp as I could be. I’m working in a job where I need to use my mind, but I’m fucking with my mind doing other things that I feel are fun. I come up with my best shit when I’m focused around the clock. I’m sharp. When I’m sharp, I don’t think anybody can fuck with me. Any hindrance there is me hindering myself. If I can perform to my highest capabilities, I don’t think I can be touched. I’m not there right now. I haven’t shown enough in my actions to claim that right now. That’s something I’ve kept to myself, but you’re going to see.
Did writing for Diddy improve your writing ability for your own records?
Yeah, it did because it taught me not to settle for something just because I wrote it and I feel it’s dope. I would give Diddy what I would give myself if that’s what he wanted. I want to give him my best shit. I feel like him giving me the opportunity is a blessing and all I know how to give is my all. When I go in with an artist of his caliber, I’m competing with every other artist who’s ever wrote for him. I’ve heard what Nas, Jay-Z and Pharoahe Monch wrote for him. I wanted to compete with that. He wanted me to write on that single, which I was more than happy to do, but I was hoping he would throw me one of those darker beats because that’s the level that I love rhyming on. That’s why I would talk to Nas because mentally, we’re in the same place.
Is it ever hard writing for somebody else?
No. It’s not hard at all. Diddy sat me down and said, I’ll never forget this, he said he likes the melodies I use on my songs. I call it my flow, he calls it my melodies. He likes that. He said it sounds like an instrument. That’s how I came up with the flow for “Tell Me”. I tried to come up with a distinctive flow. Something that was different. The beat and hook were already there. I think with the first verse, it was mission accomplished. People still say, to this day, “Who wrote that joint”? It’s not the most lyrical joint because it’s a radio-ready record, but that flow is unmatched and he did a damn-good job delivering.
Even though you’re not rapping on the track, it’s got to feel good seeing a song like “Tell Me” do well.
It feels real good. It feels real good. It makes me feel like I’m still significant. Sometimes you get those feelings like, Damn, man, did I fuck it up? Especially after that whole Em shit passed. I was asking myself, “Did I fuck it up? Am I going to get another go-round?”. All you can do is keep moving forward and eventually the good things will fall in your lap again. That’s why I’m glad that something this fucked up is happening to me because something that much better will come on top of it and drown it out. I’ll look back and laugh on it.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...Related Content:
39705 Blog Verification | 08-Mar-07 at 2:26 am | Permalink
39705 Blog Verification…
39705…
Detroit Hip Hop :: Jay-Z doesn’t like the competition | 29-Mar-07 at 2:48 pm | Permalink
[…] board to executive produce his album. Nas has flirted with signing him. Even Diddy decided he could use a verse. Jay Dee, Alchemist, Pharrell, Just Blaze and Track Masters have all worked with him on more than […]