Diddy Was Inspired by Kendrick Lamar to Re-Release ‘MMM’

Diddy, the revered rapper, producer and founder of Bad Boy Records, is re-releasing MMM, his November mixtape, as an album available for sale today (Dec. 18). While it’s a move that comes with considerable precedent, the New York mogul cited one Los Angeles-bred artist as the chief inspiration: Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar.

“I heard about the effect that Kendrick [Lamar] had when he let everybody hear his album for a week for free before they could buy it,” Diddy told the Associated Press. “It just shows that if it’s quality, people have a demand for it.”

Diddy is referring to Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album To Pimp a Butterfly, which Interscope rolled out this March with a bait-and-switch of sorts at the iTunes store. A clean version of the album was made available to stream and download over a week before its intended street date, just as a pre-order link for the explicit version began to be circulated.

The strategy worked: To Pimp a Butterfly has sold more than 750,000 copies in the U.S. alone, despite little support from radio. (Last year’s Isley Brothers-sampling lead single, “i,” stalled and never cracked the top 30, while “Alright,” which became a protest anthem this summer, topped out at #81.)

MMM was originally dubbed a mixtape, which was to serve as a prequel for No Way Out 2, the sequel to Diddy’s 1997 debut and, he claims, his final album as a recording artist. To help complete that record, he has re-assembled his storied production team, the Hitmen.