King Combs on His Legacy and How He & His Father, Diddy, are Making History Together
Check out the rapper’s exclusive conversation about his music, father and more with Swaggy Sie of Hip Hop Nation.
King Combs joined Swaggy Sie to share how he linked with Kodak Black on “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” how he is building his own personal legacy, and what’s to come. SoundCheks are a Hip Hop Nation (Ch. 44) series that highlight artists’ new projects and puts them center stage to perform their music. We connected with King Combs about what he plans on doing for the next generation of hip-hop.
The interview below has been edited for clarity and length.
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Swaggy Sie: You been so busy, and I want to say congratulations on everything you have done. How has this wave been for you?
King Combs: Thank you. You know I got my new single, “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” out right now. The people are loving it. We were number one on the most used sounds and stuff like that.
Swaggy Sie: You’ve been doing fashion shows, you’ve been at homecomings, you hit up the BET Hip Hop awards, so it is definitely giving “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.” The BET Awards was your first time performing at an award show. What was that like for you?
King Combs: That was crazy, I’m not gonna lie. It was a surreal moment. I’m used to going with my pops, which is a blessing, but to be there to perform by myself was dope. I always envisioned myself doing that.
Swaggy Sie: You’re no stranger to stardom and the cameras. Were you nervous at all?
King Combs: I’m not gonna lie, usually I don’t get nervous, but this time I was nervous. I was like aw, man this The BET Awards! We on the main stage, this is crazy. It was like excitement, you know? I been wanting to do it.
Swaggy Sie: How do you deal with those nerves when it happens?
King Combs: You know, I just stay prayed up. I pray to God. I just like to dance it off and just vibe.
Swaggy Sie: You’ve been in the studio, I’ve been hearing something is getting cooked up. What’s going on? A new project?
King Combs: New heat is beeing cooked up. A new project is about to drop soon. Stay tuned. We are going to drop some singles before that.
Swaggy Sie: Do you feel like the singles are the wave right now?
King Combs: Yeah singles are definitely the wave, but I’m definitely excited for the fans to hear my project though. I feel like that’s something I am going to be proud of when they finally get to hear that.
Swaggy Sie: You know how to put a creative project together from head to toe. Do you feel like your creative process was different for this one?
King Combs: Yeah, I feel like it’s a bit different. You know like, over the last two years, Quarantine and stuff I got to like evolve as an artist. I feel like this one will be for sure the best one yet. We got hits on hits on hits there I been stacking them up so I can’t wait for the people to hear this.
Swaggy Sie: I grew up in an era where music made you feel good. Do you feel like that is missing now?
King Combs: Yeah it is missing a little bit, but that is what we are about to bring back right now with my new single “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” and my next project. We are definitely going have people just feeling good, make them wanna dance, and just have a good time. It’s not always about shooting other people and all of that. You want to spread positivity too.
Swaggy Sie: You came from that feel good era too. When you put together records like that, do you have to look to your dad sometimes for the stamp of approval? He knows a hit when he hears one.
King Combs: You know, he is definitely the ultimate stamp of approval. If he be like “for sure that’s a hit”, then we got one. You know, he don’t play about that.
Swaggy Sie: You know you been outside a lot. Is there anything that you look towards right now in terms of sounds? Is there a sound that you are gravitating towards?
King Combs: For me, I like to go off whatever moves me instantly. I can’t mess with any beat. It has to be a beat that I caught a vibe right off the rip. It has to be something that I love and I can hear all day. I am not too particular about sounds, like, I am not against 808s or certain different types of drum patterns. As long as it makes me feel good.
Swaggy Sie: From the outside looking in, some people may think “King Combs has it all”, but for you that might be different. What does success look like for you?
King Combs: I know my family has been successful, and my pops has a lot of accolades but me myself I want to be successful. I want to have my own legacy, and my own awards too. I feel like I am just starting, and I really have a lot more to prove. We need some Grammy and trophies too, man.
Swaggy Sie: You and your father [Diddy] be outside. You are the first Father and Son duo to be on the charts at the same damn time. Congratulations! What is that impact like for you?
King Combs: It’s definitely dope. I been watching my pops and I never really wanted him to retire. I wanted us to kinda like, be doing it at the same time, so for us to both be on the charts at the same time…is a blessing.
Swaggy Sie: What was it like putting this record together with Kodak?
King Combs: It was fun, even down to the music video. We had a good time. It was a vibe.
Swaggy Sie: Kodak doesn’t dance too much. How’d you get him to dance?
King Combs: Nah, he was like “We gotta dance in the video. We gotta go crazy.” Haha. I was like “Okay, bet let’s do it!” So we had to pull the moves out for that one.
Swaggy Sie: I know you gifted him that Bad Boy chain. Why was that important for you?
King Combs: I felt like with that song, he was one of us. You know? This is a big moment in my career, and this a big moment in both of our careers. We about to go number 1 together. Pops even said “Yo, we gotta give him a chain.” too. So we made it official.
Swaggy Sie: Before you go, I gotta ask you what’s next?
King Combs: A tour about to come. We coming to a city near you. Stay tuned. Stay tuned for the project today. It’s coming real soon. Follow ya boy @kingcombs. Let’s get it.
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