Diddy is opening up about the harrowing childhood experiences that inspired his drive for success. Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, was born in Harlem, New York, and raised in the inner city town of Mount Vernon near the Bronx. During his Apple Music takeover, Diddy shared a particularly harrowing memory from his childhood when his aunt was babysitting him at her home in a public housing development known as the Patterson Houses in the Bronx.
Videos by American Songwriter
“One day we woke up and there was so many roaches on my face and I was like, ‘No I’m not going to do that. I’m going to get out of here. I’m going to be somebody. I’m going to own something and be able to take care of my family. I don’t want to live in these conditions no more,'” the rapper and producer professed, adding that people often think the story is a “joke.” Diddy said that he now uses those troubling memories as motivation to not get stagnant in his career.
[RELATED: Diddy Gives Insight on His Upcoming Album ‘The Love Album: Off the Grid’]
“It was something that just kind of snaps on you, ‘Do not take less in life and fight back.’ Those roaches still to this day whenever I get comfortable, I just remember them,” he affirmed. “I remember living in a situation where babies weren’t changed for two or three days and everything smell and there was no food. That memory is the thing that really fuels me to make sure that one day none of us have to live like that.”
The Bad Boy Records founder and hit producer behind such artists as Usher and Mary J. Blige dropped his new album The Love Album: Off the Grid on Friday (September 15), which features collaborations with The Weeknd, Blige, John Legend, H.E.R. and others. Diddy was honored with the Global Icon Award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
