Following his release from prison after serving an eight-year bid, former Bad Boy rapper Loon took a moment to catch up with The Breakfast Club. And while his career was unfortunately derailed by legal troubles, the Harlem rapper has retained no shortage of tales centering on his come-up, his Harlem World days, and his time working with Diddy on Bad Boy.
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"Ya'll know how it was back in those days in the industry," begins Loon. "It was definitely a lot more gruelling than it is now. I think this generation has the means now to actually propel their own careers into success. I was originally signed to Tommy Boy Records...and they kinda fell out of sync with what we was doing. The name of the album was [supposed to be] Harlem World. But then Mase came out in 97 and incorporated the same title and movement, so he became the originator of the Harlem World movement. Because those things were understood internally, I think he felt compelled to come back and say 'Yo Loon, I'ma do the Harlem World group."
"The group was supposed to consist of me, Big L, Cam'ron, Herb McGruff, and Mase," says Loon. "That's what definitely compelled me to want to sign on. But because of the relationship that Mase had with Herb and L at the time, it wasn't where it should have been. We had to go with the alternative which was Baby Stase, my man Blinky Blink, Meeno, and Huddy. So, that was supposed to be the segue from the Harlem World project Mase put out."
After his path took him from Arista to Bad Boy Records, Loon opened up about the days signed to Diddy, explaining the complexities of signing a deal with a fellow artist. As the owner of his publishing rights, Loon revealed that his rising records "gave him leverage to negotiate a deal with Puff that really nobody ever negotiated." He also mentions the grievances that many artists have had with Diddy about publishing rights, confirming that he never had to deal with any of that particular drama. "My relationship with Puff, we had great fun and we got along swell," he continues. "But then some of hiccups would come down to business. Especially business that's already mandated and confirmed."
Check out the full interview below -- and it's a good one, especially for those interested in the music business. Welcome back, Loon.