Imagine a man and a woman in an elevator together. He gets off before she does, but his scent lingers for the next five floors. This is the scenario Sean "Diddy" Combs, rapper/actor/music mogul/fashion designer/honorary perfumer, envisions when he designs a new cologne, which he says is a key ingredient to a man's swagger.
Trust him -- this is a man who knows a bit about swagger. And cologne.
Diddy is following up his award-winning 'Unforgivable' line with 'I Am King,' a new men's fragrance that's being sold exclusively at Macy's starting this month. He sat down with Black Voices recently to discuss his new fragrance, his inspiration, and a certain movie role he's dying to get.
"My grandmother always used to say, 'You are what you say you are,' and she called me her little king," he said. "[I Am King] is about your father, your brother, your boyfriend, your husband -- the kings in your life. It's about self affirmation."
The fragrance is dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali, and Barack Obama, three men who Diddy says embody the spirit of his cologne. And he has already picked out the "queens" to whom he'll dedicate his upcoming women's fragrance, 'I Am Queen.'
"I am queen is dedicated to Oprah Winfrey and my mother," he said. "Those are the people that I looked up to and proved to me that I am a descendant of royalty."
The name of the cologne evokes images of men in gold crowns and opulent robes, but the ad campaign, which includes a mammoth-sized billboard in Times Square and a mini-movie that's already made the rounds on YouTube, depicts a different kind of king -- the kind who has a reason to go jet-skiing in black tie, wears a lot of white tuxedo jackets and aviators, has a beautiful woman on his arm at all times and just happens to be Diddy himself.
The ads are important, he says, because they show black men in a different light.
"The campaign shows an African-American male shot in a very elegant and sophisticated way," he said. "It's important that we can have images that will rival a Ralph Lauren or a Tom Ford. It just shows the possibilities."
Speaking of possibilities, the slick mini-movie that is supposed to be a long-form commercial for 'I Am King' might just be serving an extra purpose. All those swanky shots of Diddy doing dare-devilish stunts while dressed to the nines could pique the interest of the director of the next James Bond movie -- at least that's what he's hoping for. Yes, Diddy is ready and willing to be the first black James Bond.
"I'm a struggling, trying-to-find-some-work-for-hire actor, and I thought that [the movie] was also a way to put out a call out to different directors," he said. "I know how to do my own stunts. And without saying any words -- that's the hardest part of acting -- without saying any words I can deliver a message of coolness and swagger."
He's already got the movie concept worked out -- he'll play the New York-based agent who helps the British Bond when he comes to town and gets himself into trouble.
"I'm a dreamer," he said of his movie idea. " You've got to put things out there. If you put them out there, they come true."



Comments: (229)
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By: other brother on 12/13/2008 7:56PM
Diddy as Bond.???????????? Never that!!!!!!!!! I am all for beleiving but I think that one has to be able to act ..............
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By: SMOKINFEMME on 12/14/2008 8:05AM
HE FORGOT WHERE HE CAME FROM. HE IS NOT KING, NOR WILL HE EVER BE A BOND MAN. SOMEBODY TELL THIS GUY TO STAY BEHIND THE SCENES. MONEY AND FAME DONE WENT TO HIS HEAD. WITH ALL THAT MONEY HE SHOULD GET THAT OVERBITE TAKEN CARE OF.
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By: abduttawwab altalac on 12/14/2008 9:13PM
My bet is wesley snipes
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By: Vi on 12/15/2008 6:17AM
Enough Diddy - take your earnings, your royalties and spare us already. Go home, and take your fantasies with you
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By: tee on 12/15/2008 6:28AM
Rich, yes. Smart business man, yes. Bond oh hell no. Bro you have much going for you but you are no actor by any means.
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By: DB on 12/15/2008 6:47AM
That was five minutes of my life I won't get back. I kept waiting for the "stunts" that the article mentions... but unless you call video models, entourages and swaggering around luxuries that the average man will never see, then I missed them. Go back to getting paid off stealing samples...
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By: hillary on 12/15/2008 7:22AM
I like Puffy, but who is he king to. He states you should take the challenge in which u were called, I guess he will just be content with playing daddy and not take the calling to become the king of his house! Yeah he has all this money, but he still have kids strolled around earning yet another black woman to the statistic as a single black mother. He has not stepped up to his responsibility as a role model, there are so many young people looking up to him and he is validating that it is ok to bring children into this world with your girlfriend. No1 is talking about marriage anymore. Yes according to him he is king, but where is his queen? Man, even J married Beyonce and they don't even have kids, the way it should go. Marriage then the babies. Ladies, we need to stop letting these men use us for sex and their own pleasure. look at the girls in the video, just showing everything. I'm sorry the question is should he play bond. I guess it doesn't matter to me I never got into bond.
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By: msbee on 12/15/2008 7:33AM
NO!!!!!NO!!!!!NO!!!!!!
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By: msbee on 12/16/2008 9:54AM
SADDOWN DIDDY!!!!!!
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By: Dee on 12/15/2008 7:36AM
Why is everyone haten on the man, true he needs to brush up on the acting part, but he would make a great bond man. He has the swagger.
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