By TLHarris (205.188.209.109) on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 11:54 pm:

Hello All,

I was flipping throught the TV channels this morning and I come across Puffy's show "Making the Band." I could care less for the man, but something told me to stick around and watch for a bit and I did. For those who don't know "Making the Band" is another one of these reality shows about the making of a band, but with rappers instead. The show had about 5 rappers in the group and one female singer. So Puffy decides to bring a singer in to help the young lady. All of a sudden I hear "Clean Up Woman", and the next thing I see is none other than Betty Wright herself, and she came and gave this young lady some advice on how to sing and actually went to come vocal excerises with her. First of all I don't think the young lady realized who she was singing with, and second Puffy actually said something that made sense. He said that it was important for the younger singers of today to learn from those that came before them and for them to learn their craft. For the most part I tend to disagree with the man on 99% of the issues, but he actually made some good sense. Before I forget I heard Betty Wright hit these high octive notes that would make Minnie Riperton proud. I didn't know Betty had that kind of range, but the notes she hit made you say Mariah who???? But again I have to give P. Diddy credit for bringing in a legend such as Betty Wright to help this young lady get better at her craft.

Take care

T.L. Harris

By Confused (64.12.97.7) on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 11:56 pm:

What is your freaking point!

By A Discerning Eye (171.75.84.59) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 12:03 am:

Agreed,what's your freakin' point buddy?

By Hear Say (198.81.26.170) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 12:14 am:

I see many points made by the first post...

The Confused and Discerning Eye - you must be bitter....

By Wonder B (81.53.221.63) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 04:38 am:

I love Betty Wright and she damn sure CAN sing...
Not like 99% of the rappers... I am almost sure too that if given the choice she would have chosen to be on a TV set to perform a set of her own songs...
But I am sure the money was good...

Wonder B

By Linda Di. (66.67.194.109) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 07:49 am:

Making the Band is a great show. I'm not a rap fan at all, but this show caught my eye last year and I'm hooked on it. Mr. Diddy makes these kids do all sorts of bizarre things -- i.e., walk to Brooklyn to get him a piece of cheesecake, etc. But his point is to see how hard they are willing to work. Agree or not, it's an interesting show. And I LOVED it when Betty Wright was brought in to give Sara voice lessons. Puffy certainly was paying respects to Ms. Wright and her tremendous talent and vast experience by doing that. Agree heartily with TLHarris!

By Confused (64.12.97.7) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 07:53 am:

Mr. Diddy?

By Linda Di. (66.67.194.109) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 09:13 am:

I don't know him well enough to call him "P"?

By STUBASS (64.12.97.7) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 10:01 am:

HEY!!!...ANY GUY WHO "SHACKS DOWN" J-LO...THEN MAKES HER HIS "BONNIE" FOR HIS "CLYDELIKE" BEHAVIOR IS OK WITH ME!!!...STU(COULDA DROVE THE GETAWAY CAR)BASS

By Des (217.42.9.44) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 06:46 pm:

Confused and Discerning Eye --- Your language and brevity seem to suggest you're somehow irritated by TLHarris' post.
Please elaborate

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 08:37 pm:

Folks:
Here's the point I think T.L. is trying to make here and has been discussed before in other threads on the Forum.

The point he is making is regardless of the fact that Sean "P.Diddy" Combs may be viewed as "unoriginal" for his flagrant use of sampling hit records for his own hits or whatever lifestyle he chooses to lead, in the case of "Making The Band" he is at least trying to show new talent how to sing and entertain properly by bringing in legends to show how it is REALLY done. If I want to learn how to produce artists and music, I should consult with the best (which I have done). What Combs had shown is if someone's gonna sing "Clean Up Woman" then they better do it right & do it well. Bringing in Betty Wright was a smart move.

As for the cheesecake thing, all I can say is that in my experience in the business I never had to play "go-fer" for anyone because I was fortunate to had worked with veterans who hired me a gig with nothing but a burning desire in my gut and taught me the ropes along the way. That didn't mean I didn't work very hard - I busted my a-- for everything I got and earned. I feel that if someone has the desire, you teach them what you know then let them go ahead and do it.

And get your own damn cheescake....

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Linda Di. (66.67.194.109) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 11:14 pm:

I would assume the cheesecake incident perhaps was for the sake of the cameras? I don't agree or disagree with what he asked them to do. Basically because it's a half hour worth of entertainment for me each week. If it gets too deep, it will cease to be entertainment!! It will be interesting to see if these kids will stay together and have a hit. Only time will tell ...

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 10:30 am:

I must agree with TLHarris. Ya gotta give the guy a little credit. Personally, I could never stand P Diddy with his blank, half opened mouth, tooth pick dangeling, crooked baseball cap stare. Then I just happened to watch the show. This particular young group he's trying to develop are basically a grop of losers. The show I saw, there had been three fist fights within the group for no good reason. They whine and complain about everyything and haven't a clue about how fortunate they are to be in the sitation they happen to be in. They obviously have never paid a cent in dues. So watching Combs try and make them realize what their responsibilites are to the cause was somewhat refreshing. I still don't approve of most of his music but I have a little better idea where he is coming from.

By medusa9e2003 (66.73.10.229) on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 02:55 pm:

Well, Kev, I do agree with U. Although we don't embrace rap, we must give credit when it's due and Shaun Puffy is right on the $$$.
I guess it's like, N our day,our Parents didn't approve of everything we liked. I gotta thing, U gotta thing, Everybody got a thing...so i guess rap is the thing 4 the teeenagers 2day..and so it is.