Diddy & Mary J. Blige Sparred For Hit

Music producer Jerry Wonda recently revealed just how badly Diddy wanted the song "Someone To Love Me," which subsequently wound up being recorded by both Diddy's Dirty Money and by Mary J. Blige. According to Wonda, Diddy and his longtime friend Blige both wanted the record upon first hearing it and a compromise had to be reached.

"[That] is a record that I did [before] Puff heard the track. When he heard it, he immediately said, 'I need this,'" Wonda says. "So I gave it to him and he went crazy on it. But at the same time, I was working on the Mary J. Blige album. And when I was at the studio playing the song, Mary said, 'Stop playing, I need this.' That's when she called Puff and said, 'I'm taking this record!'"

"Puff and Mary are like brother and sister," Wonda continued. "And Puff was like, 'Oh you want it? I already got a video, man!' And so Mary said, 'I don't care! This record is mine!' So I said, OK, and put up the track and the next thing you know, Mary went in on it."

Kalenna Harper On Being Dark Skinned

Dirty Money's Kalenna Harper recently opened up to "Scene and Heard TV" about her difficulty in landing a solo record deal when she was just beginning her musical journey. Harper says the fact that she was dark-skinned proved to be a major hurdle and several doors were shut to her as an artist just because of her complexion.

"I kind of started off as a solo artist, and I was doing that for a very long time," Harper says. "And you know, just coming up against obstacles; they was like, you know, ‘you too black,’ or ‘you’re not marketable.’ Whatever they came up with in their minds to say that I wasn’t artist material, you know. I just said I’m going to be a businesswoman, and I’m going to be like the Missy Elliotts, and the R. Kellys, and the Keith Sweats. I’m going to write for other artists, and they’re not going to have no other choice but to hear me, and to buy my music, and to respect me as an artist."

"That was complexion wise," she continues. "It was complexion, and you know something, it’s a difference between chocolate and brown and peanut butter and even Snicker bar, you know what I’m saying. Chocolate is something different, you know. And so the way they made it seem was, you black as night girl; you crispy, burnt black, and that’s just not marketable right now. And it wasn’t at the time to be totally honest with you."

Diddy STILL Not Over J. Lo?

With Diddy Dirty Money appearing on "American Idol" next month, the King of Doing-Too-Damn-Much just couldn't resist gushing over his former love and current "A.I." judge, Jennifer Lopez. The two haven't been an item for over a decade, yet Diddy can't seem to stop reminding the whole world of what they used to be. The mogul praised J. Lo's success on television and in her personal life.

“She’s just looking so good. You’ve got to give it to her for having twins and to be doing it how she’s doing it. I’m so proud of her,” Diddy said. “The way she handled coming after (former Idol judge) Simon (Cowell)… she’s been, like, a compassionate person. She has made me cry, like, twice, and she’s looked good doing it. And she has made sense."

“She’s a nice person (and)… when you’re super nice, your emotions get the best of you," Diddy continued. "It’s good though, it’s good to see that change in the competitive shows. I think she’s very refreshing.”

Contributor : Monica Coleman