Hear Puff Daddy Salute Own Hustle on Eerie New Track, ‘Workin”
Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs offers a three-minute dedication to his “hustle” on minimalist new track “Workin’,” which the rapper debuted Tuesday night during an all-star performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. The song features a sampled, pitch-shifted hook – “Don’t bother me; I’m workin'” – from Les Sins’ “Bother,” with Puff brushing aside endless distractions. “We hustle before we play,” he raps, “even on Memorial Day.”
Over stripped-back production – an eerie synth line, droning bass and light programmed beat – Puff gives a shout-out to his late friend and collaborator Notorious B.I.G. (“I do this shit for B.I.G.”) and promises listeners, “God sent me here to inspire you.” The single, credited to Puff Daddy & the Family, is available to purchase on iTunes.
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Combs premiered the track during an elaborate BET performance, employing a crew of back-up dancers for choreographed moves. The rapper also unveiled another new song, the horn-driven “The Auction,” reuniting with Bad Boy veterans Lil Kim, King Los and the Lox’s Styles P.
The Bad Boy Entertainment mogul released another hypnotic single, the Pharrell-featured “Finna Get Loose,” in June, after debuting the bass-heavy track onstage during the BET Awards. Combs also reunited with a dozen of his label’s most prominent acts – including Lil Kim, Mase and Jadakiss – for a 10-minute medley of Bad Boy staples like “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” “All About the Benjamins” and “Hypnotize.” (That celebratory performance turned awkward when Combs fell through a hole on a stage platform.)
In July, Bad Boy signee Gizzle told Rap-Up that Combs is working on No Way Out 2 – a sequel to Puff Daddy & the Family’s 1997 LP, No Way Out – calling it the rapper’s “last album.” “It’s a crazy project,” Gizzle said. “I’m very honored to be part of it. Nobody can make an album like Puff Daddy … It’s one of a kind. The mindset is just to be classic and be epic and to really live up to that. We know it’s a tall order, but we welcome the challenge.”
Combs has previously teased a project called MMM or Money Making Mitch, which Gizzle suggested could be “something else,” adding, “You’ll be surprised. It’s a lot of cool things going on.”
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