Sting doesn’t feel that disturbing sexual misconduct allegations against Sean “Daddy” Combs “tarnish” the English rocker’s hit “Every Breath You Take.”
Written by Sting, 73, for his former band The Police, the 1983 track was famously sampled by Diddy, 55, in his 1997 song “I’ll Be Missing You” with Faith Evans.
In a new interview with Los Angeles Times Appearing on Monday, Sting was asked if his relationship with the song had changed since Diddy’s arrest in September on sex trafficking, fraud and prostitution charges.
The rock legend gave an unequivocal answer: “No.”
“I mean, I don’t know what happened. [with Diddy]” he admitted. “But it’s not exactly a tainted song for me.”
“It’s still my song,” he added of his original song.
After the interviewer chimed in, “People still like to hear it,” Sting replied, “Absolutely.
Speaking about his 2023 collaboration with Pink and Marshmallow, “Dreaming,” which samples a solo song from his 1993 hit “Fields of Gold,” Sting revealed that he’s more into sampling. How do you look at the wider scale?
Asked why he thinks his music continues to “draw” young musicians, Sting said, “I have no idea, but when somebody wants to interfere or whatever it’s called, I Never mind because I always learn something about the song that I didn’t know or expect.”
“And I get paid, so why not? It keeps them fresh.
“Songs are living organisms – you have to breathe life into them or give them new bedfellows,” he added.
In addition to giving Daddy his blessing to sample “Every Breath You Take” in “I’ll Be Missing You,” Sting performed with hip-hop startups at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
Combs was arrested on September 16 in New York City by federal investigators following an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by the notorious music mogul. In an unsealed indictment, U.S. attorneys allege that Diddy lured victims to participate in so-called “freak-offs,” which were often recorded while the music producer masturbated.
Diddy, who has maintained his innocence since his arrest, is currently being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center (aka MDC) in Brooklyn as he awaits trial. His bail requests have been repeatedly denied, though a judge has yet to rule on a new bail motion Coombs filed last week.
Perhaps surprisingly, Diddy’s music took off after his arrest. Singer R. Kelly similarly saw a streaming bump after he was sentenced in 2021 on sex-trafficking charges.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, contact a certified crisis counselor by texting “STRENGTH” to the crisis text line at 741-741.
Credit : nypost.com
