Diddy talks business, fashion, and goes in-depth into his private life.

PLAYBOY: You recently turned 40. The younger rappers want the older artists to step aside. Does that make you feel less relevant?

COMBS: No. It will take any young artist a long time to reach my status. It will take them a long time to be looking at themselves on a billboard in Times Square as they eat lunch doing a ­PLAYBOY interview. It will take them a long time to get mobbed in Africa, Bolivia and Russia. It will take them a long time to drop an hour of hits. I have become the American rap-star dream.

PLAYBOY: Does the ageism offend you?

COMBS: I don’t get involved in hate in any capacity. I don’t feel anybody can fuck with me, end of discussion. I’m not even trying to be young. In hip-hop years, I’m about 55. [laughs] I look prettier, I’m healthier, I can run faster. Now that I’m 40 I’m going to have a big party and tell people I’m 55.

PLAYBOY: You sound like one of your idols, Muhammad Ali. Are you saying you’re the greatest?

COMBS: If I’m not inspiring you at this point, you’re a lost hope. I’m one of the baddest motherfuckers to ever do this shit, and I’m not saying that in an arrogant way. That’s a fact, in black and white. I dare you to write down all my achievements. It will be overwhelming. Break it down and then say who’s number one in hip-hop. Who else has conquered television? Who else has conquered fashion? I don’t want to hear you have a fashion line. Do you have a Council of Fashion Designers of America award? I need to know. Have you run a marathon? If you all still want to fuck with me after I ran the marathon, I don’t know what else to do.

PLAYBOY: You recently turned 40. The younger rappers want the older artists to step aside. Does that make you feel less relevant?

COMBS: No. It will take any young artist a long time to reach my status. It will take them a long time to be looking at themselves on a billboard in Times Square as they eat lunch doing a ­PLAYBOY interview. It will take them a long time to get mobbed in Africa, Bolivia and Russia. It will take them a long time to drop an hour of hits. I have become the American rap-star dream.

PLAYBOY: Does the ageism offend you?

COMBS: I don’t get involved in hate in any capacity. I don’t feel anybody can fuck with me, end of discussion. I’m not even trying to be young. In hip-hop years, I’m about 55. [laughs] I look prettier, I’m healthier, I can run faster. Now that I’m 40 I’m going to have a big party and tell people I’m 55.

PLAYBOY: You sound like one of your idols, Muhammad Ali. Are you saying you’re the greatest?

COMBS: If I’m not inspiring you at this point, you’re a lost hope. I’m one of the baddest motherfuckers to ever do this shit, and I’m not saying that in an arrogant way. That’s a fact, in black and white. I dare you to write down all my achievements. It will be overwhelming. Break it down and then say who’s number one in hip-hop. Who else has conquered television? Who else has conquered fashion? I don’t want to hear you have a fashion line. Do you have a Council of Fashion Designers of America award? I need to know. Have you run a marathon? If you all still want to fuck with me after I ran the marathon, I don’t know what else to do.

PLAYBOY: You’re feeling kind of defensive, huh?

COMBS: It is important to defend yourself and make sure history’s written the right way.

PLAYBOY: Let’s get into some of the criticisms. You’ve been attacked for being one of the few rappers who don’t write their own rhymes. Is that a fair accusation?

COMBS: My instrument and my tone represented Harlem—my swagger, my lazy flow. Nobody came in and told me how to do that. I was spoiled because my first rhyme was written by Biggie. People don’t know that Biggie was the one who pushed me to be an artist. I was afraid to do it, but he said, “The crowd goes crazy when you come out. I’m gonna write you some rhymes.” We did “It’s All About the Benjamins” and “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down.”

PLAYBOY: Were you friends with Michael Jackson?

COMBS: He came to a party I had in Beverly Hills at Ron Burkle’s house, after the MTV awards in 2008. I invited young Hollywood to network and let them know I was coming out there and doing my thing on the acting scene. In the middle of the party, security said, “Mr. Combs Michael Jackson is here to see you.” He wasn’t on the guest list, and he wanted to make sure it was all right to come in. I said, “Michael? Shit.” We sat in a booth, and he said, “Let me see your ring,” as if he was ready to buy it off me. He was acting as if he was from the hood. Then he whispered in my ear, “Where’s Beyoncé at? I’m trying to meet her.” So I introduced her to Mike. I thought he was coming in to meet me, but he was focused on Beyoncé. [laughs]

PLAYBOY: You’ve never told your ­theory about who killed Biggie. Do you have one?

COMBS: People have speculated about it being a remnant of the East Coast-West Coast feud. Maybe people in L.A. saw us as disrespectful and took matters into their own hands. It would be wrong for me to speculate, so I’ve always waited for the truth to come out.

PLAYBOY: Have you heard people say you know something but don’t want to talk to the police?

COMBS: I’m not holding up a street code or anything. It’s not as if I know ­something and I’m out there handling it on my own. I just don’t know. It’s such a shocking thing. No matter what people say, it’s not the norm for musicians to get gunned down in mob-hit fashion. That right there was serious. That’s not a regular drive-by, that’s assassination.

PLAYBOY: You’re saying there was a thought-out plan?

COMBS: It was a professional hit. There were bullets in one door of our car and nowhere else.

PLAYBOY: You consider Frank Sinatra one of your heroes. Why?

COMBS: He’s my hero because of the way he lived, man—that cat lived to the fullest. I want to be sitting back one day and say I had an impact, that I helped change part of the world. I also want to have some good laughs and memories. Sinatra’s my hero for having a good time.

PLAYBOY: Does his relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. make you appreciate him even more?

COMBS: Hell yeah. You had the most popular guy in the world doing the most unpopular thing, you know? He treated Sammy and black people in general as friends.

PLAYBOY: What do you most have in common with Sinatra?

COMBS: The biggest parallel isn’t showmanship or partying. The way he loved Ava Gardner is the way I’ve loved a woman. And the way he was hurt by the John Kennedy betrayal is the way I was hurt.

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