Diddy denied paying Sting $5,000 a day for sampling The Police’s song “Every Breath You Take” on Friday (April 7).
The Bad Boy Records founder said he was joking when he tweeted about Sting on Tuesday (April 5). Diddy felt the need to clear the air after his Twitter post received lots of media coverage.
“I want y’all to understand I was joking!” he wrote. “It’s called being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You. He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history.”
I want y’all to understand I was joking! It’s called being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You. He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history.
LOVE ❤️😂🙏🏿💫⚡️✨
— LOVE (@Diddy) April 7, 2023
Diddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” famously sampled The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” which Sting sang and wrote. “I’ll Be Missing You” was released as a tribute to the late Notorious B.I.G. in 1997.
Payment for the sample became a topic on social media when a Twitter account called Black Millionaires shared a clip from Sting’s 2018 appearance on The Breakfast Club. Charlamagne Tha God asked Sting to confirm if Diddy had to pay $2,000 a day for sampling “Every Breath You Take.”
“Yeah,” Sting responded sarcastically. “For the rest of his life.”
Diddy retweeted the clip in jest, suggesting it was actually $5,000.
Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting! 😎 ✊🏿🫶🏿 https://t.co/sHdjd0UZEy
— LOVE (@Diddy) April 5, 2023