Eighteen years later, Diddy‘s still missing The Notorious B.I.G. The hip-hop mogul, 45, took a trip down memory lane on Sunday, May 10, when he stopped by Andy Cohen‘s Bravo show Watch What Happens Live to promote his new fragrance, 3AM.
While he was there, a viewer called in to ask about his friendship with the late Biggie Smalls, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1997. Diddy and Biggie (real name: Christopher Wallace) were close pals and collaborators until the latter’s death at age 24.
“My favorite memory was, we were doing the Soul Train Awards, and I bought Biggie some shoes that were three sizes too small,” Diddy recalled. “And we found out about it 15 seconds before we had to go on, so he walked out performing on the back of his heels of the shoes. And he was saying right before we got on, ‘Your shoes are always right! Why can’t you get my shoes right?'”
Laughing, he added, “I was cracking up as I was coming out. It was great. So many great times.”
The “I Need a Girl” rapper also spoke with Cohen about another hip-hop star — none other than Kanye West. Asked by Cohen what he thinks of West’s headline-making antics at awards shows and the like, Diddy admitted, “I don’t like it.”
He went on to reference West’s behavior at the 2015 Grammys, where he followed Beck onstage after the rocker beat out Beyonce for Album of the Year. He didn’t say anything in the moment, but he later told E! that the rocker should “respect artistry” and give the award to Queen Bey.
“I feel like you have to be real and tell the truth, and Kanye’s one of my friends — and I think when he did the Beck thing, he was really sorry,” Diddy told Cohen, “but I think what he’s saying, I think that’s what he believes…and sometimes artists, they’re very, very vocal. I just think that everybody’s doing their best, and if somebody wins something, no matter what, it’s their moment.”
Diddy had a mini-moment of his own last week, when he debuted the super-racy, definitely NSFW ad for 3AM, which features him and his girlfriend Cassie simulating sex on-screen. The two have been together for more than seven years now, but Diddy’s in no rush to walk down the aisle anytime soon.
“I think you have to be ready for it, ’cause it’s somebody else’s heart involved, and that’s just a lot of responsibility,” he explained. “And I don’t want to be going to court and having somebody, like, interfere in my relationship. I’d rather just do the Goldie Hawn.”
(Hawn and actor Kurt Russell have been in a long-term relationship — but not a marriage — since 1983.)
“I will give a contract,” Diddy said. “I will commit to a contract, a love contract…You have to have an agreement.” Marriage, though? “I don’t think I’m ready right now,” he admitted. “But I’m a great boyfriend.”
