Every single day, Diddy pays Sting more money than most people make in a month.
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
The Bad Boy mogul sampled the former frontman of The Police’s 1983 single “Every Breath You Take” in his 1997 hit “I’ll Be Missing You.” In a tweet on Wednesday, Diddy revealed that for that one sample, he pays $5,000 a day in royalties to Sting after not getting his permission to use it.
“Love to my brother @OfficialSting,” he wrote in the tweet alongside a resurfaced clip from the singer’s 2018 interview with The Breakfast Club. In that conversation, where he first spoke about the agreement, he initially stated that he receives $2,000 a day from Diddy for the sample. In the interview, the 71-year-old says that the producer asked for permission to sample the single only after it had been released.
“We’re very good friends now,” he says in the clip. “It was a beautiful version of that song.”
“I’ll Be Missing You” was a tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. following his death in 1997 at the age of 24. Faith Evans–the rapper’s former wife and mother to his 26-year-old son C.J. Wallace–accompanied Diddy for the song alongside the R&B group 112.
After its release, the track would top the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earn Diddy awards at the 1997 Billboard Music Awards ceremony for top rap artist and top rap song.
Regardless of how much he owes Sting for the sample, it’s safe to say the success of the song–and the important meaning–was more than worth it for Diddy.
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