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What I Didn’t Know About Diddy’s Hit 1997 Song “I’ll Be Missing You”

Written by Tariq on April 6, 2023

Diddy has seemingly confirmed that he has to pay Sting $5,000 a day for his use of the Every Breath You Take sample in I’ll Be Missing You, his 1997 hit (as Puff Daddy) with Faith Evans.

The song was created in tribute to Diddy’s great friend, The Notorious BIG, who had recently been murdered, and went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time. However, when it was released, Diddy hadn’t sought Sting’s permission to use the sample, and the matter had to be settled after the fact. The result was that Sting was awarded 100% of the song’s royalties.

In a 2018 interview with The Breakfast Club, Sting was asked about the matter and confirmed that, because of his use of the sample – and, presumably, the fact that I’ll Be Missing You’s chorus also interpolates Every Breath You Take’s Melody – Diddy has to pay him $2,000 a day “for the rest of his life”.

However, a clip of this interview has recently resurfaced, and Diddy has now issued a correction on Twitter.