His Diddiness gives glory to his greatness in S.F.: Aidin Vaziri | The lobby restaurant of the San Francisco Ritz-Carlton was draped off with dark curtains. "They never do that!" said an older man in a suit who happened to be walking by. "It must be for somebody important."
Not really. It was just that Sean "Diddy" Combs, 35, came to town on Thursday to promote his latest album, "Press Play," out next week, with a series of hit-and-run television spots and a brief roundtable interview with local journalists.
"We will only be talking about the new album," his New York press agent sternly told the gathered throng, even though no one had yet heard the disc, as she handed out fact sheets detailing talking points that included, "Diddy is named by Burger King as the KING of music and fashion."
That meant there would be no questions about his numerous name changes (we have previously known him as Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy, Sean John and Puff), clothing line, lawsuits, reality shows, acting stints, Broadway appearances, award show presentations, breakup with Jennifer Lopez, "Vote or Die" campaign, New York City marathon run, quirky YouTube broadcasts nor criminal record.
Combs arrived more than two hours late. There was some brief talk of staging a walkout among the hungry and frustrated journalists, but it seemed too cruel to deprive the artist of his lifeblood: free publicity.
"I'm the one that has the album out!" he yelled into his Bluetooth earpiece, as he arrived for the first of four television spots. "What about me?"
Wearing a brown suede jacket, crisp blue jeans and gold-framed sunglasses that were accented by a huge gold medallion around his neck and a diamond encrusted ring on his finger, he signaled that he was ready to begin talking.
Throughout the televised interviews, he kept a copy of "Press Play" in his hands, even though there was an oversized cardboard cutout of the album art placed just behind him on an easel.
Between takes, Combs furiously fired off text messages and yelled some more into the earpiece, while checking himself out in the bar mirror. A man with a necklace that featured a working miniature clipper covered in diamonds groomed his light layer of hair.
Another half hour went by like this until Combs finally entered the conference room for the roundtable interview. Each of the five journalists got to ask one question.
Mostly he bragged. "Being a leader in culture, I never stop providing entertainment," he said, citing recent commercial triumphs by proteges like Danity Kane and Cassie. "I'm just timeless."
Combs had previously mentioned that "Press Play" could be his last album. In the same breath, he said that most hip-hop stars don't really mean it when they say they are going to retire.
The album is his first in five years and appropriately is a big-budget affair featuring collaborations with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, Pharrell and Betty Wright. The first single, "Last Night," features the rapper trading tender soul verses with singer Keyshia Cole.
"Every hip-hop artist has a dream to become an R&B singer or a professional athlete," he said. "I think I've accomplished both of those dreams. I ran a marathon and I did a duet with Keyshia Cole."
The press agent then said time was up, but Combs -- who on the official Diddy Web site labels himself "The CEO, The Entertainer, The Humanitarian, The Designer" -- granted a bonus question.
"Music is my first love, success is something I acquired," the man who is estimated to be worth $346 million said. "I would make music for free."
And just like that, he was gone.
Lady Sovereign 
