Some of the contracts that Diddy had his artists sign were impossible to get off so you couldnt go work independently or with another label that easy. Diddy has to have a cut.
I doubt these guys could move on in their careers without Diddy getting some type of cut.
LOX struggled for years to get off bad boy. Remember the hot 97 interview. Mase couldn't release an album with G-Unit because Diddy wanted a cut & wasn't releasing him
Yeah now that you mention it, that interview that the Lox did about their Bad Boy dea on Angie Martinez was crazy. That's probably the best interview about Diddy and his contracts....shyt would make you go postal
But the way I look at it, its better to work with Diddy and grind and get something than go back to the hood and be nothing...Ness fwiw was hot in the battle rap/mix tape circuit for a minute...he's still kinda out there, but I think he could have went way further 15 years ago