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Hi GlobalGrind: It’s @DonnieKlang.

Coming from a having a popular television show and having come out with an album, people should’ve really gotten to know me.

However, with the TV show, I kind of got hidden in the shadow of two different groups, working on their music and I always had to wait for my opportunity. And then my opportunity would also come and go so quick, because then it was Diddy’s opportunity to come out with his album.

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So, it was very frustrating. I put out my first album Just A Rolling Stone in September 2008 and immediately it didn’t live up to the expectations of the label, so I was back into the studio right away.

So here I am writing songs, coming up with new stuff, and trying to get the label to put it out, but at this point Diddy was getting ready to start working on his album. Here, everybody’s eyes are on him when his album is starting to come out. So I’m getting frustrated, because I’m writing these songs and then I’m hearing similar songs on the radio, and I’m hearing similar songs even go to #1 on Billboard and Itunes. I’m like “this is crazy, this is like exactly my idea for a song I had.” This was happening every couple of months. So the frustration just kept building up and building up and I just got to the point where I was like I really have got to do something.

Diddy gave me this opportunity, and now I’ve got to use this opportunity to go where my heart feels I need to be. And then, on top of that, creatively with the music, I wasn’t able to put in my ideas. That wasn’t everything that forced me in to this kind of “do it yourself” mode.

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I didn’t want to look back 5 or 10 years from now and say ‘what if I would’ve spoke up for myself’ or ‘what if I would’ve did something for myself’ and went out and did my own business moves right now, while I still can, while people still remember me from the show and still want to hear some music from me. It was basically now or never.

You always have to just follow your heart, even though sometimes it’s hard. With this situation, at first I had no idea how to approach it. I spoke to my lawyer, and got his advice on the whole matter, and he basically said that it’s supposed to be handled between lawyers, but because I did have that friendship with Puff that I should’ve just brought it to him first.

I kept reaching out to him, but he was so busy with his radio promo tours, and getting ready to release his album and everything that it was so hard to have a business conversation. Because, he’s focused – Puff is the kind of person that when his mind is set on something he’s focused 100% with his eyes on the prize. So it‘s hard to have a kind of side-bar conversation with him.  So, basically, it was just lawyers back and forth trying to handle the situation, negotiating different things, etc. That whole part of it I tried to stay out of, because I want to stay positive and creative and I didn’t want to get caught up in the percentages and business drama.

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I learned a lot from my time with Diddy, especially when