It’s safe to say Mark Curry’s rap career went nowhere after Bad Boy 4 Life. He doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. Ouch. And while his appearance on this track is confusing now, Ben Stiller showing up in the Bad Boy 4 Life music video remains painful. It is arguably the most cliché-laden cameo of all-time.
It’s impossible to tell if P. Diddy is trying to reach out to the suburbs or mocking them. Even when this was getting heavy play on BET back in 2001, it felt like he was making fun of us. Why is Pat O’Brien in this music video? And Dave Navarro? These people weren’t cool in 2001. And they certainly didn’t have any street cred.
But the Ben Stiller part in the Bad Boy 4 Life music video really takes the cake. It is nothing but unfunny “white person doesn’t understand rap culture” cliches. As a white person who basically did nothing but watch rap music videos during this time, I did not enjoy this. While I can’t speak for them, this doesn’t seem like something urbanites would find funny either.
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Song: Bad Boy 4 Life
Artist: P. Diddy featuring Black Rob and Mark Curry
Year: 2001
Quote it:
We ain’t…goin’ nowhere, we ain’t goin’ nowhere
We can’t be stopped now, cos it’s Bad Boy for life
Best Video Moment: P. Diddy shooing away Fonzworth Bentley before riding off on his dirtbike
See More: Rap Music Video Reviews from The Touchback
I don’t enjoy Ben Stiller here, but Bad Boy 4 Life is still a great song. And even if P. Diddy is mocking me, I don’t really mind. Also, the sight of the Bad Boy Family cruising the neighborhood on scooters is great.
Mocking the suburbs
Sure, P. Diddy picked Ben Stiller and some other lame white dudes to be in Bad Boy 4 Life, but the music video also has some great, under the radar cameos. I always enjoy early 2000s Fonzworth Bentley doing is butler schtick. Mike Tyson is in there for like a second as well. Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube show up to represent the west coast. Shaq is dunking on fools.
And then there are Ben Stiller and Pat O’Brien. P. Diddy didn’t invite Vince Vaughn or Will Ferrell or Carson Daly. No, he picked the host of Access Hollywood and the jizz hair guy from There’s Something About Mary. P. Diddy was totally mocking the suburbs. Having grown up there, I get why he did it. Hell, I even appreciate the satire.
