Mason Says

Game show question: for what magazine did Alex Haley interview Malcolm X in 1963? Look into the studio audience and you'll see your family jumping up and down imploring you to say Ebony or Jet to which others at home will indecisively affirm "good answer, good answer". Which one is it you're pondering, but not to worry because both Ebony and Jet will be met with a resoundingly obnoxious game show buzzer and the words "next contestant". The correct answer would be Playboy, as in the iconic bunny ears. And it’s that interview in that very magazine which lead to a continued collaboration between the two aforementioned men that ultimately produced The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Yes, Playboy.

While he pales in comparison as far as social significance goes and I'm not sure that an autobiography is following, Sean “Diddy” Combs happens to be the featured interview in this month's Playboy. I first learned of this when I read the teaser for it in last month's issue. Yes, I'm that guy who reads Playboy for the articles.

To be sure, there are guys... Click Here to Finish Reading

Continued: To be sure, there are guys who look at Playboy and there are guys who read Playboy. I happen to be in the latter category with some occasional overlap. In this day and age, who really needs Playboy or any other magazine for the pictures? For most of my adult life, the internet has been available and pipe-lining right into my home, unfiltered and uninterrupted, except when I’d routinely get knocked off line by an incoming call to which I would shake my fist at the internet gods and curse dial up service and that annoying sound it made every time it re-connected.

My point is, if I want to view unclad women, I don’t wait for the mailman to deliver the new copy of Playboy so I can plow through copious amounts of editorial content in order to arrive at a few pages of excessively airbrushed women. The fact that they nauseatingly almost always fit the Scandinavian profile/preference of Hugh Hefner doesn't help. I'll pass on the pictorials.

Back to the point of this piece. In my mind, the Playboy interview is unmatched. It's where men who have reached the pinnacle of prominence and popularity, in their respective fields, come to purge. Unlike your garden variety interviews in other magazines, Playboy is serious about it. They provide the space and word count to delve. Research is done, the Q&A ensues and the regrets are few as most subjects know exactly what they're getting into when they agree to the interview. There is a certain level of success that few men ever attain that allows them to open up the unfiltered tap and flow in such a honest way. While most men float aimlessly at sea hoping our vulnerabilities and insecurities go undiscovered, these guys are anchored in their accomplishments and self-assuredness, allowing them to pull back the curtain. It's almost an act of exhibitionism, which is consistent with the narcissism that often fuels their success.

And the world couldn't have delivered Playboy a bigger ego and, equally, fascinating character than Diddy. As I read the interview this morning, it occurred to me that possibly everything Diddy has done, good and bad, were just requisite deeds and doings, in order to have this moment. As you read his sometimes surprisingly candid comments about his life and lifestyle, you can't help but think he is savoring every question and upping the ante with each answer. He openly discusses 30 hour tantric sex sessions, his love of being overseas, wanting President Obama to adopt him, his 48 hour stint as "the corniest drug dealer of all time", Michael Jackson crashing one of his parties to meet Beyonce, obsessive teenage masturbation, porn, Biggie's death, therapy, acting, his father's death, people's perception of him, being 40, how Steve Jobs is "one of the baddest motherfuckers on earth" (that's what he said), to being dumped by a well known A-list actress whom he won't reveal and it's not Jennifer Lopez. It's dizzying. In fact the interviewer, who has quizzed him twice before for different publications, leads into the piece with the following:

Puffy (usually) tricks you into believing he’s giving you the holy-grail scoop. It’s his charm, his hustle. But when he called me asking if I was getting everything I needed, I knew he was in a different space. We met three times: ‘I want to make this interview special, make this epic,’ he told me.

Epic may be a reach but he certainly makes it clear that he's the epicenter of all things superficially entertaining and enviable. I guess what I'm saying is Diddy's life appears to be one big guilty pleasure. Check it out for yourself. I've provided the link. One

Diddy's Playboy interview

The Takeaways:

1.) I'm talking about Playboy Magazine. Yes, there are a few pages of nude women inside. Get over it. There are also great articles, commentary, and interviews, that in my mind, minus the cover, completely overshadow the more adult aspects of the magazine. For the love of God, I'm not talking about 'skin mags' like Buttman, Naughty Neighbors, or Midget Mayhem. (Note: I did some research on Wikipedia.)

2.) Men, subscribe to magazines. I receive several. I devour them upon delivery in search of ideas, inspiration and intelligence. I usually find what I'm looking for. I believe it makes me a more interesting and well read person. Playboy just happens to be the only one that contains nudity and I don't apologize for it. It's not my style to being sheepish or repressed. It shouldn't be yours either.

3.) Women, reach back to Takeaway #1 and get a grip. With that said, go ahead and get him a Playboy subscription for Christmas. If it's repressing his instinct to look at young nubile naked women that you're worried about, I suggest you cease delivery of broadband internet into your household. Playboy? Please.

4.) On a personal note, Diddy's interview makes up for my two mediocre meals at his restaurants - once in New York and the other in Atlanta. Ahaaaactually, now that I think about it, the grilled barbeque salmon I had at Justins in Atlanta was the truth.


Topic Flow Keywords: