Dilly dallying at Diddy's house

If you regularly read this blog you might have noticed we've been out of commission for a few days. My apologies! We've just returned from New York City, where we kicked it for Fashion Week and hung out with our new buddy Corte Ellis.

Corte is from Portsmouth, a songwriter fast on the rise. This is him you see here, with Diddy's new artist Donnie J. We hung out at Daddy's House -- Diddy's studio in midtown -- as Corte and his boys Soul Diggaz put the finishing touches on Donnie's lead single "Takeoff." (I love it. It's a bit reminiscent of Justin's "Sexy Back" with the house-type beat, but wholly his own and a guaranteed hit.)

Corte has written songs for Beyonce, Monica, and is prepping to work with Janet, Mariah and some more pop megastars. But I was totally blown away when, riding in his sweet black Escalade on the way to his studio in South Orange, NJ Thursday, he told me he wrote Britney Spears' "Get Naked," one of my favorite tracks on that album. (No shame in my game -- it's on my gym playlist.) Then Corte played me some other sick Britney songs he wrote that ended up on the album's international version. Also at the studio, I met Timbaland's new artist, Izza Kizza.

Friday, at Diddy's house, we waited for the Diddymaster to arrive. I got there at 2; Diddy called at 4 to say he'd be there at 7. I read GQ. I read Hip Hop Weekly. I read King. I watched MTV film Corte and his producer friends (and I think I might be on there too) for "Making of the Band 4." I went for sushi. I went for drinks. Of course, 7 came and went. So did 8 and 9. At 10, I left, convinced there would be no Diddy sighting. Eight hours of my life I'll never get back, although Corte and his partners K-Mac and Bless cracking jokes and stuff made the 8 hours seem...like two. Oh, my job rigors.

But that's the music biz for you; a lot of waiting around. A lot of unremarkable stuff with a blast of something neat, and then back to hours and hours of crushing boredom. But waiting for Diddy didn't bother Corte and his buds. ( I guess not if they want that check, right?) It's all in a days work for them.

Apologies for being MIA. And apologies if this post is a little loopy; I'm a bit rusty and out of synch. I almost forgot how to get to work today.

To make it up to you, I've got a gift. SONY BMG has just unveiled this super cool new thing called Platinum Music Pass. They're these little cards compatible with iPods and MP3 players that contain full albums, some videos, a bonus song and a digital booklet. They look like gift cards - pretty sweet.

And since you'll definitely be reading the Pilot on the lookout for the story on Corte Ellis, what better way to celebrate the Portsmouth native's work than to give away the Britney Spears album? You can hear the track he wrote -- "Get Naked" -- produced by Norfolk's Danja. In tribute to the eight hours I waited for Diddy, the 8th person to comment here -- on Diddy, on musicians from Hampton Roads, on Britney, on whatever -- gets one of these sweet digital albums. They're neat, and Brit's album is hot.

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