Diddy gives club Dirty Money's worth

Like Oprah and Michael Jordan, Diddy is one of the great brands in the entertainment world. But the brand he most resembles is Trump.

Like Donald Trump, Diddy -- aka Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and Sean Combs -- is a masterful mogul, a businessman first and foremost, a leader who can put together a great team, create a product and market/hype it with a golden touch.

But can Diddy, the richest man in hip-hop, rap? Well, about as well as Trump can act.

The 41-year-old hip-hop icon brought his trio Diddy Dirty Money to Epic nightclub in Minneapolis Wednesday night to kick off their Coming Home Tour. Diddy in the club is commonplace (in VIP, of course) but Diddy onstage is rare.

His 80-minute performance was Diddy-rific, one of his typical triumphs of personality, big-budget production and smart casting.

With his usual bravado, he rained $1 bills (real ones) on the dance floor to the delight of the less-than-capacity crowd. (Hey, Mr. Mogul, what about the Benjamins?) But the clubgoers were clearly wowed more by the lights-and-video show, the most elaborate, artful and expensive I've ever seen at a hip-hop club performance. Most impressive was a giant LED screen that served as a roof over the performers, eventually tilted into a backdrop (displaying video clips, photos and fancy patterns) and, at one point, became the stage floor, with Diddy standing atop it on a pedestal.

While such guests as Lil Wayne and Rick Ross were featured on the video screen, Diddy was backed by a drummer, two keyboardists and three backup singers as well as singer/dancers Dawn Richards and Kalenna, who deserves props for her first live performance (not to mention her Janelle Monae-inspired mullet).

Speaking of inspirations, Diddy gave a shout out to Prince, acknowledging the influence the Purple One and the Minneapolis Sound had on Diddy Dirty Money's current album, "Last Train to Paris." One special live number had a creative mashup of rhythmic riffs from "Purple Rain" songs and snippets of Prince lyrics.

The "Last Train" music was all about keeping the dance floor busy, with elements of Eurodisco, house, '80s R&B and movie music. Diddy demonstrated that he can dance and give pep talks about positivity and self-belief. He used his commanding presence to compensate for his forgettable rapping and singing skills.

For the crowd, the highlight was a late-in-the-evening medley of oldies from Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, including a heartfelt tribute to his late rap partner, the Notorious B.I.G. Then it was back to Diddy Dirty Money for a big and noisy "Coming Home," Diddy's biggest mainstream radio hit since the 1990s, and "Hello Good Morning," a banging dance-floor workout -- followed by a quick sermon about self-determination -- to send the clubgoers home at 1:45 a.m. on a work night.

Jon Bream • 612-673-1719 twitter: @jonbream