Rapper P. Diddy electrifies conventioneers Meets with Kerry, Mfume and Mayor Street

By MENSAH M. DEAN [email removed]

THERE WAS a rumble. People screamed. "Who's that?" someone squealed. Girls cried. It wasn't Sen. John Kerry, Rev. Jesse or even A.I. It was hurricane Sean "P. Diddy" Combs who touched down on the last day of the NAACP convention, sporting a diamond ear stud, shades and a T-shirt that warned "Vote or Die!" "This is off the hook," a young woman said as she kept pace with the rapper/entrepreneur as he slowly made his way toward a private meeting with Kerry after the candidate's much-hyped speech.

Kerry sent the invite, a P. Diddy aide said. Next week the entertainer will formally launch Citizen Change, his very own voter-registration organization, the aide said. The man who built an empire on being "ghetto fabulous" was surrounded by a herd of his own bald, beefy bodyguards, a contingent of plainclothes city cops and some very aggressive rent-a-cops. They kept the growing crowd at bay as he ducked into a room to meet with Kweisi Mfume, the NAACP president and CEO. They embraced like old band mates.

Next, P. Diddy, who's had his moments with guns and the law, walked a short distance to where Kerry was mixing with the NAACP older-and-wiser set. P. Diddy's entry was slowed when the metal detector sounded, requiring him to show Secret Service agents his cellphone and a few other electronic devices. He flashed a double peace sign as he proceeded. Before the rapper and his crew arrived, the only people at that door were the security types.

That really bugged James Zag Roberts, of Orange, Texas, who said he's been to the last 25 NAACP annual conventions. "I think their priorities are totally out of proportion. They're priorities should be towards somebody who is making a difference in our lives," said Roberts, 58, amid the spectacle. Martin Eady, 43, of Mount Airy, another longtime NAACP member, thought P. Diddy was just putting on a show. "He should have been here from the very beginning. Now he's going to come, what, on the last day, for a couple of minutes," Eady grumped.

As he spied the heavily guarded room, Eady, a construction worker, had something else to say about the seeming lack of groupie interest in Kerry before P. Diddy rolled through. "What do I think about that? I think they don't believe in him. Because we've been lied to for so long by all of them. So what difference is it going to make now?"

A little less than an hour after the summit began, P. Diddy emerged to his public, appearing looser. He signed an autograph or two and waved at those who shouted things like - "You're a good black man, Puffy" - and - "My brother, we're awfully proud of you." Out on Market Street a five-vehicle motorcade of sleek black SUVs and four-door sedans awaited the Bad Boy Records founder. The cops got him in quick, and briefly stopped one lane of traffic so the rapper's motorcade could get going the few blocks to City Hall where Mayor Street awaited. La Shannon Petit, 20, of Miami, stood on the curb as P. Diddy whisked off. She said she was having a great NAACP convention, having met "Drumline" actor Nick Cannon and "the black guy from 'Baywatch.' " But being so close to P. Diddy, even after hearing the pronouncements of a would-be president, was as good as it gets. "John Kerry has a lot to offer, but I can relate to Puff Daddy better because he's younger and he understands what we go through and our mindset," offered the Florida A.&M. business administration major.

At City Hall the star was a lot more emotive. Before his 15-minute talk with Street, P. Diddy said, "We are here today to hit the street and register some voters. We're taking it to the street to let them know how important this election is, how it's life or death, so we have a campaign that we're launching." He said the campaign is "going to go where the candidates ain't goin'. We're going to South Philly, we're going into the 'burbs, we're going to talk to the people and try to motivate them, to understand the power of this vote."

P. Diddy took off after the meeting, sources said, for a visit to the 3rd and Arch streets set of the MTV reality show, "The Real World." Hizzoner, though not a rap fan, felt compelled to share his feelings. Street said he was encouraged that celebrities like P. Diddy were willing to get deeply involved in the presidential election. "Young people need to be involved, and for someone of his magnitude and star power, it will be helpful in getting young people to register and vote."

Street said P. Diddy told him that the goal of the voter drive is to influence 30 million people to get involved in the electoral process. "For him to decide to reach out," Street said, "I think it's great." P. Diddy, registrar of voters. Who knew?