AP Photo/Lionel CironneauIt's official: Diddy has boarded the crazy music train.
The king of hype has taken the art to a new level, announcing plans to release the high-concept album Last Train to Paris this fall, a would-be "electro-hip-hop soul funk" masterpiece that culminates in a love-seeking Eurail journey from London to Paris.
"I'm ushering in a new movement called 'train music,' " the rapper-turned-wannabe serious actor said.
"Last Train to Paris is deeper than any of the stuff I have made. It's a profound love story. It's me with my shades off. It's the truth."
It's also coming part and parcel with a movie version of the album, starring—who else?—Diddy himself.
Trapped In the Closet's got nothing on him.
Combs told MTV News this week that the album will not be a solo effort, instead will be a group endeavor comprised of Diddy and two as yet unnamed female bandmates. The arc will follow Diddy's character as he tours overseas and finds the woman of his dreams—only to lose her, find her, lose her again and, (spoiler alert?) find her a final time.
"We get together, she's attached to my hip…I tell her to come to New York, Miami, all the places where I get it poppin', where I really do s---t," he said. "You know how men pop s---t like men do sometimes when they're trying to make a woman fall in love."
The duo experiences a misunderstanding and parts ways again.
"So, I go on tour and I'm in London," the storyboarder extraordinaire told MTV News. "I get a tip that she's in Paris, and it's 9:45 p.m. or something. It's one of the foggiest days in London, so I can't take my plane. I can't drive, the road is shut down. The only way I can get there is the last train to Paris…
"It's that whole intensity of what happens on the train ride—and will she be there when I get there—is something else you'll hear."
Diddy is expected to go into production on the accompanying movie in May, though was quick to rebut claims that this would be his Purple Rain.
"It's not like I'm playing Prince and s---t," he said.
The album, due out Sept. 22, will be Diddy's first since 2007's Press Play and features collaborations with producers The Neptunes, T-Pain, Rodney Jerkins, Tricky and The Dream, among other hotshots.
"I've been a businessman for the past two years. It's time for me to focus on being an artist again. I am going to show the world a new refreshing side of me. Get on or get off!"