This ditty is costing Diddy big time.
For sampling the Police’s 1983 track “Every Breath You Take” on the 1997 Biggie Smalls tribute “I’ll Be Missing You,” music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is said to be forever indebted to songwriter Sting — to the tune of $5,000 a day.
“5k a day. Love to my brother [Sting],” tweeted Diddy, 53, Wednesday, seemingly confirming his eternal obligation to the Police frontman.
Representatives for neither Diddy nor Sting immediately responded to The Post’s request for a comment.
But in his Twitter admission, Diddy, a native New Yorker, reposted a clip that featured Sting, 71, discussing the perpetual payment during a 2018 appearance on Power 105.1 FM’s “The Breakfast Club.”
The tweet, which amassed more than 7.6 million views, came as a correction to Sting telling the morning show host Charlamagne tha God that Diddy had to pay him $2,000 a day for co-opting his Grammy-winning hit.
The sample was used to honor the late Notorious B.I.G., who was gunned down at age 24 on March 9, 1997.
On the show, when asked if the Bad Boy tycoon had truly agreed to the pricey royalties deal, Sting said, “Yeah, for the rest of his life.”
For clarity, Charlamagne questioned, “Did he ask you for permission?,” to which Sting replied, “Yes, he did.”
However, the “Roxanne” rocker went on to reveal that Diddy waited to request use of the chart-topper until after his song had already hit airwaves. Despite the alleged shadiness, Sting said of the rap icon, “We’re very good friends now.”
And while it’s unclear when the music giants actually struck the hefty $5,000-a-day deal, if the agreement was put in place in 1997, Diddy would have paid Sting roughly $47.4 million dollars to date for his lyrical salute to the slain Biggie.
On the 26th anniversary of the Brooklyn-born emcee’s death, Diddy tweeted“There will NEVER be another. The GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIME,” alongside a video of the B.I.G. offering a motivational message.
“Today we celebrate and honor you king,” Diddy added in his digital eulogy. “Love and miss you!!”
