Before Peter Gunz ever sat in an executive office, he learned a brutal lesson in music industry politics from none other than Puff Daddy. The 1997 anthem “Déjà Vu (Uptown Baby)” may have put the Bronx on the map, but behind the scenes, it sparked quiet drama with one of hip-hop’s biggest moguls.
“We dropped our shit real fast,” Gunz explained on the BagFuel podcast, recalling how he and Lord Tariq rushed their version of the Steely Dan “Black Cow” loop to undercut The LOX and Mase—who had been working on a track using the same sample. “This wasn’t an industry record. This was something from the street that just blew up.”
But success came with consequences.
“Puff told Flex, ‘Don’t play that record.’ Not just Flex—a bunch of DJs pulled back,” Gunz said. “Then Puff called Steely Dan and said, ‘We not using that sample no more.’”
Gunz admits he took it personally. “I’m such a fucking personal dude—from the Bronx, you know? I take everything personal. But Puff? He’s all business. I didn’t understand that.”
Years later, when Puff tried to sign his son Cory, the two came face-to-face. “He said, ‘How you take that personal? That’s business, nigga.’”
That conversation shifted Gunz’s mindset. “When you’re young, you don’t get it. But now? I see it clear. Sometimes, shit is just business.”
