'My father was a hustler. He was a drug dealer': Sean 'Diddy' Combs opens up for first time about dad Melvin's death as he promotes new music TV network Revolt

Sean 'Diddy' Combs opened up for the first time on Wednesday about his father, who was killed when he was just an infant.

A known associate of convicted drug dealer Frank Lucas, Melvin Combs was shot dead while sitting in his car in New York City at the age of 33 - something the hip-hop mogul made the decision not to publicly talk about until now.
'My father was killed when I was 3 yrs old. we never got to share the moments that made me a man today..but he lives in my spirit..now I'm ready to tell the story YOUTUBE.COM/REVOLTTV #MelvinsSon,' Diddy posted on Twitter, with a link to his new music television project, Revolt TV.

'I have his hustler's mentality, his hustler's spirit': Sean 'Diddy' Combs opened up for the first time on Wednesday about his late father, Melvin, who was killed when he was just three years old, as he launched new music TV network Revolt

In the intimate video titled 'Confessions', the 43-year-old sits down in his New York City apartment at 5.47am to talk about the father he barely knew yet still managed to
shape him.

'Being that my father was killed when I was three years old, I don't have a lot of memories of my father,' he begins.

'They say you can't miss something you never had, but that's only a little ways right. There's definitely been times as I've gotten older that I've missed my father - his presence - not being here... There's things that you would ask your father. There's also things that you would celebrate with him that would make him proud.'

Referring to Melvin as a 'hustler', the successful entrepreneur and businessman cites his father's shortcomings as the inspiration to really make something of his own life.

Bringing back memories: The hip-hop mogul looked lost in thought as he headed out for an early meal in Beverly Hills that same day, after revealing that his father was 'gonna be on my mind a lot today'

Rolling with the homies: The star was accompanied by girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura and a male pal at Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, before his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! later that night

'My father was a hustler. He was a drug dealer and he was a hustler, so I learned early in life that there's only two ways out of that dead-end jail. It made me work even harder.

'Sometimes you can't just answer why things happen, but I definitely think the route that I went on
- staying out of the streets and hitting my books and trying to be somebody - I think he played a role in that,' he says.

'I have his hustler's mentality, his hustler's spirit, his drive, his determination, his swag.'

The clip concludes with a rather poignant statement: 'He's gonna be on my mind a lot today. My father's name was Melvin Combs and I'm Melvin's son, Sean Combs.'
Watch video here

Designer duds: The star sported a denim jacket with black leather sleeves over his white Revolt T-shirt, baggy jeans and white high-top sneakers with gold detail as he left the eatery

A father himself, Diddy has five children to three different women, all of whom he dotes on and plays a significant role in their lives.
Earlier in the day, the star shared a series of messages about his late father as he encouraged fans to check out the intimate two-and-a-half-minute video.

'I've never spoken openly about my father ..but launching @Revolttv moved me to share and let ppl kno the truth (sic),' he started, before adding, 'For every young person who lost their Father or grew up without parents know you can still conquer the WORLD!!

'My father was killed when I was 3 yrs old...we didn't share a lot of moments but he's always lived in my spirit!!'

Dubbed the first 'Multi-Platform TV Network', it is 'powered by Music, Driven by Culture & Fueled by You!' - according to its Twitter account.

Feeling full? The father-of-five held his stomach with a wince on his face after overindulging, while his lady love walked on ahead with her beanie-clad head bowed, looking a little disgruntled

Risqué! The 27-year-old songstress gave onlookers an eyeful as her red and black patterned skirt, which had slits up both legs, blew up to expose her toned pins

The rapper officially launched the network he hopes to make 'the ESPN of music' on Monday, with three days of live-streaming content via YouTube, before it begins airing on Time Warner and some Comcast outlets.

'I want to know, who is Taylor Swift? Why is Miley Cyrus twerking? Why did Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake go on tour? Why did Kanye West call his daughter "North"?' Entertainment Weekly reports him saying of the concept.

'The industry of music is just as important, or more important, as the industry of sports. Sports are covered in a serious manner and we want to follow in those footsteps.'

Diddy says the network will be programmed 'from the gut instead of sales charts' and it will have a strong connection with viewers via social media.

High and mighty: The star added a baseball cap emblazoned with the word 'high' to his ensemble as he headed to the Hollywood studio a short time later with his female assistant as he prepared to promote his new venture

'People have made an assumption, because I’m a hip-hop artist and I’m African-American, that I’m going to try to make a second version of BET, which I’m not,' he confirms.

For the meantime, Revolt will focus predominantly on airing videos along with a few news reports, however, a new Los Angeles studio is set to open in January for artist interviews and live concerts.

Doing his fare share of self-promotion, the clothing designer stepped out for an early bite to eat with his girlfriend, singer Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, in Beverly Hills that same day with the name of his network proudly displayed on his shirt.

Diddy wore baggy jeans, white high-top sneakers with gold accents and a white T-shirt with 'Revolt' splashed across the chest, while he covered his eyes under dark shades.

He threw on a blue denim jacket with black leather sleeves as he exited the restaurant a short time later.

Peace out! The 43-year-old flashed the peace sign as he made his way in for his interview with talk show host Jimmy Fallon

The pair headed to Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ with a pal, ahead of Sean's interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! later that night.

His 27-year-old lady love, whom he is rumoured to have been dating since 2011, looked suitably stylish in a hip-hop kind of way in a black 'Reckless' beanie, white T-shirt with Chanel printed images, black wedge-heel sneakers and a fiery red and black patterned skirt that was slit so high up both legs it almost appeared as if she was wearing nothing at all when the wind blew.

The songstress wore her waist-length black hair in a ponytail, which hung over one shoulder from under her headwear, while she donned huge gold hoop earrings and large dark sunglasses.
Heading to the Hollywood studio after the meal with a female assistant in tow, Diddy simply added a beige baseball cap with black peak that read 'high' across it to his ensemble and he was ready to go.
The star was promoting his new Revolt venture on the show, while one of his entourage was seen carrying a bottle of Ciroc vodka, which he represents.

Aspirations: Diddy says he wants to make Revolt the ESPN of music, saying, 'The industry of music is just as important, or more important, as the industry of sports'