There were rumors that you were going to Bad Boy.

I was. I really wanted to. I never went back to ask Puff for the deal after I left Purple Ribbon. Puff really was the person who gave me a lot of confidence to do exactly what you've been hearing out of me on Pledge and what you're going to hear on 16. I felt like Puff had his own lane. The months that we f***** around and hung out, it really motivated me and inspired me to do what I do. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough. I had seen the success of Yung Joc and Boyz N Da Hood and I was excited to see that but I felt like he was handled badly.

I'm not going to name names because that's not right, but there were four people involved in the Puffy situation. It was me, my manager and two heads of the label. Puff was lied to and he wasn't handled honestly. I didn't have the control to say what was happening. I did tell Puff if he was going to make an aggressive move, he had to do it now. He didn't do it because nobody wants to ruin relationships. I felt like he was dragged around because people were arguing over $70-80,000. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I couldn't put myself back in a situation where I look dishonorable. That's why I'm not on Bad Boy.

Puff, I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry you got d***** around. I'm sorry you got bulls******.

Although many fans and insiders have speculated that the tepid promotion of Let's Talk About It prompted the move, Mr. Thomas characterizes the parting of ways as a business move, not one fueled by animosity or conflict with its founder, Sean "Diddy" Combs. ...

"Bad Boy has been good to me, but when you have a company doing everything for you, you're not necessarily the responsible artist that you could be.

"We have never had any real problems," Mr. Thomas says of his relationship with Mr. Combs, "and as a matter of fact, I made sure that he was one of the very first people to have a copy of my new album. He said that this is what my fans have been waiting for, and he likes it a lot."

DJ Booth: Certainly. The title, �So Much Better,� does this accurately capture your current feeling about life, Carl?

Carl Thomas: Absolutely, you know, I was a victim of a family tragedy. My brother, Halloween night 2004, was the victim of a drive-by shooting, and I was in the middle of promoting my second album, �Let�s Talk About It.� It kind of brought that album to a halt, because I kinda put the microphone down on it actually, and picked my family up; we went through that together, man, and I really didn�t have anything to say. ...

DJ Booth: Do you think that [Bad Boy maybe not being the place to sustain a superstar] is what mostly accounts for having your debut album reach platinum status, and then your sophomore album not doing the same type of numbers?

Carl Thomas: Naw, that�s really not what I attribute that to. I think the first album reached platinum, and the second album reached gold, because the second album I really wasn�t allowed to work it like I was allowed to work, �Emotional.�

DJ Booth: Why not?

Carl Thomas: Because, well my brother got killed, I just quit. You know, I did everything right there I�m just sayin� promotion of the album � if the artist isn�t there, what are you able to do?