Artists and supporting cast members starring in Making the Band:
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Da Band
Ness
Lloyd "E. Ness" Mathis
"Hang glide wit 'em!"
A rapper from Philadelphia and the group’s leader.. according to Diddy.
- Arch-Nemesis: Fred for the first half of Season 2. They reconcile in the second half after talking to Diddy in “Put ‘Em Up and Throw Down”.
- Butt-Monkey: Gets in a lots of fights throughout the show, mostly ones he loses.
- Character Development: Becomes much more reasonable and level-headed by Season 3.
- Fat Bastard: Is overweight and usually the Jerkass of the group.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Ness being named the leader of the group but also usually being the most unpleasant member has made the rest of the band resent him often.
- Jerkass: Has a tendency to act rude towards his fellow band members over very small, trivial things, and is often very hesitant to apologize.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Ness’ reaction was definitely over the top, Fred was most likely only getting food to avoid having to work on more music. There’s also the fact that everyone else in the band openly opposed taking orders from Ness behind his back.
- Kick the Dog: Making fun of Fred allegedly not being able to provide for his family.
- Insulting Chopper and his musical skills when he refuses to help clean up around the house, his remarks progressively getting more mean-spirited and condescending as they go back and forth.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Dissing Fred and his family gets him choked out by Fred with his pants down, sucker punched while in the studio, and beaten up in the hallway (though he does put Fred in a headlock thanks to there not being much room to work with).
- The Leader: Or so Diddy claims. Nobody really respects him enough to accept his status.
- No-Respect Guy: Is named the leader of the group by Diddy but never gets the respect that goes along with the title. The closest he gets to being treated as the leader is in “No Cheesecake ‘Til Brooklyn”, where the whole group protests the “cheesecake walk”.
- Only Sane Man: Becomes this from time to time, especially by Season 3.
- He’s one of the few members aside from Dylan and Sara to not freak out when the group’s advance checks get delayed.
- Sole Survivor: Along with Babs in the finale, Ness is the only member of Bad Boy’s Northern branch to not be kicked from the group. (Chopper is moved to the South.)
- Sadly subverted as Ness, Babs, and Chopper quickly disbanded not too long after Da Band broke up.
Sara
Sara Stokes
”Something happens when you touch me..”
The group’s sole R&B singer.
- All the Other Reindeer: Is singled out often for being the sole R&B singer, unlike Dylan, who is the sole reggae vocalist but fits in almost perfectly with the rest of the group.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Downplayed, but Sara goes behind the group’s backs to a Christian radio station to talk about their smoking habits and how it negatively affects her singing, much to the group’s (mostly Babs’) chagrin.
- Butt-Monkey: Can’t seem to catch a break from anyone, not even her husband. Sara is usually on the receiving end of the group’s stupidity and aggressiveness, especially if she tries to call them out on their actions without being rude.
- Dogged Nice Girl: Her attempts to defuse situations or get the group to listen to her in general without raising her voice are met with spite.
- Despite auditioning for and eventually being signed to Bad Boy Records, albeit into a group made up of five emcees, Sara knows next to nothing about the history of hip-hop, most egregiously the lyrics to The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy”.
- Gosh Darn It to Heck!: She'll often use mild substitutes for swear words. This is justified by her being a mother and not wanting to leave a bad example for her children.
- Nice Girl: Naturally, given she’s a wife, a mother, and an R&B singer in a group of MCs (minus Dylan).
- Only Sane Woman: Is usually the down-to-earth member of the group and the one who plans out her decisions before taking action.
- Read the Fine Print: References this trope in “Pay Me Now or See You Later”, when the group bullies her into signing the contract for their advances. Naturally, the group doesn’t get their money immediately, which causes everyone but her, Dylan, and to an extent, Ness to freak out and threaten to quit the band.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Subverted. Sara usually substitutes swear words with milder variations, but swears when she’s angry.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Babs’ Tomboy.
- Verbal Tic: “Mess”, “junk”, and numerous other substitutes for swear words.
Fred
Freddrick “Freddy P” Watson
”Skraight up.”
A rapper from Miami.
- Arch-Nemesis: Ness until the end of “Put ‘Em Up and Throw Down”.
- Berserk Button: Talking about his family, as Ness learns the hard way.
- Character Tic: Sucking his thumb. Yes, really.
- The Ghost / What Happened to the Mouse?: Didn’t appear in the Chappelle's Show skit, not even as a parody (like how Dylan didn’t actually appear in the sketch aside from archive footage, instead being played by Dave Chappelle).
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Can be set off quite easily.
- Hypocrite: When the band's checks get delayed, Fred complains about having a family to feed. However, when he does get his hands on the money, he immediately spends it on expensive jewelry.
- Before the checks were delayed, Fred boasted with Chopper about how he's going to blow all of his money on jewelry and other luxuries.
- Jerkass: Thanks to his short temper, Fred tends to act like a complete dick sometimes.
- Manchild: Subverted in that he doesn’t necessarily act like a child, but he tends to show signs of immaturity (such as irresponsible spending, partying, laziness). Oh, and he sucks his thumb.
- Papa Wolf: Does not take kindly to anyone, particularly Ness, talking about his children.”If I knew he’d said that about my child, we woulda been sheddin’ blood in there.”
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He decides to just ditch the group in the series finale. That's basically the final straw that forces Diddy to dismantle Da Band.
- Still Sucks Thumb: Strangely enough. Downplayed in that he doesn’t really suck it, more like just puts it in/near his mouth.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Him deciding to just ditch the group in the series finale is basically the straw that broke Diddy's back, to which he decides to dismantle Da Band.
- Verbal Tic: “Skraight up.”
Chopper
Rodney “Chopper/Young City” Hill Born “Kevin Barnes”
”I crash all parties: White, Black, Hispanic, Demanic, Chicanic, Comanic, Omanic, Commando!”
A rapper from New Orleans.
- The Ditz: He’s not the group’s brightest member, to say the least. Justified in that he’s the group’s youngest member.. emphasis on “youngest”.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: By the time of “Same Ol’ Chopper”, everyone starts losing their patience with Chopper and his antics, which gets much worse in Episode 5 of Season 3.
- I Have Many Names: “Chopper”, “Young City”, “Chopper City”, etc. It turns out that “Rodney Hill” is not his real name, and is actually an alias he used to avoid prosecution. His real name is Kevin Barnes.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In “Addicted to Fame”, Chopper ditches the group to party in New Orleans. This leads to the rest of the group (yes, even Dylan) lying about being booed on stage at their show in Ohio, and getting to split his check amongst themselves.
- Manchild: Somewhat justified; he was about 17-19 during the show's run.
- Small Name, Big Ego: The whole group shows signs of this, but Chopper takes the cake, becoming addicted to his newfound fame and preferring to party rather than using his genuine talent to make more music.
- Too Dumb to Live: When the group goes to Ohio for a show, Chopper refuses to join them, preferring to stay behind in New Orleans, the previous tour destination and Chopper’s hometown. When he goes in for an interview with a local radio station whose host wonders why/how Chopper snuck away from the group, he responds with “As long as Bad Boy don’t find out”... despite being on camera.
Dylan
Dylan “Dylan Dilinjah” John
“I’m still here, Dylan Dilinjah, the icon, the new era..”
No, this is not him.
A reggae vocalist from Brooklyn. His portrayal by Dave Chappelle has made him the most memorable artist in Da Band.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Provides some amazing vocals and really steals songs he appears on when he puts his mind to making music. He squanders this by being incredibly immature and lazy.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: So much so that Dave Chappelle decided to personally parody him in the very famous Chappelle's Show skit, which made him even more popular.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Frequently missing shows and making up excuses for his absences leads to the rest of the group splitting his check between themselves.
- The Load: He's usually the one missing important events and slacking off when there's work to be done. Many conversations are had concerning whether or not he should just be dropped from the group entirely.
- Manchild: Acts very immature and irresponsible for his age. So much so that even Chopper acts more mature than him occasionally.
- Only Sane Man: Surprisingly assumes this role in “Pay Me Now or See You Later”, when everyone else (except Sara, who was bullied into signing the contract she knew was going to have some sort of catch) is freaking out since they didn’t get their money when they thought they would.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The times when he’s actually productive and regularly attending shows are quite surprising in and out-of-universe.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: He can’t seem to keep a consistent Jamaican accent. It makes sense, considering having grown up in Brooklyn. It usually slips whenever he’s serious or irritated.
- The Pollyanna: When the group’s checks get delayed, Dylan is the only group member being patient and optimistic, as he knows the money is coming, just not when they want it.
- Pretentious Pronunciation: The "Dylan" in his stage name, "Dylan Dilinjah" is pronounced "Die-lawn". His government name, "Dylan John", is pronounced the traditional way.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He's often on the receiving end of this, as everyone has the opportunity to call out his lazy, manipulative behavior.
Babs
Lynese “Babs Bunny” Wiley
”LET ‘EM FIGHT! LET ‘EM FIGHT!”
A rapper from Brooklyn.
- Brooklyn Rage: When she’s angry, which happens quite often, her already thick Brooklyn accent becomes much more intimidating.
- Green-Eyed Monster: It’s implied that Babs is jealous of Sara’s singing talent and “diva” status, as she regularly picks on her even if Sara hasn’t necessarily done anything wrong.
- Hypocrite: Usually in regards to how she treats Sara.
- Babs gets annoyed with Sara for wanting to take time off of touring to visit her family, of whom she has a mother who’s undergoing surgery. Earlier in the series, Babs gets so frustrated with the group, specifically Ness for sabotaging her hair appointment and trying to fight her, that she decides to leave the house and visit her family for a while.
- Babs is furious when Sara goes behind the group’s backs to mouth off to a Christian radio station about the band’s smoking habits, despite such habits being on full display in previous episodes.
- Jerkass: If it’s not Ness, or Fred, it’s Babs who starts shit with just about anyone, especially Sara.
- Kick the Dog: Sara has the misfortune of being Babs’ go-to choice for unleashing her Brooklyn Rage.
- Magnificent Bastard: Lies to Chopper about the group being booed on stage during a show in Ohio so the rest of the group can split his check.
- Sassy Black Woman: Might as well be the page image.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Sara’s Girly Girl.
Bad Boy Records
Diddy
Sean “Puff Daddy/P. Diddy” Combs
”Can’t stop. Won’t stop.”
Founder of Bad Boy Records.
- Bad Boss: Depending on who you ask. It’s generally agreed that he’s more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The “cheesecake walk” and the many exercises Diddy makes Da Band do are used as team-building exercises, and proof to him that the group would do anything to make their dreams come true.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The group was clearly acting very entitled in “No Cheesecake ‘Til Brooklyn” despite having no actual music released yet; hell, they didn’t even have a name yet!
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Diddy genuinely wants to see his group(s) successful and all of his excruciating initiation processes are simply in an attempt to harden them enough to survive in such a harsh industry. It’s pretty telling that he appealed to a judge to get Dylan out of jail when he was well on his way to it because he saw the latter’s potential.
- Pet the Dog: He appeals to a judge to keep Dylan from going to prison because he saw his potential and even had him selected as a final member of the group.
- Tough Love: His initiation processes are usually very exhausting and even humiliating (i.e. the infamous cheesecake walk) and he never tries to coddle anyone but he’s doing it to toughen up his artists for an industry that shows no mercy.
Bentley
Derek “Fonzworth Bentley” Watkins
”When we make white people nervous, they invent laws called ‘Jim Crow’.”
A close friend and associate of Diddy. Bentley manages the group with Phil, being introduced to the series during Season 2.
- No-Respect Guy: During his introduction in “If The Butler Can Do It..”. The group slowly warms up to him.
- Not So Above It All: Partakes in a very loud and obnoxious party with the group late at night into the early morning when Sara is trying to sleep, already having gone through enough stress with her band members and not being with her family.
- Only Sane Man: Usually a very levelheaded, down-to-earth guy and the peacekeeper of the group.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: A nice, friendly guy who only wants the best for Da Band.
- The Whitest Black Guy: Bentley acts very sophisticated and dorky, which most likely contributed to his No-Respect Guy status when first introduced.
Jason
Jason Wiley
Da Band's tour manager during Season 3. He is the former Vice President of Marketing at Bad Boy.
- Nice Guy: He clearly cares about the group and is nothing but polite to all of them.
- Only Sane Man: He's more often than not the calm voice of reason keeping Da Band in check.
- Precision F-Strike: Subverted. He's no stranger to swearing, though not as much as the band members. However, one moment in the show sells the illusion.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's a calm, rational guy who just wants to make sure Da Band's touring goes as smoothly as possible.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Bentley in Season 3 as Da Band's dorky tour manager and handler.
Associates of Da Band
Tony
Tony Stokes
”Why I gotta leave?”
Sara’s husband and father of her children. He’s not exactly a welcome presence in the lives of the band members sans Sara.
- The Dreaded: Boy, is he ever. If Tony ever drops by Diddy’s house, you can bet the whole band (except Sara) will start complaining.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Nobody. Well, aside from Sara, but she’s married to him, so it makes sense.
- Jerkass: He is not a pleasant guy.
- Pet the Dog: Some of the talks he has with his wife Sara when she’s feeling lonely and/or stressed are genuinely heartwarming.
Season 1 Contestants
Mysterious
Kimberly "Mysterious" Bert
A rapper from Detroit. She was eliminated in the final decision.
- Berserker Rage: An iconic moment of the show is when she loses the finals and doesn't take it very well. She breaks a wine glass with her bare hands, starts cussing Diddy out, then storms outside, trashing public property in grief.
- The Bus Came Back: She returns for the eponymous episode "Mysterious Is Back" in Season 2.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: When she's brought back in for a potential feature on Da Band's debut album, nobody is a fan of the idea. Subverted in Season 1 where it seemed that most people liked her, especially Sara who had the added benefit of also hailing from Detroit.
- Trauma Conga Line: It was not smooth sailing for her throughout the season. She'd regularly have nervous breakdowns, her sister goes missing, she later finds out that she's been dead this whole time and had her body stuffed into trash bags, she missed her funeral to stay in the competition, and she doesn't make the cut anyway.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Despite everything listed under her Trauma Conga Line, she's a finalist in the competition. Then, she doesn't make the cut. Ouch.
