Diddy Loses Day26, "Bad Boy Is Always Our Family, But We're W/ Atlantic Right Now"

Diddy's boy group Day26 have reportedly parted ways with the rap mogul's Bad Boy Entertainment label.

According to Day26's Willie, the group still maintains a level of respect and unity with Puff's label.

"Bad Boy is always our family, but we're with Atlantic right now...we really want to get people focused on the artistry, on the music. I think a lot of people lost it with the entertainment of the show. So now, we really want to show people what we're all about, that we do our thing whether it's on stage, in the studio, writing and producing -- we do it all."

Speculation on the group's Bad Boy status began to grow when Diddy signed to Interscope Records earlier this year.

"I had started some previous business relationships with Jimmy Iovine," Diddy said in an interview. "We had a great chemistry with each other. When I sat down with Julie [Greenwald, Atlantic COO] and told them that I had an interest to go sign with Jimmy and they didn't make it rough for me. Lyor [Cohen, WMG Chairman] and Julie were nice enough to let me get my [Bad Boy] name. I was able to take the name over to Interscope and to still in stay in business with them. I am not abandoning any of my artists over there, I still have that imprint. But all my future recordings, including my recording contract, that will be at Interscope Records...We are going to take our time with the amount of acts that we sign...We want to find those very unique artists. We want to build something very special that's not already out there."

Diddy left Atlantic Records in part to further advance his recording career.

"Now that the term of the Warner deal has ended, I have elected to accept an opportunity to move my recording career and future label venture to another company," Diddy said in a statement. The joint venture for Bad Boy's current roster and catalog with WMG will remain in place.

Both Day26 and Diddy were sued over the summer in relation to copyright infringement accusations.

P. Diddy handpicked Day26 in Season 4 of "Making the Band" -- and now they're being accused of handpicking one of their new songs straight from someone else's album! In a copyright infringement notice fired off to Bad Boy Records -- the company ran and founded by Diddy -- singer Kirby Shields alleges his song "I'm Just Getting Started" is "identical" to Day26's "Just Getting Started," released in April. And here's the rub: Shields says the copycat track was produced by Christian Davis Stalnecker, the same producer he hired to work "exclusively" for him back in '07.

No further details have been revealed as of now.