Transgender artist Jaila Simms makes P. Diddy's band

This story hasn't had much media attention, probably due to poor television ratings, but about a month ago something very special happened. Singer Jaila Simms, transitioning from male to female, became the first transgender person of color to win a reality series in the United States.

It all began in summer 2009 when producer, rapper, and three-time Grammy Award winner P. Diddy auditioned singers, drummers, guitarists, bassists, and keyboardists on the show "Making His Band" to join him on stage for backup vocals and instrumentals on his 2010 "Last Train To Paris" tour. After weeks of narrowing down the field from nearly four dozen hopefuls to an elite squad of talented professionals, on the series finale that aired on 10 October 2009, Diddy selected, among others, Miss Jaila, to be part of his own Bad Boy backup band. In the world of hip-hop where homophobia goes too frequently unchallenged, this is indeed momentous.

Check out this clip from Episode 7 of the series. At around the two minute and twenty second mark, you can watch Jaila sing and see her charming exchange with Diddy afterwards.



"I love you Diddy!"

Sweet.