"We're the D-A, B-A, N-D!"note
"You can break your face, you can break your hand, but you can't break Da Band."
— Freddy P.
Making the Band (2000-2009) is an MTV reality television series. It centers around various musical acts, most famously "Da Band" of Bad Boy fame. The first season chronicled O-Town's rise to fame, but has since been overshadowed by Sean "Diddy Combs' own acts, Da Band (Making the Band 2), Danity Kane (Making the Band 3), and Day 26 (Making the Band 4).
Making the Band 2 is the most well-known series of the four. Its popularity skyrocketed upon being hilariously parodied by Dave Chappelle.
This series provides examples of:
- All the Other Reindeer: Sara is often singled out for being mature and the sole R&B vocalist. Ironically averted for Dylan, the sole reggae vocalist, most likely for being just as immature as the rest of the group, if not more.
- Arch-Nemesis: Fred and Ness after Episode 4.
- Subverted by Season 3 where they at least tolerate each other and finally averted after the show ends, as they are sometimes seen in pictures together.
- Badass Boast: "Now any one of you niggas want a problem wit' P, look, I'm right here! I'm right here, nigga!"
- Berserk Button: Talking about Fred's family.
- Denying Babs her hair appointment.
- "RAGGADU BLOOD OF A SLAVE"
- Beware the Nice Ones: Sara gets completely pissed with her fellow band members upon their constant partying and mistreatment of her and her family, almost resulting in fights with Chopper and Fred.
- Butt-Monkey: Ness frequently ends up in fights with the group, as well as being the target of various insults.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Dylan is quite good on songs when he actually puts effort into his work. This doesn't happen often, however.
- The whole group could count, as their music tends to gain a large amount of praise. This praise is seldom seen as the group prefers partying to work.
- Brooklyn Rage: Babs is this trope personified.
- Character Development: Ness becomes a bit more mature in Season 3, being more patient and less prone to instigating and/or partaking in fights.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Chopper. Also Dylan.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Ness attempts to fight Babs ("you wanna step up like a man to a nigga, I'mma knock you out like a man!") as she rips him a new one for denying her hair appointment.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Chopper, Ness, and Dylan in the Season 3 premiere, where they ditch Babs to go to a hotel room with a bunch of (very ugly to slightly average-looking) groupies. (Granted, they thought/heard that Babs was right behind them in another car, but still.)
- The Ditz: Chopper, which isn't very surprising considering him being the youngest member of Da Band.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Sara is treated like shit by just about every other band member for often consulting her husband about business decisions/advice and putting her family before making money.
- Bentley is arguably the most patient, reasonable authority figure in the house but often gets disrespected and brushed aside, especially on his first day with the group in "If the Butler Can do It..".
- Jamie in Season 1, mostly for being the token white guy.
- Double Standard: Ness attempts to avert this by stepping up to Babs, even if he was clearly in the wrong.
- Discussed in "New House, New Expectations" when Pocahontas calls Jamie a "white devil".
"If it was his turn to call her some racist shit, it'd be a whole different situation right now." - Dreadful Musician: Dylan tends to be this, which is a given considering his laziness and stubbornness.
- Sara loses her voice from the constant stress of living with the group (especially when pretty much everybody but her smokes constantly) and being away from her family, resulting in her having trouble hitting notes as she tries to record a song.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: Dylan thanks to Dave Chappelle parodying him in The Chappelle Show.
- Freudian Excuse: Mysterious loses her sister during the taping of Season 1, making her rampage upon her rejection in the finale all the more understandable.
- Pocahontas' tough upbringing can explain her rather nasty attitude. Whether this makes her antics excusable depends on who you ask.
- Genre Deconstruction: Pretty much the entire premise of "No Cheesecake 'Til Brooklyn" was teaching Da Band that the music business isn't just "walk into the studio, spit a few bars, make money".
- Genre Savvy: Sara is hesitant to sign the contract for advance money so quickly as she knows what happens if you don't read over it. Sure enough, the money gets postponed by a few weeks.
- Jerkass: The whole group towards Sara.
- Fred tends to be very confrontational and abrasive, best demonstrated when he yells at Sara for telling him to mind his business and stop badmouthing her husband and children over the band's collective money.
- Ness is also very rude quite often, which lands him in a heated argument with Babs and at least four fights (three in the same hour) with Fred.
- Pocahontas in Season 1.
- Diddy for the "cheesecake walk", depending on how you see it.
- Dylan for his overall attitude, especially when Diddy appealed to a judge to get him out of jail last minute to pursue his career.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Fred's hostility towards Ness in "Put 'Em Up and Throw Down" comes from Ness sharing very disrespectful comments about Fred and his family at home after "School of Hard Knocks"'s ending.
- The "cheesecake walk" was in response to the band's constant whining about the initiation process, which was nothing compared to the walk.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Ness doesn't even apologize to Babs for messing up her hair appointment. Even Fred of all people calls him out on this.
- Large Ham: Dylan's accent tends to get played-up occasionally. Lampshaded and parodied by his fellow band members, particularly Chopper and Babs.
- Manchild: Chopper (though, to be fair, he was 15-16 by the time of MTB 2's run). Dylan is a straight example.
- Mood Whiplash: In the second to last episode of MTB 2 Season 3, after Dylan returns from his trial and joins Da Band's tour.Diddy: Yo, fuck Dylan. He's a con artist, he be lyin'..
- Nothing but Hits: The show's soundtrack aside from Da Band's actual music.
- No-Respect Guy: Bentley upon being introduced. The group eventually warms up to him though.
- Sara takes a lot of shit from the rest of the group, notably whenever they’re about to make a hasty decision (i.e. not reading their contracts) or when Sara has family problems (when her daughter is sick with pneumonia).
- Only Sane Man: Bentley.
- Only Sane Woman: Sara. Babs occasionally.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Dylan tends to use his Jamaican accent which he uses for vocals in his everyday speech. It usually slips when confronted with a serious topic or conversation.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Jamie from MTB 2 Season 1.
- Read the Fine Print: Pathetically averted in "Pay Me Now Or See You Later", where everyone in the group (except Sara) signs the contract without reading it, pressuring Sara into signing it quicker when she consults her husband about it as they want to get their money faster.
- Reality TV Show Mansion: Diddy's house.
- Sassy Black Woman: BABS. Also Sara when she's pushed to her limits.
- Mysterious, though she's somewhat tamer than Babs.
- Pocahontas is a particularly nasty example.
- Say My Name: Dylan. Lampshaded and parodied especially by Season 3.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: The infamous "cheesecake walk" of "No Cheesecake 'Til Brooklyn", as well as the various jobs Diddy has Da Band do in the next episode.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Dylan is ludicrously full of himself, which Diddy and the rest of the group are quick to point out.
- Da Band as a whole in "No Cheesecake 'Til Brooklyn". Diddy is quick to shutting this down through various chores and errands for an "initiation process".
- Token Good Teammate: Or rather Token Responsible Teammate, but Sara is a way more pleasant and mature member of the band compared to the rest.
- Bentley, depending on
how you see Bad Boy Records' staff.
- Bentley, depending on
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Babs' Tomboy to Sara's Girly Girl.
- Trauma Conga Line: In Season 1 alone, Mysterious' sister dies, she misses her funeral as she has to stay in the competition, and she loses the very competition she skipped out on her sister for.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Dylan doesn't seem to give a shit that Diddy, on top of scooping him up from a trip to jail at the last minute, keeps giving him chances at redeeming himself once he starts acting stubborn and lazy, refusing to cooperate with the group and missing rehearsals or studio sessions.
- Verbal Tic: "Skraight up" for Fred.
- “Cuz” for Chopper.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: "Da Band".
