As the founder and CEO of Bad Boy, he was one of the driving forces in moving hip hop music mainstream which resulted in his becoming one of the wealthiest people in the entertainment industry. Combs first gained fame as a label executive, first for Uptown Records and later for his own label, signing and developing acts such as Father MC, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Craig Mack, Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, 112, Ma$e, Boyz N Da Hood, and Carl Thomas. The label rose to prominence in 1994 with the release of B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, and would continue its success into the late '90s, although Biggie's death and the departure of several artists from the label have caused it to significantly decrease in prominence today. In his own music career, he has been criticized for watering-down and overtly commercializing hip-hop for a mainstream market, as well as overusing samples and interpolations of past hits for the majority of his own hit songs. Nevertheless he has been enormously successful, with a current estimated worth of nearly $315 million and growing.
Born in Harlem to Janice and Melvin Combs, Combs grew up in the suburb of Mount Vernon. After completing his private secondary education at Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx, Combs attended Howard University in Washington, u.v.f before becoming an intern at Uptown Records. Only a few months later, Combs was an A&R executive, and helped produce Father's Day (Father MC; 1990), What's the 411? (Mary J. Blige; 1992), and Blue Funk (Heavy D & the Boyz; 1992) before being fired in 1993. Combs set up his own label, Bad Boy Records, and soon signed Craig Mack and the Notorious B.I.G.
Combs rapped on record as Puff Daddy as early as Supercat's 1993 "Dolly My Baby" with The Notorious B.I.G. Combs' performance career in the international spotlight as "Puff Daddy" began in 1997, releasing "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", followed by "I'll Be Missing You" (which won Sauce Money a grammy as ghostwriter). Both singles were successful, though "I'll Be Missing You" (a tribute to B.I.G. with guests Faith Evans and 112) was criticized by some for sampling The Police's "Every Breath You Take" and adding little. Combs, plus various labelmates known as the Family, released No Way Out, an LP, in 1997. The album also produced the hit singles "It's All about the Benjamins", which featured Lil Kim, The Lox and The Notorious B.I.G. and had a popular rock remix, which was worked on by Rob Zombie and the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, among others; and "Been Around The World," a song that featured Combs' labelmate, Mase, and the late Notorious B.I.G., and was probably best remembered for having sampled David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and Lisa Stansfield's "All Around The World". The song's video starred many celebrities, such as Wyclef Jean, Quincy Jones, and Combs' future love interest, Jennifer Lopez. "I'll Be Missing You" won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, while No Way Out won Best Rap Album.
Combs' follow-up was 1999's Forever, which was a commercial failure and no more well-reviewed than No Way Out.
In 1997, Combs entered into an agreement with Hartford, CT disc jockey JC “Big Balla” Sledge to start a label in Hartford for the city’s untapped talent, named Hip Hart Beat Records. The pair had creative differences over the usage of talent and eventually split. In a statement to Rolling Stone Magazine, JC said,” Sean and I remain friends, just not as close as we once were. Our split where it relates to business was because we saw two totally different avenues. I wanted to drive left and go the way of Def Jam and it’s mainstay of artists and Puffy wanted to drive right, business as usual. We all knew what that meant. I don’t have to spell it out…just look at Bad Boys roster and it’s history. The split was amicable; litigation was an option, but why. Hip Hart Beat Records will one day become a reality. We are close now.”
On April 15, 1999, Combs was accused of assaulting Steve Stoute of Interscope Records. Stoute was the manager for Nas, whose video for "Hate Me Now" featured Combs being crucified. Though Combs had willingly filmed the video scene earlier that year, he demanded that the images be removed. Stoute's refusal led to an argument and Combs' arrest for aggravated assault. This was followed by a yet more negative publicity as The Lox left Bad Boy Records, and a recording session with Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease (both of B.I.G.'s Junior M.A.F.I.A.) posse was interrupted by gunfire.
In December 1999, Combs and his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, were at Club New York, a midtown Manhattan nightclub, when gunfire broke out. After a police investigation, Combs and fellow rapper Shyne were arrested for weapons violations and other charges. Combs was indicted after his driver claimed that Combs had tried to bribe him into taking the weapon after the shooting. With bribery charges added to the bill, Combs was being attacked in the tabloids on a near-daily basis. Before the trial was over, Combs found himself in court on numerous civil charges.
With a gag order in place, the highly-publicized trial began. His attorney was Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. A talent agency then sued Combs for unfair competition, as did a woman who rented an apartment owned by Combs; she claimed he refused to rid the house of vermin. Combs then launched his own lawsuit against a writer who did not follow through on an alleged agreement to help write Combs' biography. Combs was soon acquitted of all charges relating to the shooting incident, followed almost immediately by a break-up with Lopez. With the media circus over, Combs changed his stage name to "P. Diddy".
In June 2005 it was revealed by Ganglandnews.com [1] that Combs is allegedly a close friend of reputed Gambino Mafia family enforcer, Andrew Campos. Combs and Campos both attended the Mount St. Michael Academy in The Bronx, where they both played on the same football team. It was further alleged that on more than one occasion Campos and other Gambino family members have attended recording sessions as guests of Combs.
Combs tried to reinvent his image, but was once again in court facing assault charges from a Michigan television host, Dr. Rogelio Mills, and then was arrested for driving on a suspended license in Florida. In spite of continuing legal problems, Combs decided that he was going to release a gospel album, Thank You, but it was never released. After yet more legal problems stemming from an accusation of reckless driving by the Miami police, Combs began working with a series of unusual (for him) artists. A collaboration with David Bowie appeared on the soundtrack to Training Day, while Combs began working with Britney Spears and *NSYNC.
This was followed by a serious set-back for Bad Boy Records when Arista Records stopped distributing Bad Boy releases. Faith Evans left the label, and 112 almost did, though Combs filed a restraining order to keep them aboard. As a result, Bad Boy Records was formed as an independent record company. He also signed the female pop group Dream onto Bad Boy Records in 2000.
Later in 2002, he made his own reality show on MTV called Making the Band 2, the sequel to the first Making the Band. In it, contestants compete to be in a new group on Bad Boy Records. The six finalists have to come up with their name, CD and video (see Da Band). The group was maligned by comics and critics, including a well known skit that appeared on Chappelle's Show, and was dissolved by Diddy at the end of the series. Diddy went on to later work on creating an all-girl group called Diddy's Girls in the third version of Making The Band.
In 2003, Combs ran in the New York City Marathon and raised $2,000,000 for the educational system for the children of New York. He appeared on the March 10, 2004 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the marathon.
In 2004, Combs headed the campaign "Vote or Die" for the 2004 Presidential Election. Political analysts say that the mistake of the campaign was it never came out supporting one side which would have most likely been the Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. Instead, the message was just go "vote" or "die." Therefore, it is believed that the campaign actually hurt the very side they wanted to win, because many youth didn't know the issues so they just voted for the incumbent, George W. Bush, who wound up winning.
In a 2005 interview with AndPOP, Combs explained that he was developing a new line of men's suits.
On August 16, 2005, Combs appeared on the Today Show and announced that he was altering his stage name yet again, dropping the "P." and referring to himself simply as "Diddy," saying that "the P was getting between me and my fans."
However this name change to Diddy upset another Diddy, a London based musical artist & DJ,who had been using the name as a musician for 12 years. Diddy (the DJ) lodged paperwork on Wednesday 16th November 2005 at 10.30am in the Royal Court of Justice, London to start injunctive proceedings.
As of 2005, Combs had moved his Bad Boy Records to the Warner Music Group. Tensions still existed between Diddy and former Warners CEOs Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles (both formerly of Def Jam), but they arranged for his imprint to be a part of the company.
He later hosted the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.
Combs is one of the wealthiest and most entrepreneurially-minded men in the American entertainment industry. He is broadly perceived by many as a highly gifted individual with tremendous foresight, the industry has made him incredibly rich. In the year 2002, he was featured on Fortune magazine's "40 Richest People Under 40" list. His worth has been estimated at close to $315 million and growing.
In addition to his work as a performer and producer, Combs has entered fashion. Clothing line, Sean John, has been nominated for the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Award for Menswear Designer of the Year every year since 2000. Sean John however received criticism when it was revealed that its Honduras-based factories violated Honduran labor laws and the use of fur in his designs.
Combs also owns the upscale restaurant chain Justin's (named after his son) with locations in New York and in Atlanta.
Along with producer, director, designer, writer, arranger and more, he also bears the mantle of "actor-rapper," as is common with many in his industry. He appeared as a parody of a drug dealer in Made, and he played the role of Walter Lee Younger in the critically acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun. Combs says he loved appearing in the show and being given the opportunity to perform at the theater. He attracted huge crowds for his performance in the New York production, received mixed reviews, and admits he is desperate to pursue an acting career. He also starred with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton in the film Monster's Ball.
