P. Diddy

P. Diddy biography

Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Diddy, and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. Combs was born in Harlem and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding Bad Boy Records in 1993. He signed The Notorious B.I.G. and profited from the success of the artists he signed. He released his debut album No Way Out in 1997, which has been certified seven times platinum and was followed by successful albums such as Forever (1999), The Saga Continues... (2001) and Press Play (2006). In 2009 Combs formed the musical group Diddy - Dirty Money and released the critically well-reviewed and commercially successful album Last Train to Paris (2009).

Combs has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and is the producer of MTV's Making the Band. His non-music business ventures include the clothing lines Sean John and "Sean by Sean Combs" - for which he earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award - a movie production company, and two restaurants. In 2012 Forbes estimated Combs' net worth at $550 million, making him the richest figure in hip hop.

1969-1988: Early life

Sean Combs was born in a public housing project in Harlem, New York City, and brought up in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother Janice was a model and teacher's assistant, and his father, Melvin Combs, was an associate of convicted New York drug dealer Frank Lucas; at age 33 he was shot to death while sitting in his car in Central Park West. Combs was still a child.

Combs graduated from the Roman Catholic Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987. He played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986. Combs said that he was given the nickname "Puff" as a child because he would "huff and puff" when he was angry, and "Daddy" is another version of "player".

Career

1989-1996: Beginnings

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After dropping out of Howard University in 1989, where he had majored in business, Combs became an intern at New York's Uptown Records. While talent director at Uptown, he helped develop Jodeci and Mary J. Blige. In his college days Combs had a reputation for throwing parties, some of which attracted up to a thousand participants. In 1991, Combs promoted an AIDS fundraiser with Heavy D held at the City College of New York (CCNY) gymnasium, following a charity basketball game. The event was oversold, and a stampede occurred in which nine people died.

In 1993, after being fired from Uptown, Combs established Bad Boy Records as a joint venture with Arista Records, taking then-newcomer The Notorious B.I.G. with him. Both The Notorious B.I.G. and Craig Mack quickly released hit singles, followed by successful LPs, particularly The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die. Combs signed more acts to Bad Boy, including Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, 112, Total, and Father MC. The Hitmen, his in-house production team, worked with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil' Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin, and others. Mase and D-Block (then known as "The L.O.X.") joined Bad Boy just as a widely-publicized rivalry with the West Coast's Death Row Records was beginning. Combs and The Notorious B.I.G. were criticized and parodied by Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight in songs and interviews during the mid-1990s. During 1994-1995, Combs produced several songs for TLC's CrazySexyCool, which finished the decade as number 25 on Billboard's list of top pop albums of the decade.

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