Sean
"Diddy" Combs History Birth - 1999
 Puff Daddy (Sean
"Puffy" Combs) was born in Harlem, New York in 1970. The year that Puff
Daddy became a household name was 1997 when Puffy ruled the music
charts with his producing abilities and his own LP. With a sharp eye on
business and hip hop music, Puff Daddy took rap and sampling to new
heights in 1997 - and with this success came criticism as well. Puff
Daddy's mother was a model, and his father (he found out later in life)
was a well-known street hustler who was murdered when Puff was 3. Puff
Daddy's mother had the family stay in Harlem for several years so her
children could experience city life and diversity. Eventually the
family moved to the suburbs of Mount Vernon, New York and where Puff
went to a private school. It was while he was at school and a member of
the football team that he inherited the nickname "Puffy" - because he
would "puff" out his chest to make his body seem bigger. Throughout his
childhood and into college, Puff's entrepreneurial characteristics
became stronger starting with his paper route and into his college
years of house party and concert promotions. After attending Howard
University, Puff Daddy started working in the music industry as an
intern at Uptown Records (thanks to his childhood friend, Heavy
D). His position at the company eventually led him up the
ladder to vice-president and in 1990 Puff Daddy was the executive
producer for an LP by Father MC.
1991
A celebrity
basketball game and benefit Puff had organized turned tragic when a
stampede occurred within the audience and 9 people died of "asphyxia
due to compression of the chest." Poor security and organization were
sited as the cause of the tragedy, and Puff Daddy had been in charge of
both. The event devastated Puff Daddy, but soon he was feeling the
effects of success with work on hit LPs by Mary J. Blige,
Jodeci and Heavy D.
After working at
Uptown Records throughout the early 90s and after being let go from the
company, Puff Daddy established Bad Boy Entertainment whose clients
eventually include the late Notorious
B.I.G.,
112,
Total,Faith Evans,
and Craig Mack. Bad Boy's first major hit came with
the 1994 Craig Mack single, "Flava In Ya Ear." In a
short 4 years, Bad Boy Entertainment sold approximately $100 million
worth of recordings. Bad Boy Entertainment also made a multi-million
dollar deal with Arista Records allowing the support of the label
without impinging on artistic control.
1995
Puff Daddy's
production success with Bad Boy Entertainment continued with the Notorious B.I.G.'s emergence as a well-known rap artist with his
LP Ready To Die and the single "Big Poppa." Bad Boy
Entertainment could now boast an impressive line-up of acts, and
multi-platinum success.
At the same time,
a once friendly relationship with rapper 2Pac
and Death Row's Suge Knight had turned into a war of words, comments,
and accusations, especially in 2Pac's song "Hit 'Em Up." The East coast
versus West coast rivalry continued after 2Pac was fatally shot, and
many rumors connected Puff Daddy and the Notorious B.I.G. with his death.
1996
Puff Daddy began
producing for other artists outside his own company including Boyz II Men,
SWV,
Mariah Carey,
Lil'
Kim,
Babyface,
New Edition, and
Aretha Franklin.
Puff topped the
Billboard Rap Singles chart for 9 weeks helping out Lil' Kim with "No Time."
1997
Puff Daddy hit
the Top 40 helped out by Mase with "Can't
Nobody Hold Me Down."
"Can't Nobody Hold Me
Down" topped the Billboard R&B
Singles Sales chart for 12
weeks.
Puff Daddy had
big plans for the up-coming release of the Notorious B.I.G.'s next LP. But Puffy lost his close friend to gunshots.
B.I.G.'s LP, Life After Death, was released 3 weeks later to great commercial
and critical success. Puff Daddy's reaction to B.I.G.'s death (and the
death of rival 2Pac the year before) was to leave the business - but
friends talked him out of it. "When everything happened, I just wanted
to give up. I didn't wanna work, I didn't wanna make music no more."
"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for
6 weeks,
the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 7 weeks, the Billboard
R&B Singles chart for 6 weeks, the Billboard Dance Music
Maxi-Singles Sales chart for 6 weeks, and the Billboard Rap Singles
chart for 12 weeks.
The single "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" was certified 2x platinum.
"I'll Be Missing You" topped the Billboard Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales
chart for 11 weeks.
Puff hit the Top
40 with his tribute to Notorious
B.I.G. - "I'll Be Missing You" (with
Faith Evans and
112). The track hit the Top
10 by the end of the month.
"I'll Be Missing You" topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for 11
weeks, the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 9 weeks, the
Billboard R&B Singles chart for 8 weeks, the Billboard R&B
Singles Sales chart for 8 weeks, and the Billboard Rap Singles chart
for 8 weeks.
 Puff Daddy
released his own LP, No Way Out (shown as Puff Daddy & The Family) to
equally commercial success, but much less critical enjoyment. Most of
Puff Daddy's appearance on the charts were collaborations: from his own
LP, from B.I.G.'s LP, or as a featured artists on other artist's LPs.
One of Puff Daddy's protegees, Mase, showed up along side many of Puff Daddy's
hits, including his first chart appearance, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down."
But the hit that crossed platforms and put Puff Daddy
in the limelight with his tribute to his slain friend, "I'll Be Missing You" (which also featured
Faith Evans and
112). The track also demonstrated a common theme in Puff
Daddy's art of production - sampling a familiar 80s track (in this case
The
Police's "Every Breath You
Take") and up-dating the lyrics with rap and hip hop. "I did it as a
tribute to Biggie, so I feel like it came out of my love for him...
whatever else it does, I'm happy," The money from the single was used
to set up a fund for B.I.G.'s children.
The single "I'll Be
Missing You" was certified 3x
platinum.
Puffy hit the Top
40 helping out
The
Notorious B.I.G. and
Mase with "Mo Money Mo
Problems."
"I'll Be Missing You" topped the UK Singles chart for 5 weeks.
Puffy hit the Top 10
helping out The Notorious
B.I.G. and
Mase with "Mo Money Mo
Problems."
No Way Out topped the Billboard 200 Albums chart for 4 weeks and
the Billboard R&B Album charts for 5 weeks.
Puffy hit #1 for a week
with "I'll Be Missing You."
Puffy hit the Top
40 helping out
SWV week with "Someone."
"Mo Money Mo Problems" topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for
2 weeks,
the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 4 weeks, the Billboard
R&B Singles Airplay chart for 2 weeks, the Billboard Dance Music
Maxi-Singles Sales chart for 2 weeks, and the Billboard Rap Singles
chart for 4 weeks.
Puffy appeared on
the cover of Rolling Stone.
Puff Daddy
performed "I'll Be Missing You" at the
MTV
Video Music Awards with
Sting and the connection continued at the end of the year when
Puffy remixed The Police classic "Roxanne" for their greatest hits
collection. Puffy also won a MTV
Video Music Award for Best
R&B Video ("I'll Be Missing You") and was also nominated for Viewer's Choice.
Puffy won a
Billboard Music Video Award for Best Clip (R&B/Urban) ("Mo Money Mo Problems").
No Way Out was certified 2x platinum.
Puffy hit #1 helping
out
The Notorious B.I.G. and
Mase with "Mo
Money Mo Problems."
Puffy
coulld be heard on
Busta Rhymes' LP, When
Disaster Strikes, on the track
"Body Rock."
No Way Out was certified 3x platinum.
No Way Out was certified 4x platinum and the single "Been Around
The World" was certified platinum.
Puff Daddy &
The Family hit the Top 40 with "It's
All About The Benjamins."
SoundScan
proclaimed Puff Daddy's No Way
Out the third best-selling LP
of 1997 - selling over 3.4 million copies in the U.S.
Looking back on
1997, Puff Daddy told Rolling
Stone: "Statistically, this was
one of the best years of my life, but personally, it was one of the
worst..."
Puff Daddy topped
the Billboard Rap Singles chart with "It's
All About The Benjamins / Been
Around The World" for 6 weeks and the Billboard Dance Music
Maxi-Singles Sales chart for a week.
Readers of Rolling Stone named Puff Daddy the Best Rap Artist of the Year and
critics named him the Artist of the Year.
It is Puff
Daddy's sampling method that has brought him some criticism, not only
for his own music, but for the tracks he has produced for others such
as B.I.G., Busta Rhymes,L.L.
Cool J, and
Mariah Carey. Puff Daddy has stated about sampling: "I'm not
afraid of using samples. That's how I started producing. I never played
no instruments. I never programmed no drum machines. So if I was at a
party and heard a record that I loved. I would figure out a way to
bring that record to life. Make it like it was some brand new shit."
1998
Puff Daddy was
nominated for 5 American
Music Awards including
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist,
Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, and
Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist.
Puff Daddy hit
the Top 40 with "Been Around The
World."
"Been Around The World" topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 2
weeks.
Puff Daddy won 2 Grammy Awards for Best
Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("I'll Be Missing You" (with Faith Evans and
112)) and Best Rap Album (No
Way Out).
It was reported
that Puff Daddy would settle several wrongful death suits resulting
from a 1991 stampede incident that caused the deaths of 9 celebrity
basketball fans. Puff Daddy had helped stage the event and will pay
about 20% of the $3 million dollar settlement. One family has refused
to settle the case and their court case.
Puffy spoke about
the incident when he testified in New York for the lawsuit and said
"...we were pleading with people to move back. It's almost hard to
explain in words the hysteria... you could see panic on everybody's
face." Puffy later told reporters that the incident is "...something
that I deal with every day of my life."
Puff hit the Top
40 with The Notorious B.I.G. and &
Busta
Rhymes with "Victory"
which also was certified gold.
 No Way Out was certified 5x platinum.
Puffy hit the Top
40 with Jimmy Page with "Come With Me" from the Godzilla soundtrack.
Puffy topped the
Billboard Rap Singles chart with Jimmy Page with "Come With Me"
for 5 weeks.
The single "Come With Me"
was certified gold.
Puffy hit the Top
40 helping out Mase with "Lookin'
At Me."
The single "Come With Me"
was certified platinum.
It was reported
that Puffy would receive between $40 and $45 million from the
parent-company of Bad Boy Entertainment, BMG.
Puffy topped the
Billboard Rap Singles chart with Mase
with "Lookin' At Me"
for 10
weeks.
Puffy chatted to
fans via SonicNet: "My goal is to make people happy by making
great music... I make music for a lot of people to hear it... I can
make you dance in the most hard-core club to the most pop club... that
is my job, that is what I do." Puffy also addressed criticism of his
sampling: "I don't pay attention to the critics, I pay attention to the
fans... If you look at the volume of music I have created, sampling
isn't dominating the music I create."
Puff Daddy won a
MTV Video Music Award for Viewer's Choice Award ("It's All About The Benjamins") and was also nominated for Video Of The Year
("It's All About The Benjamins"), Best Video From A Film ("Come With Me"),
and
Best Rap Video ("Mo Money Mo Problems").
No Way Out was certified 6x platinum.
A judge
determined that Puff Daddy and Heavy D were negligent for a 1991
charity basketball game that resulted in a stampede and 9 deaths. The
event was determined to be overbooked. The decision could affect
on-going civil suits against Puff Daddy.
Throughout the
year, Puffy won 2 Soul Train Music Awards for Best R&B/Duo or Rap
Music Video ("I'll Be Missing You") and the Sammy Davis, Jr. Award for
'Entertainer of the Year,' 2 Kid's Choice Awards for Best Dresser and
Favorite Singer, and 2 World Music Awards for World's Best-Selling Rap
Artist/Group and World's Best-Selling New Artist.
1999
At the American Music Awards, Puff Daddy was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock
Male Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Male Artist.
Puffy hit the Top
40 by helping out Faith Evans on her hit "All Night Long"
for her LP Keep The Faith.
Puff Daddy turned
himself into New York City police and was charged with 2nd degree
assault and criminal mischief in connection with an alleged assault of
a label executive over the airing of "Hate Me Now" by Nas. The previous day, the manager of
Nas
was allegedly assaulted in his office by 3 men possibly because of the
video's inclusion of Puff Daddy.
 A new Puff Daddy
LP,
Forever, hit stores.
Puff Daddy was
nominated for a
MTV Video
Music Award
for
Best Rap Video ("Hate Me Now" (with
Nas)).
Puffy plead
guilty to 2nd-degree harassment charges stemming from an alleged attack
on a record label executive last April - and ordered into anger
management counseling.
Puffy was
nominated for a VH1 Fashion Award for Most Fashionable Artist (Male).
Forever was certified platinum.
Puff Daddy hit
the Top 40 with "Satisfy You" (featuring R.
Kelly).
Forever topped the Billboard R&B Albums chart for a week.
Puff Daddy was
nominated for a MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Artist.
Puffy took part
in NetAid.
"Satisfy You"
topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 3 weeks, the the
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart for 2 weeks, and
the Billboard Rap Singles chart for 4 weeks.
The single "Satisfy You"
was certified gold.
Puff Daddy was
arrested on weapon charges in New York after a night of questioning
(with Jennifer Lopez) by the police related to a stolen gun and a
shooting at a nightclub the couple had left the previous night. Puffy
claimed his innocence and no charges were brought against Lopez. Puffy
and Lopez reportedly left the night club shortly after 3 people were
shot and wounded, and when pulled over, a gun (later said to be
unrelated to the shooting) was found in their car. Puffy told
reporters: "I do not own a gun. I do not carry a gun. The charges and
allegations against me are 100% false. I feel confident that in the
next couple of days, I will be vindicated and everything will be all
right."
MTV: 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made
includes "Mo Money, Mo
Problems" at #
23.
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