Sean Combs BET Person Of the Year

By Chuck Creekmur, BET.com Staff Writer

Combs, who added Broadway star and political powerbroker to his list of meteoric accomplishments in 2004, beat out fellow African-American icons Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Rev. Al Sharpton and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to take the honor.

This year, Combs proved the consummate businessman, launching his flagship Sean John clothing shop in Midtown Manhattan and announced plans to open another shop in Beverly Hills. Diddy’s business dealings started in his Bad Boy Entertainment and he saw the return of one of the label’s biggest stars, Ma$e.

Broadway Diddy

Combs, in his continuing quest to keep the public waiting for a next move, the rapper-entrepreneur opened in the Lorraine Hansberry classic “A Raisin in the Sun,” alongside of veteran actress Phylicia Rashad. While he played to mixed reviews, it was clear that Diddy possessed yet another talent. He also took humor to the stage iun 2004, adding a standup comedy leg to his multi-faceted empire. Earlier this year, The Bad Boys of Comedy was filmed in Brooklyn; it was produced in conjunction with the creators of “The Original Kings of Comedy.” Also in 2004, the Combs, the actor, began filming a prequel to Al Pachino’s “Carlito’s Way,” in Harlem.

But perhaps the most celebrated role for Combs this past year was in the political arena, where he ignited a powder-keg political youth movement through his nonprofit, nonpartisan organization Citizen Change. He coined the term “Vote or Die,” and T-shirts with the words emblazoned on them became the catch-phrase for political action among young people. When Election Day rolled around, droves of young people stood in lines for several hours to cast their vote. About 21 million young people voted in the 2004 election – that’s 4.5 million more than in 2000.

Just two months before the election, Combs raised more than $1 million for New York’s education system by running in the New York City Marathon. His slogan: “Diddy Runs The City.” He even capped the magnificent year off with a tour of the White House, compliments of President George W. Bush and the First Lady.

Overcoming Obstacles

But his flight to the top was without turbulence.

Born in 1969 and raised by his doting mother, Janice in Mount Vernon, N.Y. (his father Melvin was killed when Sean was 4) Combs reportedly turned to street hustling at an early age. But as time grew, so did his ambitions. In the onset of the 90’s, the man known as “Puffy” Combs commuted between Howard University and Uptown Records, and under the tutelage of Andre Harrell, was soon promoted into an A&R slot, where he worked closely with Mary J. Blige, Father MC, Heavy D and Jodeci.

During a charity event, a stampede in a school stairwell killed eight people and injured 29 as Puffy performed. Lawsuits resurfaced in 1999 and he would later settle. Around the same time, Harrell fired him. That dismissal prompted Combs to start his own label, Bad Boy Entertainment.

Forging Onward

In the ’90s, Bad Boy was a bastion of hip-hop talent, with artists like Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Total, Ma$e, The Lox, 112 and Puffy producing for the likes Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, KRS-One and Aretha Franklin. But with the fame, came the struggle and tragedy. Amid the so-called East/West war, he saw the murder of his marquee artist, B.I.G. in an apparent retaliation to the execution of Death Row’s Tupac Shakur.  Diddy forged on, released solo albums and works by other Bad Boys like Mase and Black Rob.

In December 1999, controversy reared its head again. Combs’ woes reached a fever-pitch in a nightclub incident in which one person was shot in the face. The high-profile shooting dominated music headlines. The case went to trial in 2001, and Combs was acquitted.  His star rapper, Jamal “Shyne” Barrow, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for possession of a gun and assault. In March of the same year, Combs retired “Puffy” and re-Christened himself “P. Diddy.”

His landslide vote tally as the BET.com Person of the Year suggests that the public recognizes him as someone who has been able to overcome some substantial obstacles to make a dynamic impact on his community.