Sean Combs

Sean Love Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive.

Sean John Combs was born on November 4, 1969, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

Raised in Mount Vernon, New York, his mother Janice Combs (née Smalls) was a model and teacher's assistant, and his father, Melvin Earl Combs, served in the U.S. Air Force and was an associate of convicted New York drug dealer Frank Lucas.

At age 33, Melvin was shot dead while sitting in his car on Central Park West, when Sean was two years old.

He played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986.

Combs said he was given the nickname "Puff" as a child, because he would "huff and puff" when he was angry.

Combs was a business major at Howard University, but left after his sophomore year.

Combs graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987.

In the following days, three more lawsuits were filed by three additional claimants, with similar allegations of misconduct ranging from 1990 to 2003.

In the wake of the allegations, various companies and brands dissociated with his likeness or involvement.

Combs became an intern at New York's Uptown Records in 1990.

While working as a talent director at Uptown, under the guidance of label founder Andre Harrell, 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.

Combs and Wallace were criticized and parodied by Death Row Records cohorts Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight in songs and interviews during the mid-1990s.

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.

Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993.

Combs has been credited with the discovery and cultivation of artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.

As a recording artist, Combs gained mainstream recognition as the Notorious B.I.G.'s label boss and manager.

After being fired from Uptown in 1993, Combs established his own label Bad Boy Records, which signed a distribution deal with Arista Records.

Combs signed Christopher Wallace (better known as the Notorious B.I.G.) to the newly-established label.

Both Wallace and Craig Mack soon released hit singles, followed by successful LPs, including Wallace'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 the Lox joined Bad Boy just as a widely publicized rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast hip hop scenes was beginning.

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.

Released in the wake and memory of his unsolved murder, Combs' debut studio album, No Way Out (1997), was met with critical acclaim, peaked atop the Billboard 200 and received septuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Its two preceding singles, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" (featuring Mase) and "I'll Be Missing You" (featuring Faith Evans and 112) both peaked the Billboard Hot 100—the latter became the first hip hop song to debut atop the chart.

Combs has won three Grammy Awards from 13 nominations, two MTV Video Music Awards, and a Guinness World Record for "Most Successful Rap Producer" in 1997.

Outside of music, he has served as a producer for other media, including MTV's reality series Making the Band.

In 1997, under the name Puff Daddy, Combs recorded his first commercial vocal work as a rapper.

His debut single, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", spent 28 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number one.

Combs launched the clothing retailer Sean John in 1998, for which he was nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America award for Menswear Designer of the Year in 2000, and won in 2004.

His second and third albums, Forever (1999) and The Saga Continues... (2001) both peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception, while his fourth, Press Play (2006) peaked atop the chart once more.

He has been the brand ambassador for vodka retailer Cîroc since 2007, and co-founded the television network and news website Revolt in 2013.

Through his business ventures, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$1 billion in 2022.

In late 2023, Combs' former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against him for sexual assault, which was settled out of court.

Combs formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money—with R&B singers Kalenna Harper and Dawn Richard—to release the collaborative album, Last Train to Paris (2010), which peaked at number seven and was supported by the single "Coming Home" (featuring Skylar Grey).

His fifth studio album, The Love Album: Off the Grid (2023) was met with moderate success and marked his first not to be released by his Bad Boy label imprint.

In 2014, he returned to Howard University to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities and to deliver the university's 146th Commencement Address.