Diddy
aka: P Diddy, Puff Daddy, Puffy D, Sean "Puffy" Combs
Real Name : Sean John Combs
Birthdate : November 4, 1970
Sign : Scorpio
Hometown : Harlem, NY

Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969) is a multi-faceted performer and entertainment mogul who presides over a media empire that includes the record label Bad Boy Entertainment, the clothing lines Sean John and Sean by Sean Combs, a movie production company, and two restaurants. He has taken the roles of recording executive, producer, writer, arranger, clothing designer, actor, singer and rapper. His current nickname and recording name is Diddy, and he has recorded as or credited in recordings as P. Diddy, Puff Daddy and Puffy.

As the founder and CEO of Bad Boy, he was one of the driving forces in moving hip hop music mainstream which resulted in him becoming one of the wealthiest people in the entertainment industry. Combs first skyrocketed to 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, and Carl Thomas. 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. Regardless, he has been enormously successful, with a current estimated worth of nearly $500 million.

Diddy Biography:

It is a rare and significant occasion when a musical artist captures and expresses the sentiments of a generation and expands his horizons to make an impact on society, creating a union between music and life. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is undoubtedly among this very select, very small group. With the roots of his talent stemming from rap and hip-hop but reaching way beyond those parameters, Sean has torn down the barricades that continue to segregate music and society. Through his music, he has allowed different genres - be it hip-hop, pop, soul, rap or underground - to integrate, and in the process, has given birth to a new and unique form. For superstar artists like Mary J. Blige, Smashing Pumpkins, Jennifer Lopez, R. Kelly, Sting, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, Dream, Lil’ Kim, LL Cool J, Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Faith Evans, 112, B2K and many more, Sean has produced multi-platinum, chart-dominating hits. As CEO and founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, a pioneering producer, rapper and pop phenomenon, Sean has become one of today’s most extraordinary, accomplished and unforgettable talents.

Sean Combs was born on November 4, 1969, in Harlem to Melvin and Janice Combs. The tragic murder of his father when he was just two years old forced his mom Janice to move Sean and his sister Keisha to a safer environment in Mount Vernon, New York. Janice Combs worked three jobs to provide the best opportunities for her family and education for her children. Sean attended the Mount Vernon Montessori School and later the Mount St. Michael Academy, where his entrepreneurial flair was first exhibited through his successful paper route at the age of 12.

Sean attended Howard University in Washington, D.C, but his real education began when he signed up for an internship at Uptown Entertainment, where he met the man who would become his mentor, industry leader Andre Harrell (former President of Bad Boy Entertainment). Shuttling back and forth from Washington D.C. to New York City, Combs’ extraordinary energy and commitment earned him the leap from intern at Uptown to Director of A&R at the age of 19. Shortly thereafter, in 1991, he became the careful sculptor of the careers of Uptown artists Jodeci and Mary J. Blige. He produced their music and influenced their image by tapping into the style and flare of urban youth. This brilliant combination ushered in the new musical genre of hip-hop soul, catapulting the music and style of African-American youth into the American mainstream and super-stardom. In 1993, Sean left Uptown, but he reemerged later the same year with a groundbreaking new company of his own, which he branded Bad Boy Entertainment.

With the help of Russell Simmons, he unsuccessfully tried to sign Tupac Shakur whom he considered the best rapper, to jump start the label. Tupac refused. Both Mack and Biggie quickly released hit singles, followed by similarly successful LPs, particularly B.I.G.’s Ready to Die. Puff Daddy, as he was then known, began signing more acts to Bad Boy, including Faith Evans, 112 and Total, as well as producing for Lil’ Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin and others. Mase and The Lox soon joined Bad Boy, just as a widely publicized rivalry with the West Coast’s Death Row Records. Combs and Notorious B.I.G. were allied against Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight, trading insults in songs and interviews during the mid 1990s. Shakur was murdered in 1996. Six months later, in March of 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered weeks before the release of his successful album, Life After Death.

Combs rapped on record as Puff Daddy as early as Supercat’s 1993 "Dolly My Baby" with The Notorious Big. 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". Both singles were successful, though "I’ll Be Missing You" was written by Sauce Money (a tribute to B.I.G. with guests Faith Evans and 112), and was heavily criticized 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 his autobiography. 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".

Combs tried to reinvent his image, but was once again in court facing assault charges from a Michigan television host, 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 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 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." He later hosted the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.

Diddy Discography

About Bad Boy records:
The flagship company of Diddy’s Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group is Bad Boy Records which was formed in 1994 with the signing of just two artists, former EPMD roadie Craig Mack and friend and collaborator Notorious B.I.G. Mr. Combs’ innate talent as a power producer, arranger and CEO who had an ear for recognizing great talent and developing big hits resulted in the fledgling imprint’s big break with the making of the Notorious B.I.G.’s multi-platinum debut album Ready to Die.

more infos:
Diddy official Website: www.diddyonline.com
Sean John official Website: www.seanjohn.com

Diddy photos gallery & P Diddy wallpapers:

• News
• Audio
• Video
• Albums
• Diddy

No profanity, or inaproppriate remarks.