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Biography
The biggest hip-hop impresario of the mid-'90s, Sean "Puffy" Combs -- or Puff Daddy, as he was known on his own musical projects -- created a multi-million dollar industry around Bad Boy Entertainment, with recordings by the Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Faith Evans, 112, and Total, all produced and master-minded by Combs himself. Responsible for over 100 million dollars in total record sales and named ASCAP's 1996 Songwriter of the Year, Combs was, on the other hand, criticized by many in the hip-hop community for watering down the sound of the underground and also for a perceived over-reliance on samples as practically the sole basis for many of his hits. A very successful A&R executive at Uptown Records during the early '90s responsible for sizeable hit records by Father MC, Mary J. Blige, and Jodeci, Combs formed his own Bad Boy label, signed Notorious B.I.G., Evans, and Craig Mack, and earned enough hits to cement an alliance with Arista Records. A highly publicized feud with Death Row Records (in which Tupac Shakur and label head Suge Knight served as West Coast/Dark Side equivalents to the Notorious B.I.G. and Combs) was summarily ended in late 1996, when Shakur was murdered and Knight jailed. Six months later, Notorious B.I.G. was dead as well and after Combs mourned his friend's death, he hit the pop charts in a big way during his biggest year, 1997.
Born in Harlem in 1970, Sean Combs spent much of his childhood in nearby Mt. Vernon, NY. Already a shrewd businessman through his two paper routes, Combs applied to Howard University in Washington, D.C., and while attending, convinced childhood friend Heavy D to sign him up as an intern at the label he recorded for, Uptown Records. Several months later, he was an A&R executive with his sights set on the vice presidency, serving as the executive producer for Father MC's 1990 album Father's Day, which became a hit. Successful albums followed for Mary J. Blige (What's the 411?) and Heavy D & the Boyz (Blue Funk) during 1992, though Combs was fired from Uptown by the following year (probably because he was a bit too ambitious). He worked as a remixer during 1993 and set up Bad Boy Entertainment as his own venture, running the label out of his apartment during long hours with only several employees. After more than a year of hard work, he finally signed two hit artists, former EPMD roadie Craig Mack and the Notorious B.I.G. Mack hit the big-time in mid-1994, when a remix of his "Flava in Ya Ear" single (featuring LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Rampage, and Notorious B.I.G.) hit the Top Ten and became the first platinum record for Bad Boy. B.I.G. notched the second at the beginning of 1995, when his own second hit "Big Poppa" reached number six on the pop charts. Mack's album Project: Funk Da World eventually went gold and Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die was certified double-platinum.
Sean "Puffy" Combs began branching out Bad Boy during 1995, adding platinum R&B acts Faith Evans and Total (both of whom were connected to B.I.G., Evans as his wife and Total as his former backing vocal group) plus another platinum seller, 112, in 1996. He also produced for many outside artists (including Aretha Franklin, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, TLC, SWV, and Lil' Kim) and added two straight-ahead hip-hop acts, Mase and the LOX. By that time, however, Combs and B.I.G. were embroiled in a feud with Death Row Records' head Suge Knight and star Tupac Shakur. Shakur accused Combs of involvement in his 1994 shooting, mocked B.I.G. by saying he had slept with Faith Evans, and threatened the two in the lyrics to his hit song "Hit 'Em Up." (The video for the track featured two characters, P.I.G. and Buffy, who are humiliated in various ways.) In September 1996, however, Shakur was shot and killed by unknown assailants; just six months later, in March of 1997, B.I.G. himself was killed in the same fashion. Just three weeks later, his second album debuted at number one and was eventually certified six times platinum. The single "Hypnotize" also hit number one, and stayed on the charts for months after B.I.G. was killed. Though Combs had been preparing his own solo debut, under the name Puff Daddy, he quit working for several months out of grief for his longtime friend. When he returned in mid-1997, it was with a vengeance, as the single "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" held the top spot on the singles charts for almost two months. Following quickly behind was another monster number one hit, "I'll Be Missing You," a tender tribute to Notorious B.I.G. with Faith Evans providing background vocals. Combs' subsequent LP as Puff Daddy, No Way Out, shot straight to number one and was certified platinum several times over; in 1998 it won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and "I'll Be Missing You" won the award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
Forever followed in 1999, but the rushed release and lack of any new ideas disappointed fans and the sales reflected this sudden shift in opinion. Suddenly, Puff Daddy was considered a celebrity in the public eye before he was thought of as a musician, something that he hadn't anticipated judging by the promotional push the album was given. On top of that, on April 15 of that year, he was accused of severely beating Interscope Records exec Steve Stoute and was brought to court for the incident. According to Stoute, things got ugly when Puff Daddy decided he no longer wanted to be shown crucified in a Nas video he had filmed earlier in the year. Stoute was Nas' manager and left the offending images in the video, which prompted Puffy to visit him in his office. Both parties admitted to the assault, although Puffy downplayed Stoute's broken arm and jaw as fake injuries. As he waited for the court date to appear, he lost the LOX from his Bad Boy label when they complained to the public loudly enough about their desire to leave their business situation. Puffy managed to get his sentence trimmed down to second degree harassment when he finally reached the courts in September, much to his detractors' dismay. He was forced into a one-day anger management class and faced no other charges, but the public disdain for Puffy reached new heights when his recording studio was assaulted with gun fire during a recording session with Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease. Rumors flew as to why the gunfire took place, but no solution was ever offered.
More controversy started brewing when his relationship with singer/actress Jennifer Lopez was made public around the same time. The rumor that the two were engaged haunted them for a few months, but the real problems began when the two were present for a shooting at a New York City club that December. The couple was brought in for questioning, eventually leading to both of them facing charges for illegal possession of a firearm. A stolen gun was found in their vehicle, which sped away after the incident took place. Two other members of their entourage were charged, but Lopez was let go after the evidence was reviewed. They claimed to be the victims of circumstance once Puffy was released on bail, but one of the bouncers from the club turned around and hit the accused with a 100 million dollar lawsuit due to gunshot injuries. Puffy testified in front of a grand jury because of the incident, but Lopez was never called to speak despite being asked to be present. Magazines began to attack their relationship, claiming that the couple was on the rocks and that Lopez was worried about her reputation. Meanwhile, rapper Shyne was indicted for the incident but Puffy was not dismissed because of the weapon situation. He decided to flex his financial and social power while awaiting his fate, calling in powerhouse lawyers and even the Reverend Jesse Jackson to work on his behalf. Despite his stance, he was indicted on the charges, prompting him to react with a "not guilty" plea. Lopez finally announced her support for the rapper after a strangely quiet period, and in a bizarre move Puffy also donated a large sum of money to Hillary Clinton's Senatorial campaign. His European tour was on the brink of cancellation due to the strict bail situation they began to implement, and then the district attorney hit him with a bribery charge. He claimed that Puff Daddy tried to bribe his driver into taking the blame for the weapons charge, and again Puffy denied the accusation. He managed to pull off his tour overseas, only to return home to find his lawyers trying to have the charges dismissed.
A ten-year old-riot at a party thrown by Puffy and rapper Heavy D also came back to haunt him as one of the teenagers present sued him for leaving her with post-traumatic stress syndrome and Grave's disease stemming from the incident. He settled out-of-court for an undisclosed amount of money that July, but around the same time he was also hit with yet another lawsuit. He was accused of sampling a phone conversation without permission, along with several other musicians who worked on the track. Puffy's trial date for the club shooting was finally set for January of 2001, while October found two new lawsuits facing the rapper. First, his driver sued for three million dollars due to personal injury and stress, followed by a 1.8 million dollar suit from the club owner stemming from poor business following the shooting.
The publicity had reached such a fevered pitch that the judge placed a gag order on all the involved parties, claiming that no one had a right to speak about the trial until the event was over with. Lead witnesses, included a high-profile shooting victim, claimed that they witnessed Puffy brandish the gun at the club, while his lawyers attempted to halt the jury selection when January finally rolled around. The judge denied the request and by the end of the month the trial had begun. Meanwhile, two more lawsuits appeared on the horizon as the witnesses began to take the stands. First, a talent agency sued Puff Daddy for unfair competition after he supposedly snatched the group Dream out from under them for his label. Soon after, a new lawsuit appeared in Beverly Hills when a woman renting a house from the rapper claimed that it was infested with vermin and remained without repair despite her requests for him to fix it. Meanwhile, Lopez remained in the picture throughout, supporting Puffy and even maintaining that she would speak on his behalf during the trial. Puffy began handing out lawsuits of his own, suing a writer who bailed out of an agreement to help him write his autobiography the previous year. But heartbreak hit the rapper on Valentine's Day when Lopez broke off their relationship, despite a pre-arranged personal concert from Luther Vandross himself.
A planned gospel album was pushed back to a summer release during the mess, but by March some good news finally hit the Bad Boy camp. Puffy was acquitted of all charges stemming from the club incident, which also snuffed out the civil suits also revolving around his involvement in the club situation. He was so convinced that no one would ever want to hear his name again after the media circus revolving around the trial, he announced that he was changing his professional name to P. Diddy at the end of the month. He forecasted a new direction for himself and his label, promising an emphasis on performance and a down-playing of their previous bravado. A Michigan television show host threw another lawsuit at the rapper regarding an alleged assault from 1999, and somehow he managed to get arrested in Florida for driving on a suspended license. It was actually just a minor legal snafu, but it didn't help his public image after his last year of bad publicity. By the summer, he had managed to release his gospel album, Thank You, as well as a new solo album, The Saga Continues. More legal trouble appeared in the form of a reckless driving accusation thrown at the rapper by Miami police, although they also asked that he just show up to talk to them, not so he could be arrested. Meanwhile, "Bad Boy for Life" became his biggest hit in years late in the summer, and a collaboration with David Bowie appeared on the Training Day movie soundtrack. The fall went by without a hitch and by December, P. Diddy agreed to open several dates for Britney Spears in a truly bizarre pairing. He also ended up doing a few opening slots for *N Sync during their world tour, but he took a serious blow later in the spring when Arista Records stopped distributing Bad Boy Records and took Faith Evans with them. 112 attempted to also jump ship to Def Jam, but Puffy filed a restraining order before the group could make a clean break.
Despite such a relatively short career, Puff Daddy/P. Diddy has managed to stay on top using a clever blend of media controversy and catchy singles. Although his talents as a musician are often up for debate, his public relations skills are virtually unmatched and his business sense is impeccable. ~ John Bush and Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
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