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Sean Love Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. 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. 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. 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. Combs then 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 critical and commercial response, and was his first not to be released by his Bad Boy label imprint. 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 worked in production for other media, including MTV's reality series Making the Band. He launched the clothing retailer Sean John in 1998, for which he won Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2004, having previously been nominated in 2000. Combs was the brand ambassador for the vodka retailer Cîroc from 2007 to 2023, and co-founded the television network Revolt in 2013. Through his business ventures, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$1 billion in 2022. In late 2023, Cassie Ventura, with whom Combs had a long-term relationship, filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against him for sexual assault, which was settled out of court. In the following days, three more lawsuits were filed by additional claimants, with similar allegations of misconduct ranging from 1991 to 2003. In the wake of the allegations, various companies and brands dissociated with his likeness or involvement. In March 2024, several properties owned by or tied to Combs were raided by the Department of Homeland Security as part of an ongoing investigation. Early life 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 Combs was two years old. Janice worked multiple jobs to support Combs and his sister. Combs was raised Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy. He graduated from the all-boys Catholic school, Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987. 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 second year. In 2014, he returned to Howard University to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities and to deliver the university's 146th commencement address. Career 1990–1996: Career beginnings 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. Usher, who lived with Combs for a year in New York City when he was 13 years old, told Howard Stern in 2016 that Combs' lifestyle "pretty wild" during that time. 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. Shortly after being fired from Uptown in 1993, Combs established his own label Bad Boy Records, which entered a joint venture deal with Arista Records. Combs brought Uptown signee Christopher Wallace (better known as the Notorious B.I.G.) along with him to the newly established label. Both Wallace and Craig Mack began recording for the label and yielded mainstream recognition, leading to the former's debut album and the label's first major project, Ready to Die (1994). 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. 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. 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. 1997–1998: "Puff Daddy" and No Way Out In 1997, under the name Puff Daddy, Combs released 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. His debut album, No Way Out, was released on July 22, 1997, through Bad Boy Records. Originally titled Hell up in Harlem, the album underwent several changes after the Notorious B.I.G. was killed on March 9, 1997. Several of the label's artists made guest appearances on the album. No Way Out was a significant success, particularly in the United States, where it reached number one on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release, selling 561,000 copies. The album produced five singles: "I'll Be Missing You", a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G., was the first rap song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100; it remained at the top of the chart for eleven consecutive weeks and topped several other ch.... Discover the Sean P Murphy popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Sean P Murphy books.