Diddy

Under the mentorship of Uptown’s founder Andre Harrell, Combs began his career developing artists like Jodeci and Mary J. Blige. Known early on for his extravagant lifestyle and massive college parties, he quickly built a reputation as a bold and enterprising force in the music industry. After being fired from Uptown in 1993, Combs founded Bad Boy Records, bringing along The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), who would become the label’s breakout star and a cultural icon. Combs also signed acts like Faith Evans, 112, Total, and Mase, establishing Bad Boy as a powerhouse in ’90s hip hop and R&B.

Combs’s debut album No Way Out (1997) was a commercial success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and selling over seven million copies in the U.S. It featured chart-topping hits like “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” and “I’ll Be Missing You,” the latter of which made history as the first hip hop song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. He followed up with Forever (1999), The Saga Continues… (2001), and Press Play (2006), with consistent chart presence.

In 2010, Combs formed the group Diddy – Dirty Money and released the experimental album Last Train to Paris. His latest album, The Love Album: Off the Grid, was independently released in 2023. Across his career, he became the first rapper to have five U.S. number-one singles, including collaborations like “Bump, Bump, Bump” and “Shake Ya Tailfeather.”

Combs expanded beyond music into fashion, launching the Sean John clothing line in 1998. He won the CFDA’s Menswear Designer of the Year in 2004. In business, he held roles with Cîroc vodka (2007–2023), co-founded the Revolt TV network in 2013, and topped Forbes’ hip-hop rich list in 2014 and 2017. His accolades include three Grammy Awards, three BET Awards, two MTV VMAs, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—the first for a male rapper.

In film and television, Combs produced and starred in projects like Making the Band, Made (2001), Monster’s Ball (2001), and Get Him to the Greek (2010). Behind the scenes, he was also a key producer on iconic albums and songs for artists like TLC, Mariah Carey, Lil’ Kim, and Aretha Franklin.

Despite his achievements, Combs’s career has been shadowed by controversy. In 1991, an AIDS fundraiser he promoted at CCNY resulted in a tragic stampede that killed nine people. In late 2023, his former partner Cassie Ventura filed a high-profile sexual assault lawsuit, which was settled out of court. Several more allegations emerged in 2024, leading to federal raids and a formal indictment on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Combs pleaded not guilty but has been denied bail multiple times. As of May 2025, he is in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with his trial underway.

From mogul to musician, Sean “Diddy” Combs remains one of the most influential—and polarizing—figures in modern American pop culture.