Puff Daddy (Sean "Puffy" Combs) was born in Harlem, New York in 1970. The year that Puff Daddy became a household name was 1997 when Puff ruled the music charts with his producing abilities and his own LP. With a sharp eye on business and hip hop music, Puff Daddy took rap and sampling to new heights in 1997 - and with this success came criticism as well.Puff Daddy's mother was a model, and his father (he found out later in life) was a well-known street hustler who was murdered when Puff was 3. Puff Daddy's mother had the family stay in Harlem for several years so her children could experience city life and diversity. Eventually the family moved to the suburbs of Mount Vernon, New York and where Puff went to a private school. It was while he was at school and a member of the football team that he inherited the nickname "Puffy" - because he would "puff" out his chest to make his body seem bigger. Throughout his childhood and into college, Puff's entrepreneurial characteristics became stronger starting with his paper route and into his college years of house party and concert promotions.
After attending Howard University, Puff Daddy started working in the music industry as an intern at Uptown Records (thanks to his childhood friend, Heavy D). His position at the company eventually led him up the ladder to vice-president and in 1990 Puff Daddy was the executive producer for an LP by Father MC. In December, 1991, a celebrity basketball game and benefit Puff had organized turned tragic when a stampede occurred within the audience and 9 people died. Poor security and organization were sited as the cause of the tragedy, and Puff Daddy had been in charge of both. The event devested Puff Daddy, but soon he was feeling the effects of success with work on hit LPs by Mary J. Blige, Jodeci and Heavy D.
After working at Uptown Records throughout the early 90s and after being let go from the company, Puff Daddy established Bad Boy Entertainment whose clients eventually include the late Notorious B.I.G., 112, Total, Faith Evans, and Craig Mack. Bad Boy's first major hit came with the 1994 Craig Mack single, "Flava In Ya Ear." In a short 4 years, Bad Boy Entertainment sold approximately $100 million worth of recordings. Bad Boy Entertainment also made a multi-million dollar deal with Arista Records allowing the support of the label without impinging on artistic control.
In 1995, Puff Daddy's production success with Bad Boy Entertainment continued with the Notorious B.I.G.'s emergence as a well-known rap artist with his LP Ready To Die and the single "Big Poppa." Bad Boy Entertainment could now boast an impressive line-up of acts, and multi-platinum success. At the same time, a once friendly relationship with rapper 2Pac and Death Row's Suge Knight had turned into a war of words, comments, and accusations, especially in 2Pac's song "Hit 'Em Up." The East coast versus West coast rivalry continued after 2Pac was fatally shot, and many rumors connected Puff Daddy and the Notorious B.I.G. with his death.
In 1996, Puff Daddy began producing for other artists outside his own company including Boyz II Men, SWV, Mariah Carey, Lil' Kim, Babyface, New Edition, and Aretha Franklin. The result was Puff Daddy named as ASCAP's 1996 Songwriter of the Year.
In 1997, Puff Daddy had big plans for the up-coming release of the Notorious B.I.G.'s next LP. But in March, Puff Daddy lost his close friend to gunshots. B.I.G.'s LP, Life After Death, was released 3 weeks later to great commercial and critical success. Puff Daddy's reaction to B.I.G.'s death (and the death of rival 2Pac the year before) was to leave the business - but friends talked him out of it. "When everything happened, I just wanted to give up. I didn't wanna work, I didn't wanna make music no more." In July, '97, Puff Daddy released his own LP, No Way Out (shown as Puff Daddy & The Family) to equally commercial success, but much less critical enjoyment.
All of Puff Daddy's appearance on the charts were collaborations: from his own LP, from B.I.G.'s LP, or as a featured artists on other artist's LPs. One of Puff Daddy's protegees, Mase, showed up along side many of Puff Daddy's hits, including his first chart appearance, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." But the hit that crossed platforms and put Puff Daddy in the limelight was his tribute to his slain friend, "I'll Be Missing You" (which also featured Faith Evans and 112). The track also demonstrated a common theme in Puff Daddy's art of production - sampling a familiar 80s track (in this case The Police's "Every Breath You Take") and up-dating the lyrics with rap and hip hop. "I did it as a tribute to Biggie, so I feel like it came out of my love for him... whatever else it does, I'm happy," The money from the single was used to set up a fund for B.I.G.'s children.
It is Puff Daddy's sampling method that has brought him some criticism, not only for his own music, but for the tracks he has produced for others such as B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, L. L. Cool J, and Mariah Carey. Puff Daddy has stated about sampling: "I'm not afraid of using samples. That's how I started producing. I never played no instruments. I never programmed no drum machines. So if I was at a party and heard a record that I loved. I would figure out a way to bring that record to life. Make it like it was some brand new sh--."
Puff Daddy's LP, No Way Out, spent several weeks at #1 and spawned the additional hits "Been Around The World" and "It's All About The Benjamins" and he toured throughout the end of '97. In September, Puff Daddy took home an MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video for "I'll Be Missing You" which he performed on the show with Sting. The Sting - Puff Daddy connection continued at the end of the year when Puff remixed The Police classic "Roxanne" for their greatest hits collection.
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