  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 Puffy
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.
A celebrity basketball game and
benefit Puff had organized turned tragic when
a stampede occurred within the audience and 9
people died of "asphyxia due to
compression of the chest." Poor security
and organization were sited as the cause of
the tragedy, and Puff Daddy had been in
charge of both. The event devastated 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.
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.
 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.
Puff topped the Billboard Rap
Singles chart for 9 weeks helping out Lil' Kim with "No
Time."
 # 17
Singles Artist of the Year (# 1
Male Artist of the Year)
 Puff Daddy hit the Top 40 helped
out by Mase with "Can't Nobody Hold Me
Down."
"Can't Nobody Hold Me
Down"
topped the Billboard R&B Singles Sales
chart for 12 weeks.
Puff Daddy had big plans for the
up-coming release of the Notorious
B.I.G.'s next LP. But Puffy 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."
"Can't Nobody Hold Me
Down"
topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart
for 6 weeks, the Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Sales chart for 7 weeks, the Billboard
R&B Singles chart for 6 weeks, the
Billboard Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales
chart for 6 weeks, and the Billboard Rap
Singles chart for 12 weeks.
The single "Can't Nobody Hold Me
Down"
was certified 2x platinum.
"I'll Be Missing You" topped the
Billboard Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales
chart for 11 weeks.
 Puff hit the Top 40 with his
tribute to Notorious
B.I.G. - "I'll Be Missing You" (with Faith
Evans and 112). The track hit the Top 10 by the end of the
month.
"I'll Be Missing You" topped the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for 11 weeks,
the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for
9 weeks, the Billboard R&B Singles chart
for 8 weeks, the Billboard R&B Singles
Sales chart for 8 weeks, and the Billboard
Rap Singles chart for 8 weeks.
 Puff Daddy released his own LP, No
Way Out (shown as Puff Daddy & The
Family) to equally commercial success, but
much less critical enjoyment. Most 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 with 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.
 The single "I'll Be Missing You" was certified 3x
platinum.
Puffy hit the Top 40 helping out
The
Notorious B.I.G. and Mase with "Mo Money Mo Problems."
"I'll Be Missing You" topped the UK
Singles chart for 5 weeks.
Puffy hit the Top 10 helping out The
Notorious B.I.G. and Mase with "Mo Money Mo Problems."
No
Way Out topped the Billboard 200 Albums
chart for 4 weeks and the Billboard R&B
Album charts for 5 weeks.
Puffy hit #1 for a week with "I'll Be Missing You."
 Puffy hit the Top 40 helping out
SWV week with "Someone."
"Mo Money Mo Problems" topped the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for 2 weeks,
the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for
4 weeks, the Billboard R&B Singles
Airplay chart for 2 weeks, the Billboard
Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for 2
weeks, and the Billboard Rap Singles chart
for 4 weeks.
Puffy appeared on the cover of Rolling
Stone.
 Puff Daddy performed "I'll Be Missing You" at the MTV Video Music
Awards with Sting and the connection
continued at the end of the year when Puffy
remixed The Police classic
"Roxanne" for their greatest hits
collection. Puffy also won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best R&B Video ("I'll Be Missing You") and was also
nominated for Viewer's Choice.
Puffy won a Billboard Music
Video Award for Best Clip (R&B/Urban)
("Mo Money Mo Problems").
No
Way Out was certified 2x platinum.
Puffy hit #1 helping out The
Notorious B.I.G. and Mase with "Mo Money Mo Problems."
Puffy could be
heard on Busta Rhymes' LP, When
Disaster Strikes, on the track
"Body Rock."
No
Way Out was certified 3x platinum.
 No
Way Out was certified 4x platinum and
the single "Been Around The World"
was certified platinum.
Puff Daddy & The Family hit
the Top 40 with "It's All About The
Benjamins."
SoundScan proclaimed Puff
Daddy's No
Way Out the third best-selling LP of
1997 - selling over 3.4 million copies in the
U.S.
Looking back on 1997, Puff Daddy
told Rolling
Stone: "Statistically, this was
one of the best years of my life, but
personally, it was one of the worst..."
Puff Daddy topped the Billboard
Rap Singles chart with "It's All About The
Benjamins / Been Around The World"
for 6 weeks and the Billboard Dance Music
Maxi-Singles Sales chart for a week.
Readers of Rolling
Stone named Puff Daddy the Best Rap
Artist of the Year and critics named him the
Artist of the Year.
Puff topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Pop Artist
- Male (singles & albums), Top Hot
R&B Singles Artist - Male, Top Hot Rap
Artists, Top Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales
Artist, and the Top Hot R&B Singles
Sales, Top Hot Dance Maxi-Single Sales, and
Top Hot Rap Single ("I'll Be Missing You").
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--."
 # 29
Singles Artist of the Year
 Puff Daddy was nominated for 5 American Music
Awards including Favorite Pop/Rock
Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Male
Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite
Soul/R&B New Artist, and Favorite
Rap/Hip-Hop Artist.
Puff Daddy hit the Top 40 with
"Been
Around The World."
"Been
Around The World" topped the Billboard Hot
100 Singles Sales chart for 2 weeks.
Puff Daddy won 2 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or
Group
("I'll Be Missing You" (with Faith
Evans and 112)) and Best Rap Album (No
Way Out) and was also nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or
Group
("Can't Nobody Hold Me
Down"
with Mase and "Mo Money Mo Problems" with The
Notorious B.I.G. and Mase).
It was reported that Puff Daddy
would settle several wrongful death suits
resulting from a 1991 stampede incident that
caused the deaths of 9 celebrity basketball
fans. Puff Daddy had helped stage the event
and will pay about 20% of the $3 million
dollar settlement. One family has refused to
settle the case and their court case.
 Puffy spoke about the incident
when he testified in New York for the lawsuit
and said "...we were pleading with
people to move back. It's almost hard to
explain in words the hysteria... you could
see panic on everybody's face." Puffy
later told reporters that the incident is
"...something that I deal with every day
of my life."
Puff hit the Top 40 with The
Notorious B.I.G. and & Busta Rhymes with "Victory" which also was
certified gold.
 No
Way Out was certified 5x platinum.
Puffy hit the Top 40 with Jimmy
Page with "Come With Me" from the Godzilla soundtrack.
Puffy topped the Billboard Rap
Singles chart with Jimmy Page
with "Come With Me" for 5 weeks.
 The single "Come With Me" was certified
gold.
Puffy hit the Top 40 helping out
Mase with "Lookin' At Me."
The single "Come With Me" was certified
platinum.
It was reported that Puffy would
receive between $40 and $45 million from the
parent-company of Bad Boy Entertainment, BMG.
Puffy topped the Billboard Rap
Singles chart with Mase with
"Lookin' At Me" for 10 weeks.
 Puffy chatted to fans via SonicNet:
"My goal is to make people happy by
making great music... I make music for a lot
of people to hear it... I can make you dance
in the most hard-core club to the most pop
club... that is my job, that is what I
do." Puffy also addressed criticism of
his sampling: "I don't pay attention to
the critics, I pay attention to the fans...
If you look at the volume of music I have
created, sampling isn't dominating the music
I create."
Puff Daddy won a MTV Video Music
Award for Viewer's Choice ("It's All About The
Benjamins") and was also nominated
for Video of the Year ("It's All About The
Benjamins"), Best Video from a Film ("Come With Me"), and Best Rap Video ("Mo Money Mo Problems").
No
Way Out was certified 6x platinum.
A judge determined that Puff
Daddy and Heavy D were negligent for a 1991
charity basketball game that resulted in a
stampede and 9 deaths. The event was
determined to be overbooked. The decision
could affect on-going civil suits against
Puff Daddy.
Throughout the year, Puffy won 2
Soul Train Music Awards for Best R&B/Duo
or Rap Music Video ("I'll Be Missing You") and the Sammy
Davis, Jr. Award for 'Entertainer of the
Year,' 2 Kid's Choice Awards for Best Dresser
and Favorite Singer, and 2 World Music Awards
for World's Best-Selling Rap Artist/Group and
World's Best-Selling New Artist.
 # 58
Singles Artist of the Year
 At the American Music
Awards, Puff Daddy was nominated for
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist and Favorite
Rap/Hip Hop Male Artist.
Puffy hit the Top 40 by helping
out Faith Evans on her hit
"All
Night Long" for her LP Keep
The Faith.
 Puff Daddy turned himself into
New York City police and was charged with 2nd
degree assault and criminal mischief in
connection with an alleged assault of a label
executive over the airing of "Hate Me
Now" by Nas. The previous day, the
manager of Nas was allegedly
assaulted in his office by 3 men possibly
because of the video's inclusion of Puff
Daddy.
 A new Puff Daddy LP, Forever, hit stores.
Puff Daddy was nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video ("Hate Me
Now" (with Nas)).
Puffy plead guilty to 2nd-degree
harassment charges stemming from an alleged
attack on a record label executive last April
- and ordered into anger management
counseling.
Puffy was nominated for a VH1
Fashion Award for Most Fashionable Artist
(Male).
Forever was certified
platinum.
Puff Daddy hit the Top 40 with
"Satisfy
You"
(featuring R.
Kelly).
Forever topped the Billboard
R&B Albums chart for a week.
 Puff Daddy was nominated for a
MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hip-Hop
Artist.
Puffy took part in NetAid.
"Satisfy
You"
topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales
chart for 3 weeks, the the Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart
for 2 weeks, and the Billboard Rap Singles
chart for 4 weeks.
The single "Satisfy
You"
was certified gold.
 Puff Daddy was arrested on
weapon charges in New York after a night of
questioning (with Jennifer Lopez) by the police related
to a stolen gun and a shooting at a nightclub
the couple had left the previous night. Puffy
claimed his innocence and no charges were
brought against Lopez. Puffy and Lopez
reportedly left the night club shortly after
3 people were shot and wounded, and when
pulled over, a gun (later said to be
unrelated to the shooting) was found in their
car. Puffy told reporters: "I do not own
a gun. I do not carry a gun. The charges and
allegations against me are 100% false. I feel
confident that in the next couple of days, I
will be vindicated and everything will be all
right."
MTV: 100
Greatest Videos Ever Made includes
"Mo Money, Mo Problems" at # 23.
Puffy's saga continued when
rapper Shyne (aka James
Barrow), a 'protege' of Puffy was charged
with attempted murder and assault for the
shooting in New York. in mid-January, Puff
Daddy and his bodyguard was indicted on
weapons charges alleging that 2 guns were
linked to them. Puffy hired well-known
lawyer, Johnnie Cochran to dispute the
charges. Puffy responded to reporters:
"The decision to indict me is wrong. I'm
innocent and we will prove it."
Puffy hit the Top 40 again with
the song "Satisfy
You"
featuring R.
Kelly.
Puff Daddy was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or
Group
("Satisfy
You"
with Puff
Daddy). Puffy was arraigned in court
in New York and plead not guilty to criminal
possession of a weapon charges. Later in
month more claims against Puffy surfaced
stating that he attempted to bribe his driver
to lay claim to the gun that was found.
 Puff Daddy reached a financial
settlement with a woman who was injured at
the 1991 concert stampede in New York.
Puff Daddy was sued along with Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease
for $200 million for invasion of privacy
related to a phone conversation used in the
track "Play Around" (on a LP by Lil'
Cease produced by Puffy and Lil' Kim).
No
Way Out was certified 7x platinum.
 # 139
Singles Artist of the Year
Puffy's trial for illegal gun
possession and bribery began with the
prosecution stating Puffy fired a gun at the
ceiling at the nightclub and that a witness
would testify seeing a gun thrown from his
vehicle after he fled the scene with his
driver and girlfriend, | 
