Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969)[1] is an American record producer,...(More)

Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969)[1] is an American record producer, mogul, CEO, clothing designer, and rapper. He was brought into the hip hop industry by life long friend Sami Al-Hakkak. As of October 2006, his nickname and recording name is Diddy (adopted in August 2005). Previously, he had been known as Puff Daddy and later as P. Diddy (Puff and Puffy being often used as a nickname, but never as recording names). He is still called P. Diddy in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the latter after a legal battle with another artist, Richard "Diddy" Dearlove.[ His business interests include Bad Boy Records, the clothing lines Sean John and Sean by Sean Combs, a movie production company, and two restaurants. He has taken the roles of recording executive, back up singer, performer, producer of MTV's Making the Band, writer, arranger, clothing designer, and Broadway actor. Diddy is the second richest hip-hop entertainer, having a net worth estimate of US$358 Million. Biography [edit] Early years Born in New York City to Melvin and Janice Combs, Sean grew up in Mount Vernon, just to the north of the New York City borough of the Bronx. When Combs was two, his father Melvin was shot dead in his car on January 26, 1972 at age thirty-three in a Manhattan park following a party he attended.[4] After completing his private secondary education at the Roman Catholic Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx in 1987, Combs attended Howard University in Washington, DC but dropped out, and eventually became an intern at Uptown Records.[4] While enrolled at Howard University, Combs gained a reputation as a party promoter, showing an early penchant for marketing and promotions. Combs, in a display of his tenacity, would also travel back and forth between Washington, DC and New York juggling his classes and his internship with Uptown records. [edit] Establishing Bad Boy After starting the label, both Craig Mack and The Notorious B.I.G. quickly released hit singles, followed by similarly successful LPs, particularly B.I.G.'s Ready to Die. Puff Daddy, as he was then known, began signing more acts to Bad Boy, including, Dream, Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, Father MC, 112 and Total, as well as producing for Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil' Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin and others, and forming The Hitmen, an in-house production team. Ma$e and D-Block (known as "The Lox" at the time) soon joined Bad Boy, just as a widely publicized rivalry with the West Coast's Death Row Records was beginning. Combs and Biggie were criticized and parodied by Tupac Shakur and Suge Kight, in songs and interviews during the mid-1990s. Shakur was murdered in September, 1996.[5] Six months later, on March 9, 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered weeks before the release of his most successful album, Life After Death. Diddy also worked on various "Bad Boy" remixes, including massive smash hits such as MN8's "I've Got A Little Something For You" which featured on the Bad Boys film soundtrack in 1995. [edit] Personal life Combs with his sons Christian and Justin On Thursday December 21, 2006, Combs' then-girlfriend, Kim Porter (who also has a son with Al B Sure), delivered twin girls. Their names are D'Lila Star and Jessie James Combs.[6][7] The couple have a son, Christian, 9. Sean also has another son, Justin, 13, from his previous relationship with stylist Misa Hylton-Brim. In July 2007, Combs' rep confirms that the couple has split.[8] He also has another child with Sarah Chapman, a one year old daughter named Chance Chapman Combs. She and Kim Porter were pregnant at the same time. After initially denying paternity of Chance, DNA tests revealed that Combs is in fact her father. Bringing his total number of children to six, with five belonging to him biologically. [2] Combs is a major soccer fan. He arranged time to meet the Manchester United F.C. team in Copenhagen prior to MTV European Music Awards.[9] Combs favorite club is Arsenal F.C.: "I'm a loyal guy. There's a couple of other football teams tried to recruit me but I'm staying true to Arsenal. Arsenal fans have inducted me as an honorary official Arsenal member."[10] He was given the key to Chicago on October 13, 2006.[11] [edit] Recent events Combs tried to reinvent his image, but was once again in court facing assault charges from a Michigan television host, Dr. Roger Mills, and then was arrested for driving on a suspended license in Florida. In spite of continuing legal problems, Combs decided that he was going to release a gospel album, Thank You, but it was never released. After yet more legal problems stemming from an accusation of reckless driving by the Miami police, Combs began working with a series of unusual (for him) artists. A collaboration with David Bowie appeared on the soundtrack to Training Day, while Combs began working with Britney Spears and 'N Sync. He signed California-based pop girl group Dream to his record label. He was also an opening act for 'N Sync on their Spring 2002 Celebrity Tour. Sean Combs nickname "P. Diddy" was adopted in 2000. Later in 2002, he made his own reality show on MTV called Making the Band 2, the sequel to the first Making the Band. In it, contestants compete to be in a new group on Bad Boy Records. The six finalists have to come up with their name, CD and video (see Da Band). The group was maligned by comics and critics, including a well known skit that appeared on Chappelle's Show, and was dissolved by Diddy at the end of the series. Diddy went on to later work on creating an all-girl group called Danity Kane in the third version of Making The Band.[citation needed] In 2003, Combs ran in the New York City Marathon and raised $2,000,000 for the educational system for the children of New York. On March 10, 2004, he appeared in an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the marathon. He finished the marathon in four hours and eighteen minutes. In 2004, Combs headed the campaign "Vote or Die" for the 2004 Presidential Election. The "Vote or Die" slogan was mocked by both The Daily Show and South Park as being too simplistic and encouraging young people to vote without knowing the issues. In a South Park episode entitled "Douche and Turd", P. Diddy and his associates chased one of the main characters around with weapons, literally threatening to kill him if he wouldn't vote in his school election.[12] At the time there were also rumors that Combs didn't even vote in the election, and that like Paris Hilton, another supporter of the campaign, wasn't even registered. In a 2005 interview with AndPOP, Combs explained that he was developing a new line of men's suits. On August 16, 2005, Combs appeared on the Today Show and announced that he was altering his stage name yet again, dropping the "P." and referring to himself simply as "Diddy," saying that "the P was getting between me and my fans." However this name change to Diddy upset Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, a London based musical artist & DJ.[13] Richard Dearlove lodged paperwork on Wednesday 16 November 2005 at 10:30 am in the Royal Court of Justice, London to start injunctive proceedings, a case which he won when an out of court settlement of 110,000 was agreed. As a result, Combs will no longer be able to use the name Diddy in the UK.[2][14] As of 2005, Combs sold his record company to the Warner Music Group. Tensions still existed between Diddy and former Warners CEOs Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles (both formerly of Def Jam), but they arranged for his imprint to be a part of the company. He still remains CEO of Bad Boy Records.[15] He later hosted the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, and was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2005 by Time magazine.[16] He even earned a mention in the world of country music. The subject of Play Something Country by Brooks & Dunn and Sean Okundaye says he "didn't come to hear P Diddy" which he rhymes with "something bumpin' from the city." Diddy released the album Press Play on October 17, 2006, his first album in 4 years. The album included a variety of popular and contemporary guest appearances including Christina Aguilera, Keyshia Cole, Mario Winans (signed to his label 'Bad Boy Records'), Nas, Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Mary J. Blige, Nicole Scherzinger (of the Pussycat Dolls), Jamie Foxx, Big Boi (Outkast), Ciara, and Brandy. The album reached number one on its first week in the charts. In the February 2007 issue of Blender magazine, Diddy dishes about his wardrobe. He describes his style in three words. "Swagger. Timeless. Diverse."[17] Combs was also recently featured in a Burger King commercial with Cassie. On Sunday, July 1, 2007, Combs performed I'll Be Missing You at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium. On Tuesday, September 18, 2007, Diddy teamed up with 50 Cent and Jay-Z for the "Forbes I Get Money Billion Dollar Remix."[18] [edit] Performing career Diddy has recently finished recording his latest LP, entitled Press Play, featuring collaborations with, among others, Christina Aguilera, Nas, Big Boi, Twista, Just Blaze, Pharrell, Brandy, Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole which was released on October 17th, 2006. It was reported that Diddy would be singing on all the tracks of this album, but that was proven false as, on the album's first single, "Come To Me" (featuring Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls), he did not sing at all, but rather did his traditional rapping. He does sing on the third single, "Last Night" (featuring Keyshia Cole). "Tell Me" (featuring Christina Aguilera) was released as the second single. An interesting fact about this song is that it was a demo song for his Making the Band 3 girl group, Danity Kane, as seen in the second season of the MTV show. He was asking fans on his MySpace page to help him choose the fourth single. "Through the Pain (She Told Me)" (featuring Mario Winans) was chosen as the fourth single. [edit] Ventures Combs has opened his own clothing range named 'Sean John'. Combs is one of the wealthiest people in the American entertainment industry. In 2002, he was featured on Fortune magazine's "40 Richest People Under 40" list and was placed number one in the list of the top ten richest people in hip-hop. He has donated undisclosed amounts to the Patricia Kirby Foundation, an organization that battles teenage bulimia and other eating disorders. In addition to his work as a performer and producer, Combs entered the fashion industry. His clothing line, Sean John, has been nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Award for Menswear Designer of the Year every year since 2000. Sean John received criticism, however, for using fur in his designs. Controversy also followed when it was discovered that factories producing the clothing in Honduras were violating Honduran labor law.[19] Charles Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee, who first exposed the factory, is quoted in the New York Times as saying, "Sean Combs obviously has a lot of clout, he can literally do a lot overnight to help these workers."[19] He did and conditions at the factory improved dramatically. The case is often cited as an example of how concerned celebrities can contribute to ending sweatshop abuses. In 2006, mayor Richard M. Daley awarded Combs with a pair of cufflinks to commemorate the inauguration of an annual October 13 "Diddy Day" in the city of Chicago.[20] Combs received the honor as reward for certain "charitable work" at the Chicago City Hall. This has been seen by some to be an election-month stunt by the mayor. Combs also owns two upscale restaurants called "Justin's" (named after his son) with locations in New York and in Atlanta. He is the designer of the green Dallas Mavericks alternate jersey. He appeared as a drug dealer in the film Made, and he played the role of Walter Lee Younger in the critically acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun. Combs says he loved appearing in the show and being given the opportunity to perform at the theater. He attracted huge crowds for his performance in the New York production, received mixed reviews, and admits he is desperate to pursue an acting career. He also starred with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton in the film Monster's Ball. He also starred in Carlito's Way: Rise to Power. Diddy has mentioned that he would be interested in playing the black-version of James Bond. [edit] Controversy He has been criticized for watering down and overly commercializing hip-hop for a mainstream market and as overusing guest appearances by other artists as well as samples and interpolations of past hits for the majority of his own hit songs.[21] [22] The Onion parodied this phenomenon in an article titled "New rap song samples Billie Jean in its entirety, adds nothing."[23] Nevertheless, he has been enormously successful, with a current estimated worth of US $346 million and growing, making him one of the richest person in the hip hop entertainment business.[24] In 1991, Combs promoted a concert headlined by Heavy D. The concert was held at a City College of New York gymnasium following an AIDS charity basketball game. The event was massively overcrowded; it was oversold to almost twice the capacity of the gymnasium. In addition, thousands without tickets were outside. In order to keep them from sneaking in, Combs' people shut the only door to a stairwell and put a table behind it, despite the crowd jammed inside pounding on the door and pleading for help. At some point people in the crowd outside broke several glass doors in an attempt to get in; this caused a stampede inside the gymnasium in which nine people died.[5] In a 1999 ruling, a Court of Claims judge found Combs and Heavy D. 50 percent responsible for the incident, City College bore the rest of the responsibility in part for abandoning security responsibility to Combs, even though they knew the event was oversold. In 1992, Combs entered into an agreement with Hartford, Connecticut, disc jockey JC Big Balla Sledge to start a label in Hartford for the citys untapped talent, named Hip Hart Beat Records. The pair had creative differences over the usage of talent and eventually split. In a statement to Rolling Stone Magazine, JC said, Sean and I remain friends, just not as close as we once were. Our split where it relates to business was because we saw two totally different avenues. I wanted to drive left and go the way of Def Jam and its mainstay of artists and Puffy [Combs] wanted to drive right, business as usual. We all knew what that meant. I dont have to spell it outjust look at Bad Boys roster and its history. The split was amicable; litigation was an option, but why. Hip Hart Beat Records will one day become a reality. We are close now. In December 1999, Combs was accused of assaulting Steve Stoute of Interscope Records. Stoute was the manager for Nas, whose video for "Hate Me Now" featured Nas being crucified. Though Combs had willingly filmed the video scene earlier that year, he demanded that the images be removed. Stoute's refusal led to an argument and Combs' arrest for aggravated assault. This was followed by a yet more negative publicity as The Lox left Bad Boy Records, and a recording session with Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, both of Biggie's Junior M.A.F.I.A. posse, was interrupted by gunfire. In December 1999, Combs and his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, were at Club New York, a midtown Manhattan nightclub, when gunfire broke out. After a police investigation, Combs and fellow rapper Shyne were arrested for weapons violations and other charges. Combs was indicted after his driver claimed that Combs had tried to bribe him into taking the weapon after the shooting. With bribery charges added to the bill, Combs was being attacked in the tabloids on a near-daily basis. Before the trial was over, Combs found himself in court on numerous civil charges. With a gag order in place, the highly-publicized trial began. His attorney was Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.. After the trial was over, Combs was acquitted, but his artist Shyne was convicted on the same charges and sentenced to ten years in prison. A talent agency then sued Combs for unfair competition, as did a woman who rented an apartment owned by Combs; she claimed he refused to rid the house of vermin. Combs then launched his own lawsuit against a writer who did not follow through on an alleged agreement to help write Combs' biography. Combs was soon acquitted of all charges relating to the shooting incident, followed almost immediately by a break-up with Lopez. With the media circus over, Combs changed his stage name from "Puff Daddy" to "P. Diddy".[25] In February 2004, Combs settled a $3 million lawsuit filed by his former driver, Fenderson, who said he suffered emotional damage after the club shooting four years earlier. Lawyers for both sides, having agreed to keep the settlement terms secret, refused to say what it took to resolve the case. They would say only that the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. In June 2005, it was revealed by Ganglandnews.com[26] that Combs is allegedly a close friend of reputed Gambino Mafia family enforcer, Andrew Campos. In October 2007, he was sued by hip-hop promoter James Waldon for allegedly unleashing three violent bodyguards on him in a New York nightclub.[27](Less)