Photo or artwork: Diddy

Artist Current roster

Diddy

Sean John Combs, known as Diddy, founded Bad Boy Records in 1993; across his career he has been a rapper, a record producer, a label executive and an actor.

He never pretended the room didn’t change when he walked in. Combs came up hungry in Harlem, learned the trade at Uptown, took a public setback and came back harder, launching Bad Boy Records in 1993 at a time when plenty of labels still hadn’t figured out what a hip-hop brand could be.

The catalog stacks up: No Way Out, Forever, the remixes, the videos, the arena-scale shows. For Combs it was never “just” rap. It was cinema, fashion, and R&B and hip-hop sharing the same penthouse. Bad Boy invested in artists aggressively, and when they broke through, the whole roster looked like proof of concept.

Billboard peaks, Grammy hardware, nights that felt like victory laps: he was the executive who could still grab the mic, the producer with pop instincts, the guy who could channel grief into a number one and keep one foot in the boroughs.

Later chapters got noisy, and the tabloids had their run. The recordings, the influence and the culture Bad Boy helped crystallize are harder to erase. Bad Boy forever reads less like a catchphrase and more like a watermark on an era.

#FREEDIDDY

Awards & honors

  • Grammy · Won Won Best Rap Album for No Way Out at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (February 25, 1998). The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and reached multi-platinum status in the United States.
  • Grammy · Won Won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be Missing You" (with Faith Evans and 112 ) at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (February 25, 1998). The single was the first hip-hop song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • Grammy · Won Won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Shake Ya Tailfeather" (with Nelly and Murphy Lee) from *Bad Boys II* at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards (February 8, 2004).
  • Honor Hollywood Walk of Fame (opens in a new tab) — star unveiled May 2, 2008, at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard; first male rapper honored on the Walk.
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best R&B Album as a producer on *My Life* (Mary J. Blige) at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards (February 28, 1996).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best New Artist at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (February 25, 1998).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rap Album for *Life After Death* (with The Notorious B.I.G. ) at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (February 25, 1998). No Way Out won the category that night.
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rhythm & Blues Song for “Honey” (Mariah Carey; shared with Carey, Q-Tip, and others) at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (February 25, 1998).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with The Notorious B.I.G. and Mase ) at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (February 25, 1998). "I'll Be Missing You" won the category that night.
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" (with Mase ) at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (February 25, 1998).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Satisfy You" (with R. Kelly) from *Forever* at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards (February 23, 2000).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Bad Boy for Life" (with Black Rob and Mark Curry ) from *The Saga Continues…* at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards (February 27, 2002).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Pass the Courvoisier Part II” (with Pharrell Williams and Busta Rhymes) at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards (February 23, 2003).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Rap Song as a songwriter on “All Day” (Kanye West single; shared with multiple writers) at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards (February 15, 2016).
  • Grammy · Nominated Nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album for *The Love Album: Off the Grid* at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards (February 4, 2024).

Discography 11

Oldest first · scroll sideways

  1. 1995 Bad Boy Mixtape Vol. 1
  2. 1995 Bad Boy Mixtape Vol. 2
  3. 1996 Bad Boy Mixtape Vol. 3
  4. 1996 Bad Boy Mixtape Vol. 4 (Stop Yappin')
  5. 1997
    No Way Out No.1 7× Platinum
  6. 1999
    Forever Platinum
  7. 2001
    The Saga Continues...
  8. 2002
    We Invented the Remix No.1 Platinum
  9. 2006
    Press Play No.1 Gold
  10. 2010
    Last Train to Paris
  11. 2015
    MMM

Singles 24

Oldest first · scroll sideways

  1. 1997
    Can't Nobody Hold Me Down No.1 2× Platinum
  2. 1997
    I'll Be Missing You No.1 3× Platinum
  3. 1997
    It's All About the Benjamins
  4. 1997
    Been Around the World Platinum
  5. 1998
    Victory Gold
  6. 1999
    Best Friend
  7. 1999
    P.E. 2000
  8. 1999
    Satisfy You Gold
  9. 2001 Diddy
  10. 2001
    Bad Boy for Life
  11. 2002
    I Need a Girl (Part One)
  12. 2002 I Need a Girl (Part Two)
  13. 2003
    Let's Get Ill
  14. 2003
    Shake Ya Tailfeather No.1 Gold
  15. 2003
    Show Me Your Soul
  16. 2004
    Victory 2004
  17. 2006
    Come to Me
  18. 2006
    Tell Me
  19. 2007
    Last Night
  20. 2007
    Through the Pain (She Told Me)
  21. 2009
    Diddy Boppin'
  22. 2015
    Finna Get Loose
  23. 2017
    Watcha Gon' Do?
  24. 2023
    Act Bad

Appears on 50

Credited on releases by other artists · scroll sideways

  1. 1994
    Making Moves With Puff - Single
  2. 1994
    Project: Funk da World Gold
  3. 1996
    Total Platinum
  4. 1997
    Life After Death No.1 Diamond
  5. 1997
    Mo Money Mo Problems - Single No.1 Platinum
  6. 1997
    Harlem World No.1 4× Platinum
  7. 1997
    What You Want - Single Gold
  8. 1998
    The Sampler
  9. 1998
    Money, Power & Respect Platinum
  10. 1998
    Lookin' at Me - EP
  11. 1998
    Keep the Faith Platinum
  12. 1999
    All Night Long - Single
  13. 1999
    Double Up Gold
  14. 1999
    Born Again No.1 2× Platinum
  15. 1999
    Notorious B.I.G. - Single
  16. 2000
    Life Story Platinum
  17. 2001
    Peaches & Cream - Single
  18. 2001
    You Gets No Love - Single
  19. 2001
    Faithfully Platinum
  20. 2001
    Child of the Ghetto
  21. 2003
    Bad Boys II: The Soundtrack No.1 2× Platinum
  22. 2003
    Loon
  23. 2004
    I Don't Wanna Know - Single Platinum
  24. 2004
    Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits Gold
  25. 2004
    Hurt No More Gold
  26. 2004
    Living Legends Gold
  27. 2004
    Welcome Back Gold
  28. 2004 Breathe, Stretch, Shake - Single Gold
  29. 2004
    Bad Boy's R&B Hits
  30. 2005
    Boyz n da Hood
  31. 2005
    Nasty Girl - Single Gold
  32. 2005
    Duets: The Final Chapter Platinum
  33. 2006
    It's Goin' Down - Single 3× Platinum
  34. 2006
    New Joc City Platinum
  35. 2006
    Cassie Platinum
  36. 2007
    Greatest Hits No.1 Platinum
  37. 2007
    Ridin High
  38. 2007
    Hustlenomics
  39. 2008
    Welcome to the Dollhouse No.1 Platinum
  40. 2008
    Take You There - Single
  41. 2008
    Let's Get Physical
  42. 2008
    Just a Rolling Stone
  43. 2009
    Notorious: The Soundtrack
  44. 2009
    Imma Put It On Her - Single
  45. 2009
    Forever in a Day
  46. 2009
    Must Be Love - Single
  47. 2012
    Mac & Cheese 3
  48. 2013
    Becoming King
  49. 2013
    Excuse My French Gold
  50. 2016
    Bad Boy 20th Anniversary Box Set Edition