Diddy, 1969-

Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), also known as Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists including the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records in 1993. He embarked on his recording career following the success of his first signee, the Notorious B.I.G., for whom he served as manager and hype man. Combs's debut studio album, No Way Out (1997), peaked atop the Billboard 200 and has sold over 7 million copies in the US. Two of its lead singles, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "I'll Be Missing You", topped the Billboard Hot 100—the latter was the first hip hop song to debut atop the chart. His second and third albums, Forever (1999) and The Saga Continues... (2001), reached number two on the Billboard 200, while his fourth, Press Play (2006), reached atop the chart. In 2009, Combs formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money with R&B singers Kalenna Harper and Dawn Richard to release the collaborative album Last Train to Paris (2010), which peaked at number seven in the US and was supported by the single "Coming Home". He released his fifth album, The Love Album: Off the Grid, thirteen years later: it received moderate critical and commercial response. He has worked as a producer for other media, including MTV's reality series Making the Band. He launched the clothing retailer Sean John in 1998, for which he won Menswear Designer of the Year from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2004, having previously been nominated in 2000. Combs served as brand ambassador for the liquor brand Cîroc from 2007 to 2023, and co-founded the television network Revolt in 2013. He is one of the wealthiest musical artists and has won three Grammy Awards. In late 2023, Combs settled a high-profile sexual assault and abuse lawsuit filed by his former partner Cassie Ventura. Numerous lawsuits regarding sexual misconduct were subsequently filed in the following months, with several claimants alleging incidents of sexual assault and abuse by Combs between 1991 and 2009. In March 2024, several properties tied to Combs were raided by the Department of Homeland Security and that September, he was charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. He pled not guilty and was denied bail three times. He is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center and his trial is set to start on May 5, 2025.