50 facts about Sean Combs known as known by his stage names Puff Daddy

Sean Combs has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and is the producer of MTV's Making the Band. Learn 49 more things about Combs.

1. Sean John Combs also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Diddy, and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur.

2. Sean Combs was born in Harlem and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York.

3. Sean Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding Bad Boy Records in 1993.

4. He signed The Notorious B.I.G. and profited from the success of the artists he signed.

5. He released his debut album No Way Out in 1997, which has been certified seven times platinum and was followed by successful albums such as Forever (1999), The Saga Continues... (2001) and Press Play (2006).

6. In 2009 Combs formed the musical group Diddy - Dirty Money and released the critically well-reviewed and commercially successful album Last Train to Paris (2010).

7. Sean Combs has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and is the producer of MTV's Making the Band.

8. His non-music business ventures include the clothing lines Sean John and "Sean by Sean Combs" - for which he earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award - a movie production company, and two restaurants.

9. In 2015 Forbes estimated Combs' net worth at $735 million.

10. Sean John Combs was born in a public housing project in Harlem, New York City and brought up in Mount Vernon, New York.

11. His mother, Janice, was a model and teacher's assistant, and his father, Melvin Combs, was an associate of convicted New York drug dealer Frank Lucas.

12. Sean Combs graduated from the Roman Catholic Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987.

13. Sean Combs played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986.

14. Sean Combs said that he was given the nickname "Puff" as a child because he would "huff and puff" when he was angry, and "Daddy" is another version of "player".

15. After dropping out of Howard University in 1990, after two years as a business major, Combs became an intern at New York's Uptown Records.

16. While talent director at Uptown, he helped develop Jodeci and Mary J. Blige.

17. In his college days Combs had a reputation for throwing parties, some of which attracted up to a thousand participants.

18. In 1991, Combs promoted an AIDS fundraiser with Heavy D held at the City College of New York (CCNY) gymnasium, following a charity basketball game. The event was oversold, and a stampede occurred in which nine people died.

19. In 1993, after being fired from Uptown, Combs established Bad Boy Records as a joint venture with Arista Records, taking then-newcomer The Notorious B.I.G. with him.

20. Sean Combs signed more acts to Bad Boy, including Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, 112, Total, and Father MC.

21. The Hitmen, his in-house production team, worked with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil' Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin, and others.

22. Combs and The Notorious B.I.G. were criticized and parodied by Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight in songs and interviews during the mid-1990s.

23. During 1994-1995, Combs produced several songs for TLC's CrazySexyCool, which finished the decade as number 25 on Billboard's list of top pop albums of the decade.

24. In 1997, under the name Puff Daddy, Combs recorded his first commercial vocal work as a rapper. His debut single, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", spent 28 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number one.

25. His debut album, No Way Out, was released on July 1, 1997, through Bad Boy Records. Originally titled Hell up in Harlem, the album underwent several changes after The Notorious B.I.G. was killed on March 9, 1997.

26. No Way Out was a significant success, particularly in the United States, where it reached number one on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release, selling 561,000 copies.

27. The album produced five singles: "I'll Be Missing You", a tribute to The Notorious B.I.G., was the first rap song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100; it remained at the top of the chart for eleven consecutive weeks and topped several other charts worldwide. Four other singles; "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", "It's All About the Benjamins", "Been Around the World", and "Victory", were also released.

28. Sean Combs collaborated with Jimmy Page on the song "Come with Me" for the 1998 film Godzilla.

29. The album earned Combs five nominations at the 40th Grammy Awards in 1998, winning the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

30. On September 7, 2000, the album was certified septuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 7 million copies.

31. By the late 1990s, he was being criticized for watering down and overly commercializing hip hop, and for using too many guest appearances, samples, and interpolations of past hits in his new songs.

32. Forever, Combs' debut solo studio album, was released by Bad Boy Records on August 24, 1999, in North America, and in the UK on the following day. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it remained for one week before being knocked off by Mary J. Blige's fourth album, Mary.

33. Sean Combs changed his stage name from "Puff Daddy" to "P. Diddy" in 2001.

34. He appeared as a drug dealer in the film Made and starred with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball (both in 2001).

35. He was an opening act for 'N Sync on their Spring 2002 Celebrity Tour, and he signed California-based pop girl group Dream to his record label.

36. Combs was a producer of the soundtrack album for the film Training Day (2001).

37. In June 2001 Combs ended Bad Boy Entertainment's joint venture with Arista Records, gaining full control of Bad Boy, its catalogue, and its roster of artists.

38. The Saga Continues..., released on July 10 in North America, was the last studio album released by the joint venture. The album reached number two on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, and was eventually certified as Platinum.

39. Sean Combs was executive producer of the reality TV show Making the Band, which appeared on MTV from 2002 to 2009.

40. In 2003 Combs ran in the New York City Marathon, raising $2 million for the educational system of the city of New York.

41. In 1998, Combs started a clothing line, Sean John. It was nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) award for Menswear Designer of the Year in 2000, and won in 2004.

42. Combs is the father of six children.

43. His first child, Justin, was born in 1993 to his high-school sweetheart, designer Misa Hylton-Brim.

44. Combs' sons Quincy and Justin both appeared on MTV's My Super Sweet 16.

45. Sean Combs owns a home in Alpine, New Jersey, which he purchased for a reported $7 million. His winter home in Miami Beach was purchased for $14.5 million in November 2003.

46. Combs founded Daddy's House Social Programs, an organization to help inner city youth, in 1995.

47. Along with Jay-Z, he pledged $1 million to help support victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and donated clothing from his Sean John line to victims.

48. He has donated computers and books to New York schools.

49. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley named October 13, 2006, as "Diddy Day" in honor of Combs' charity work.

50. In 2008 Combs was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Source: Wikipedia.org