Sean Combs

Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), also known by his stage name Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. A three-time Grammy Award winner, 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, New York, 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 received septuple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Two of its lead singles, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "I'll Be Missing You", topped the US 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), both peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, while his fourth, Press Play (2006), peaked atop the chart. Combs then 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 and was supported by the single "Coming Home". His fifth studio album, The Love Album: Off the Grid (2023), 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.

In late 2023, his former partner Cassie Ventura filed a multi-million dollar sexual assault lawsuit against him, and they settled out of court. Over the next few months, numerous civil complaints were filed by claimants who alleged that they had been sexually abused by Combs between 1991 and 2009, and many more are in the planning stages as of October 2024. In March 2024, several properties tied to Combs were raided by the Department of Homeland Security as part of their investigation. In May 2024, surveillance footage of Combs physically assaulting Ventura at a hotel was released. Combs issued a public apology for the assault. In September 2024, he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and the "creation of a criminal enterprise in which he abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct". He pled not guilty. Twice denied bail, Combs is awaiting trial in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His trial is set to start on May 5, 2025.