After his climb from a non-paid internship to becoming an A&R executive at Uptown, Sean "Puffy" Combs was fired in 1993 by Andre Harrell and founded his own label, Bad Boy Records, shortly after.[2] The label's first release was "Flava in Ya Ear" by Craig Mack, followed quickly by Mack's debut album, Project Funk da World in 1994. On the heels of these releases came "Juicy" and Ready to Die, the lead single and debut album from the Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls), released the same year. While Mack's album went Gold, Ready to Die achieved multi-platinum success. Dominating the charts in 1995, B.I.G. became one of the genre's biggest names of the day and Bad Boy's premier star. Also in 1995, the label continued its success with platinum releases by Total and Faith Evans. Bad Boy, meanwhile, staffed a bevy of in-house writer/producers,[6] including: Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson and D Dot—each of whom are credited on a bulk of Bad Boy's releases during this time.
Feud with Death Row Records and loss of the Notorious B.I.G.
The rapid success of the Notorious B.I.G., and Bad Boy as a company, raised some tensions, especially with the Beverly Hills, California-based Death Row Records. For 3 years leading up to 1995, West Coast hip hop, dominated by labels such as Death Row, had been preeminent in mainstream Rap. Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row, held Puff Daddy responsible for the shooting death of his friend Jake Robles, allegedly at the hands of Sean Combs' bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones. Tensions were heightened when Death Row signed 2Pac, who alleged that Bad Boy, notably the Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy, had been complicit in his November 1994 shooting in Quad Studios in Times Square.
After the June 1996 release of 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up", smearing Bad Boy, tensions escalated. 2Pac was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 7, 1996, and died September 13. Bad Boy issued a statement of condolences. On March 9, 1997, while Bad Boy were preparing the release of the Notorious B.I.G.'s double album Life After Death, he was killed in Los Angeles, California. Their deaths left many to speculate if the coastal hostility had been responsible for their deaths. The police investigations were criticized by public and judicial sources. Both cases remain officially unsolved.
Life after the Notorious B.I.G. and rebuilding the label
Posthumously, Biggie's Life After Death reached number one on the Billboard Top 200. Its first two singles, "Hypnotize" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems" also topped the singles charts. The album eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone, and is one of the highest selling rap albums ever in the U.S..
In 1996, Puff Daddy had begun recording his own solo debut album. The first single, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", peaked at No. 1 on the Rap, R&B, and pop charts that spring. In response to Biggie's death, the label rush-released a Puff Daddy tribute song, "I'll Be Missing You", which featured Biggie's widow, Faith Evans, and Bad Boy's R&B singing group 112. The single topped the charts for eleven weeks and became the hasty second single from Combs' album, No Way Out, which was released in July 1997. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with over 560, 000 copies sold in its first week alone, and sold 7 million copies in America. It featured appearances from Mase, The LOX, Carl Thomas, and introduced Bad Boy signee Black Rob. Mase, Combs' newest protégé, in the meantime was immediately thrust into the void that the Notorious B.I.G. left. His own debut album, Harlem World, also released the same year, would go Quadruple Platinum. Due to the successive successes of Life After Death, No Way Out and Harlem World, by the end of 1997, Bad Boy as a label and brand name had hit a commercial peak. During this time, the label began to promote its latest signing the L.O.X., who had been prominently featured on various Bad Boy releases that year.
Bad Boy found success with rap group The LOX. In January 1998, Bad Boy released the group's debut album, Money, Power & Respect to commercial success. It debuted within the top 3 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album was executive produced by Combs and Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, and featured guest appearances by Combs and Carl Thomas. That year, Combs decided to expand Bad Boy's roster to genres other than hip-hop and R&B, and subsequently signed Fuzzbubble to the label as its 1st rock act.[7] The group appeared on the rock remix of Puff Daddy's "It's All About the Benjamins", but parted ways with the label before releasing a full-length album.[8]
In the years to follow, Bad Boy saw a commercial decline. In 1999, Mase became religious and abruptly retired from the business, leaving a serious dent in the company, especially since his 2nd album had just been released. Bad Boy found some success with Shyne, a young rapper from Brooklyn, who garnered generally mixed reviews for his deep voice and slow flow—which many considered to be too reminiscent to, and perhaps a rip-off of the Notorious B.I.G., meanwhile, Combs' later albums failed to generate the same kind of acclaim that his debut had. In an attempt to further market himself, he underwent several name changes; from "Puff Daddy" to "Puffy" to "P. Diddy", to simply just "Diddy" then shortly Diddy- Dirty Money". But with the split of the group he abruptly returned to "Diddy". In June 1999, it was reported that Clive Davis and Arista had given Combs a $50 million advance on future earnings in 1998, but Bad Boy only generated around $30 million in 1999.[9]
As the 2000’s emerged, Bad Boy had noticeably floundered. Many of its more noted acts would eventually vacate the label, while those who remained saw their album sales dwindle as time went on. In spite of continually releasing new material, and various attempts at building artists to the status of Bad Boy's the Notorious B.I.G., few proved as successful as the company hoped. Bad Boy had success in 2000 with Black Rob, a New York City rapper who began associating with Bad Boy in 1996. His album, Life Story, was released through Bad Boy on March 27, 2000. The album debuted in the top 3 on the Billboard top 200, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.
On June 20, 2002, it was announced and confirmed that Combs and Bad Boy parted ways with Arista Records after being with the label since its inception. Combs was able to walk away with ownership of Bad Boy's catalogue as well as recording roster.[10] Around this same time, Combs began overseeing the tv show Making The Band 2 for MTV, a reality music show that focuses on the development of a group act. Making the Band 2's three seasons focused on Combs' new group, Bad Boy's Da Band.
In January 2003, Combs and Bad Boy then entered talks with The Warner Music Group's Elektra Records about Elektra possibly housing Bad Boy for a reported $10 million deal.[11] However, the deal ultimately fell through. On February 6, 2003, it was announced and confirmed that Bad Boy had signed a distribution deal with The Universal Music Group's Universal Records. Under terms of the deal, Combs would retain 100% of the company, while Universal would handle distribution and provide marketing and promotional support.[12] In September 2003, Bad Boy's Da Band released their debut studio album, Too Hot for TV. The group's exposure on MTV helped the album secure a Gold certification by the RIAA.
Southern rap duo 8Ball & MJG released an album called Living Legends to some success in 2004, prompting the creation of Bad Boy South—which would eventually house acts such as Yung Joc. At this time, the label also signed a rapper named Aasim, whose Bad Boy debut album never been released.
By January 2005, Bad Boy began clashing with Universal Records. It is alleged that the tension between the two labels stemmed from Combs believing that Universal had not done enough to market their music, while Universal in turn had refused to offer more money until Bad Boy started to produce more hit records. Though Bad boy's contract with Universal was set to expire in 2006, Combs had already began talking to other record labels, in particular The Warner Music Group and Sony Music's Columbia Records, for distribution.[13]
Resurgence
In 2005, the company formed a joint venture with Warner Music Group (WMG). This saw WMG become the worldwide distributor of the company’s back catalog of classic hits, and take 50% equity in Bad Boy Entertainment.[14] Combs, however, retained joint control over the label and can buy back his equity stake at a later date.
Bad Boy would also see its fortunes improve in 2005,[15] with the success of releases from new signees: Cassie and Yung Joc (both of whom would score top five singles/debut albums). Also in 2006, Bad Boy hit paydirt with Making the Band 3'sDanity Kane, whose debut album topped the charts at No. 1 (the label's first chart topping album since the Bad Boys II soundtrack three years prior), and spun off a top five single. Their second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse also debuted at No. 1, and contained the group's second top ten single "Damaged". Diddy also signed Day26 and Donnie Klang to the label.
However, by 2009, Combs had dissolved Danity Kane, terminating Aubrey O'Day's, D. Woods', Shannon Bex's and Aundrea Fimbres' contracts.[16] Dawn Richard remained signed working as solo artist and songwriter for Bad Boy. In March 2009, it was reported that Richard and Combs were assembling a new girl group but later formed Diddy – Dirty Money, composed of Combs, Richard and a singer-songwriter named Kalenna Harper. In April 2009, Bad Boy also signed Red Cafe.
In September 2009, it was announced that Combs would be leaving Warner, inking a new deal with Universal's Interscope Records. Under the terms of the new deal, Combs rebooted the Bad Boy name and trademark, to be operated through Interscope. The previous Bad Boy catalog and roster, however, remains under the control of Warner.[17]
2010–present
In 2010, Diddy offered Mase a 1-year release from Bad Boy to settle their differences after the 2009 incident with Mase wanting to be released from Bad Boy. With this Mase decided to retire from rap for good, although he was to be reassigned to Bad Boy after his year break was done. In 2011, under his new deal with Interscope-Geffen-A&M, Diddy stated he was looking for new talent to add to his new Bad Boy roster. Jay Electronica, who had close ties with Diddy, was originally planned to be signed to the label but had signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint instead.[18][19]Machine Gun Kelly announced that he signed to Bad Boy/Interscope on August 3, 2011.[20]French Montana and Los also were announced as signees to the label in 2012.
On April 25, 2012, Mase featured alongside Diddy on Wale's "Slight Work" remix, marking the first appearance of the Harlem rapper on record since 2010. Rumors began to start that Mase, as well as singer Omarion, were both signing to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. It was later revealed that Bad Boy artist French Montana was the reason Mase was making his third comeback. According to Montana, Mase is serving as an A&R representative on Montana's forthcoming Bad Boy debut, "Excuse My French", as well as appearing on the remix of Montana's "Everything's a Go". "I'm not sure what kind of decisions he's going to make," Montana says, "[but] I would love to see him in my camp." Mase is currently resigned to Bad Boy Records but has yet to announce whether he is resigned as part of a joint venture deal between Bad Boy and MMG. He later announced he had gotten his release from Bad Boy.[citation needed] In April 2013, Cassie released her first full-length project seven years after her debut album, a mixtape titled RockaByeBaby, to positive reception. Rapper Los announced his departure from Bad Boy Records on March 19, 2014.[21]
On October 5, 2015, Combs announced that Bad Boy would be distributed by Epic Records.[22][23] This will mark the second time that Epic president L.A. Reid oversaw distribution for Bad Boy, having previously overseen distribution for the label 15 years earlier after being appointed president of Arista in 2000. Despite founding the label in 1993, Bad Boy began celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2015 with a 20-minute mega-medley performance at the BET Awards. It stretched into 2016, starting with the label's May reunion sold-out shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and originating the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, starting in North America in the last week of August 2016.[24][25][26]
The Hitmen is the production team for Bad Boy Records. The collective consisted of several notable producers and musicians that either worked solo or alongside Combs in composing tracks for the artists on Bad Boy as well as outside the label.[31]
On August 20, 2015, it was announced that Kanye West was a part of the current roster.[32]
Discography
Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs was signed to the label in 1994 and has released 5 albums from it
Sean Love Combs, also known by his stage name Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. 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. Combs has been credited with the discovery and cultivation of artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
Jason Terrance Phillips, better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Arista Records to release their debut studio album, Money, Power & Respect (1998); their second album, We Are the Streets (2000) was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records. Both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and yielded critical praise; their two subsequent albums, Filthy America... It's Beautiful (2013) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
Total is an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of the Bad Boy Records imprint during the mid-1990s. The group consists of founding members Kima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pamela Long. Total is best known for their feature on Mase's "What You Want", as well as their hits "Kissin' You", "Can't You See", and "What About Us?" and "Trippin'", both featuring Missy Elliott. Long also sung the chorus of The Notorious B.I.G.'s hit song "Hypnotize", although she was not officially credited. Total made their first appearance singing the hook on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut single, "Juicy", widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
112 is an American R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia. Discovered by record production duo Tim & Bob, the group signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Arista Records to release their eponymous debut studio album (1996). The following year, they guest performed alongside labelmate Faith Evans on Puff Daddy's 1997 single "I'll Be Missing You," which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and became the first hip hop song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. The group then released their second and third albums Room 112 (1998) and Part III (2001); the latter peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. The group's fourth album, Hot & Wet (2003) served as their final release with Bad Boy until signing with Def Soul to release their fifth album Pleasure & Pain (2005), which saw continued commercial success. The albums spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 singles including their debut, "Only You" as well as "Cupid," "Anywhere", "Love Me", "It's Over Now," and the Grammy Award-nominated "Peaches & Cream."
David R. Styles, better known by his stage name Styles P, is an American rapper, best known as a member of hip hop group the Lox, alongside childhood friends Sheek Louch and Jadakiss. Along with the other members of the Lox, he is a founder of D-Block Records and was also a part of the Ruff Ryders Entertainment collective. In addition, he has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo MC. In 2002, he released his debut solo album A Gangster and a Gentleman, which contained the hit single "Good Times". The song peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Amir Junaid Muhadith, better known by his stage name Loon, is an American former rapper. He is best known for his work with rapper Puff Daddy and tenure at his label, Bad Boy Records; Loon most notably guest appeared on his 2002 singles "I Need a Girl " and "I Need a Girl ," which peaked at numbers two and four on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Robert Ross, known professionally as Black Rob, was an American rapper who was signed to Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. He was best known for his 2000 single "Whoa!", which peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
No Way Out is the debut studio album by American rapper Puff Daddy & The Family. It was released on July 22, 1997, by Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment. The album's crediting of the Family references the guest appearances from his label-mates at Bad Boy Records.
"It's All About the Benjamins" is a song by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy. It was released as the third single from his debut studio album No Way Out. "Benjamins" is a slang word for money, referring to Benjamin Franklin's image on the US $100 bill. The song featured an uncredited vocal arrangement by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, and featured a signature guitar hook played by Marc Solomon.
Mason Durell Betha, better known by his mononym Mase, is an American rapper. Best known for his work with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 and quickly found mainstream recognition as Combs' hype man. He guest appeared on Combs' 1997 single, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, while his singles as a lead artist, "Feel So Good" and "What You Want" both peaked within the top ten of the chart. Released in October of that year, his debut studio album, Harlem World (1997) peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart, received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and spawned his third top ten single as a lead artist, "Lookin' at Me". Furthermore, his guest performances on labelmate the Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Mo Money Mo Problems" and Puff Daddy's "Been Around the World" peaked at numbers one and two on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, that same year.
The Lox is an American hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records in 1996, before joining Ruff Ryders in 1999, and have since launched their own label, D-Block.
Life Story is the debut studio album by American rapper Black Rob. It was released on March 7, 2000, via Arista Records and Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. The album was praised by critics for its production and Rob's vocal presence and lyricism being similar to the late Notorious B.I.G. Life Story debuted and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and sold close to 178,000 copies in its first week released. The album spawned two singles: "Whoa!" and "Espacio". Life Story was ultimately certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 1,000,000 copies in the United States on August 17, 2000.
Richard Frierson, known professionally as Younglord, is an American record producer. He was an early member of The Hitmen, the in-house production team for Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records. He has contributed to the 1997 albums No Way Out by Puff Daddy and Harlem World by Mase, both of which debuted atop the Billboard 200. During his work with the group, he was solely credited on Big Pun's 2000 posthumous single "It's So Hard". In 2014, Frierson founded The Truth Licensing, a commercial music provider for various media.
"No One Else" is a song by American girl group Total featuring American rapper Da Brat. It was released as the second single from Total's self-titled debut studio album on November 28, 1995, by Bad Boy and Arista Records. The song was produced by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs and Poke of the Trackmasters, while the songwriting was handled by the two alongside the featured Da Brat and Terri & Monica vocalist Terri Robinson. The song also contains a sample from the track "South Bronx" by Boogie Down Productions.
The discography of American rapper Sean Combs consists of five studio albums, two collaborative albums, one remix album and seventy-two singles – including thirty-three as a lead artist and thirty-nine as a featured artist.
"Been Around the World" is a song by American rapper Puff Daddy, featuring the Notorious B.I.G. and Mase and included on Puff Daddy's debut studio album No Way Out (1997). The song samples David Bowie's 1983 hit song "Let's Dance", and contains an interpolation of Lisa Stansfield's song "All Around the World", sung by the Notorious B.I.G. in the chorus. In the album version, the song concludes with a skit featuring an interview with "The Mad Producer".
The following list is a discography of production and co-production by Sean Combs, sometimes credited as Puffy, P. Diddy or simply Diddy. It includes a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by year, artist, album and title. Alongside this, Combs was a lead member of Bad Boy Records' in-house production team, The Hitmen.
"Mo Money Mo Problems" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released as the second single from his second and final studio album, Life After Death (1997) on July 15, 1997 by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. It features guest performances from labelmate Mase and label boss Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs; all three performers co-wrote the song with Stevie J, who also co-produced it with Combs. "Mo Money Mo Problems" contains a sample and an interpolation of "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross, for which Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are also credited as songwriters; the sampled portions are heard in the production, while the hook is interpolative and performed by Kelly Price in an uncredited appearance.
"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" is the debut single by rapper Puff Daddy. It appears on Puff Daddy's debut studio album No Way Out and it was released as his first single in 1997. The single was released through BMG Music, Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records.
Bad Boy 20th Anniversary Box Set Edition is a box set compilation of songs by the American record label Bad Boy Records released on August 12, 2016, and distributed by Rhino in both digital and physical formats. The collection, curated by Bad Boy's President Harve Pierre, honors the legacy of Sean "Diddy" Combs aka Puff Daddy and his record label celebrating over two decades in hip-hop and R&B.
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