Sean Combs discography: History and Key Facts

The discography of American rapper and record producer Sean Combs, known professionally as Diddy (formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy), consists of five studio albums, two collaborative albums, one remix album and 72 singles (including 33 as a lead artist and 39 as a featured artist).

Combs began his musical career as an intern at the New York City-based record label Uptown Records. During this time, Combs served as executive producer for Mary J. Blige's first and second albums—What's the 411? (1992) and My Life (1994)—and was assigned artists and repertoire duties for R&B act Jodeci. In 1993, he was fired from Uptown Records and promptly launched his own label, Bad Boy Records shortly after. He also took a then-unknown Uptown signee, the Notorious B.I.G., along with him to Bad Boy. In August 1994, the Notorious B.I.G. released the song "Juicy"; produced by Combs and one of the label's first releases, it became one of the most influential songs in hip hop music. Combs served as the primary producer of B.I.G.'s debut studio album and the label's first LP release: Ready to Die (1994). Its critical and commercial success brought Bad Boy to the forefront of mainstream hip-hop, with Combs also producing the album's signature hits "Big Poppa" and "One More Chance".

Following B.I.G.'s success during his lifetime, Combs become widely known as his manager and hype man, leading Combs himself to debut as a lead performer with his 1996 single "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down". Prior, he made recording appearances on Super Cat's 1993 single "Dolly My Baby" and TLC's 1994 album CrazySexyCool, but predominantly acted as a record producer or backing vocalist. "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"—which also introduced Combs' next protégé Mase—proved to be commercially successful, peaking atop the Billboard Hot 100 by August of the following year, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. By this time, the Bad Boy label had signed other acts, including Faith Evans, Total, the Lox, 112, Black Rob, Craig Mack, and Carl Thomas.

In March 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was fatally shot by an unknown assailant, prompting Combs to make his second commercial single a tribute song titled "I'll Be Missing You". Featuring guest appearances from Bad Boy acts Faith Evans and R&B group 112, the song became the first ever hip hop song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100, while also peaking 15 international charts. Furthermore, it won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards and remains one of the best selling singles of all time. The song and its parent album of which it preceded, No Way Out in July 1997, have yielded Combs' furthest critical and commercial success. The album was credited to "Puff Daddy & the Family", which referred to Combs and other Bad Boy signees, who were showcased extensively.

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