Diddy biography

Puffy's East Coast success was mirrored by his West Coast counterpart Suge Knight, who had signed artists such as Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg to his Death Row Records label. But although Diddy and Knight started as friends, tensions mounted when Shakur was wounded by a gunshot in the lobby of a New York recording studio in November 1994. Shakur implicated Diddy and Biggie Smalls in the shooting, (both were in the building at the same time).

The feud came to a head on September 7th 1996 when Tupac was fatally shot in a Las Vegas hotel lobby after a Mike Tyson boxing match in the city. Diddy and B.I.G. were again implicated in the shooting but both men distanced themselves from the incident and concentrated on work. Biggie finished recording what would become his prophetic album, Life After Death and Diddy collaborated on the hit single Can't Nobody Hold Me Down with newfound rapper Mase. But just as Biggie was enjoying No.1 success with his single, Hypnotize, he was gunned down at the Soul Train Awards in 1997. Diddy could do nothing but stand by and watch as his friend died. And while the shooting stoked the East Coast/West Coast feud, curiously, Diddy's career flourished even further in the aftermath. Diddy released a No.1 single tribute to his friend, I'll Be Missing You, which featured Biggie’s wife Faith Evans. Similarly, the single Mo Money, Mo Problems, taken from Biggie’s posthumously released album, and featuring Diddy and Mase, also reached No.1. Diddy also went on to lend his production talents to a host of other artist including KRS-One, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, SWV and Boys II Men.

But despite his success, controversy was just around the corner. In December 1999, Diddy was at a Manhattan nightclub with his then girlfriend, actress Jennifer Lopez when gunfire broke out. Diddy and rapper Shyne were arrested for weapons violations and Diddy was charged after his driver claimed that Diddy had tried to bribe him into taking the weapon after the shooting. Diddy was eventually acquitted but rapper Shyne was convicted on the same charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Throughout the adverse publicity however, Diddy never lost his knack for self-promotion. In 2000 he became the hip-hop version of Simon Cowell by making his own reality TV show for MTV called Making The Band. In 2004 he headed the campaign Vote Or Die for the US Presidential election and also made a brave transition to the Broadway stage in the role of Walter Lee Younger in the play A Raisin In The Sun. In 2006 Diddy released his own artist album, Press Play, his first album in four years. The album included a variety of guest appearances from the likes of Christina Aguilera, Nas and Mary J. Blige.

Despite its No.1 status in the US, critics, as ever, felt Diddy made a better entrepreneur than a rapper. "I'm more of a vibe-giver," Diddy said, defending his talents. But controversy continues to dog Diddy's success. He has never been critically acclaimed by his peers as a rapper and is accused of an over-reliance on obvious 'gimmicky' samples. But displaying his mastery of understatement, Diddy shrugs off the criticism and says, "When you're on top, everybody wants to take shots at you." Quite literally...

• Discography