Sean Combs founds Bad Boy and releases Biggie's debut

# Diddy

# Hip-hop

# Rap

1993: Number 32 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of R&B and hip-hop music

Back before he was the rapper known as Diddy, Sean "Puffy" Combs was a humble unpaid intern at Uptown Records. His ambition saw him rise to A&R executive, where he signed Jodeci and Mary J Blige (among others) to the label, but differences with management led him to be fired in 1993. Combs had an ace up his sleeve, however – a rapper by the name of Biggie Smalls, for whom Combs set up Bad Boy Entertainment to release his now quadruple platinum debut album Ready to Die in 1994.

Contributor

Rosie Swash

The GuardianTramp

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