The discography of American rapper Sean Combs (known professionally under the pseudonyms Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy or Diddy) 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.
Combs began his career in the music industry working as an intern at the New York-based record label Uptown Records. He served as executive producer for Mary J. Blige's first two 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 the newly established label. In August 1994, the Notorious B.I.G. released the song "Juicy"; produced by Combs and one of the labels first releases, it became one of the most successful and 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), along with its follow-up singles — "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, justifying Combs himself debuting 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 Lil' Kim's 1996 single "No Time," 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", with guest appearances from Bad Boy members Faith Evans and R&B group 112. The song became the first ever hip hop song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100, peaked the charts in 15 other countries, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group; it 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.
1997 was the year in which Combs spent the most weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 out of any musical act that year, with 19 weeks, and 26 when including the Combs-produced songs "Hypnotize" by B.I.G. and "Honey" by Mariah Carey. Furthermore, he became the first hip hop artist to replace himself at the position, with "Mo Money Mo Problems" replacing "I'll Be Missing You" the following week.[1] In 1998, Combs released the singles "Victory" (featuring the Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes) and "Come with Me" (featuring Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page) for the Godzilla soundtrack, while also cultivating acts on the Bad Boy label and producing material for other artists.
Combs' second and third studio albums, Forever (1999) and The Saga Continues... (2001) were met with commercial success, albeit less than his previous work, and generally mixed reviews. By this point and onward, Combs and Bad Boy Records received criticism for being seen as the leading exploiter of the dumbing down and over-commercialization of hip hop, as well as over-reliance on guest appearances and samples of older hits. Critics would often praise the production value and catchiness, but become weary of Combs' public figure and character, citing the remarkably shallow[2] nature of his lyrical persona, along with an overall lack of originality; many gave credence to a style over substance argument.[3]
Combs' fourth album, Press Play (2006), peaked atop Billboard 200, becoming his second and final release to do so. In 2009, he formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money with R&B singers Kalenna Harper and Dawn Richard. They signed with Bad Boy, which was an imprint of Interscope Records at the time, as a collaborative act and released four singles—"Love Come Down", "Angels", "Hello Good Morning" (featuring T.I.), "Loving You No More" (featuring Drake)—to moderate success. Their fifth single, "Coming Home" (featuring Skylar Grey) was released in November 2010 and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The following month, their debut studio album, Last Train to Paris (2010) was released to critical and commercial success—peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200. Despite this, the trio disbanded two years later, and Combs has since admitted that the album's reception, which he deemed to be disappointing, dampened his musical inspiration for several years.[4]
Albums
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
^"The Love Album: Off the Grid" did not enter the UK Albums Chart Top 100 but debuted and peaked at number 33 on the UK Album Downloads Chart on 22 September 2023.[31]
^"I Need a Girl (To Bella)" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number nine on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[97]
^"And We" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number two on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[98]
^"After School" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 25 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[99]
^"Love & Life Intro" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 21 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[100]
^"Girl I'm a Bad Boy" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 22 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[75]
^"The Godfather" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 13 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[101]
^"Diddy Rock" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 24 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[102]
^"Everything I Love" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 19 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[102]
^"Making It Hard" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 19 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[102]
^"Better on the Other Side" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 13 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[103]
^"No. 1" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 17 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[104]
^"Another One" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 10 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[105]
^"Daddy Gettin' Money" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number eleven on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[106]
^"Holy Ghost" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 16 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[104]
^"Check Me Out" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number three on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[107]
^"Should Be You" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number nine on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[108]
^"Ocho Cinco" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number two on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[109]
^"This Is My Year" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[75]
^ ab"Goud/Platina" (in Dutch). NVPI. Archived from the original(enter "Puff Daddy" into the "Artiest of Titel" box) on December 3, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
"Last Night", "Hello Good Morning", "Coming Home" and "Another One of Me": "Diddy Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
All except "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", "I'll Be Missing You", "Been Around the World", "Victory", "Come with Me", "P.E. 2000", "Satisfy You", "Best Friend", "Mo Money Mo Problems", "Notorious B.I.G.", "Hate Me Now" and "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)": "charts.de: P. Diddy (Single)". officialcharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", "I'll Be Missing You", "Been Around the World", "Victory", "Come with Me", "P.E. 2000", "Satisfy You", "Best Friend", "Mo Money Mo Problems" and "Notorious B.I.G.": "charts.de: Puff Daddy (Single)". officialcharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
^ abPeak chart positions for singles in The Netherlands:
"I'll Be Missing You", "It's All About the Benjamins (Remix)", "Been Around the World", "Come with Me", "Satisfy You", "Bad Boy for Life" and "I Need a Girl (Part One)/I Need a Girl (Part Two)", "Tell Me" and "Last Night": "Top 40 artiesten (P)"(search for entries containing the names Puff Daddy or P. Diddy). Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
"Mo Money Mo Problems" and "Nasty Girl": "Top 40 artiesten (P)"(search for entries containing the name The Notorious B.I.G.). Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
^ abPeak chart positions for singles in New Zealand:
All except "I Do (Wanna Get Close to You)" and "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)": "Discography P. Diddy". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
"I Do (Wanna Get Close to You)": "Discography 3LW". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
"Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)": "Discography Janet Jackson". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
All except "Hate Me Now" and "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)": "Discography P. Diddy". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
"Hate Me Now": "Discography Nas". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
"Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)": "Discography Janet Jackson". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
^ abPeak chart positions for singles in Switzerland:
All except "Hate Me Now" and "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)": "P. Diddy (Songs)"(select "Charts" tab, and then select "Songs" tab). hitparade.ch (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
"Hate Me Now": "Discographie Nas". hitparade.ch (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
"Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)": "Janet Jackson (Songs)"(select "Charts" tab, and then select "Songs" tab). hitparade.ch (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
^ abPeak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom:
All except "Ass on the Floor", "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)" and "Breathe, Stretch, Shake": "Diddy"(select "Singles" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 5, 2015.