Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American record label founded in 1993 by Sean "Puffy" Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip hop and contemporary R&B artists, beginning with the Notorious B.I.G. Following his commercial success, the label signed other acts, including Faith Evans, Mase, 112, Total, The Lox, Shyne and Carl Thomas. At its 1997 peak, Bad Boy was worth an estimated US $100 million.
No Way Out is the debut studio album by American rapper Puff Daddy. It was released on July 22, 1997, via Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records. The album is credited to "Puff Daddy & the Family"; the latter act refers to guest appearances from his signees at Bad Boy.
"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.
"Nasty Girl" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on October 11, 2005. The song features guest appearances from Jagged Edge, P. Diddy, Avery Storm, and Nelly, and the video also contains guest appearances from Pharrell, Usher, Fat Joe, 8 Ball & MJG, Teairra Mari, Jazze Pha, DJ Green Lantern, Naomi Campbell and Memphis Bleek. It can be found on the album Duets: The Final Chapter (2005), a remixed album of Biggie Smalls' work. The single reached number one in the United Kingdom and became a top-10 hit in Finland, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand.
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. 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.
"Hypnotize" is a song by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G. featuring uncredited vocals by Pamela Long, released as the first single from his album Life After Death by Bad Boy and Arista Records on March 4, 1997. The last song released before his death in a drive-by shooting a week later, it was the fifth song by a credited artist to peak the Billboard Hot 100 posthumously, and the first since "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon in 1980. Rolling Stone ranked the song as number 30 on their list of the "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time".
American rapper Mase has released three studio albums, two mixtapes and twenty-two singles, including ten as a featured artist.
"Satisfy You" is a 1999 single by American hip-hop artist and producer Puff Daddy and features vocals by contemporary R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly on the hook. The song spent six weeks at number 1 on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks. The song was co-written by both Combs and Kelly, with additional writing by Kelly Price, who performs backing vocals. The song's beat and bassline is taken from "I Got 5 on It" by Luniz, which itself interpolates Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad" among others. The song is about satisfying the significant other. It garnered a nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2000.
"Notorious B.I.G." is a song and single by the Notorious B.I.G. from the album Born Again, which features Lil' Kim, and Puff Daddy. As a tribute song, Lil' Kim and Puff Daddy's verses have little relevance to Biggie's verse, which is about being in the hospital while being comforted by attractive female nurses. It samples the song "Notorious" by Duran Duran.
"Come with Me" is a song recorded by the American rapper Puff Daddy, featuring English guitarist Jimmy Page, from the soundtrack to the 1998 film, Godzilla. The song samples the 1975 Led Zeppelin song "Kashmir". Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and producer Tom Morello also supplied live guitar parts, with Morello also playing bass on the song. The song also features heavy orchestral elements.
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.
"Victory" is a song by American rapper and producer Sean Combs, under his then stage name "Puff Daddy". The song features vocals from rappers such as the late Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes. It features heavy use of mafioso-style lyrics, as was popular at the time. The song also heavily sampled the Bill Conti song "Going the Distance", which featured on the soundtrack to the movie Rocky making it a darker start to a rap album that featured many club-standard singles. It also featured the last verses recorded by The Notorious B.I.G. before his 1997 death, as these verses were recorded a day before his shooting. Released as the fifth and final single from No Way Out in March 1998, it peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA later that year.
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.
"I Need a Girl (Part One)" is a single by American rapper P. Diddy featuring Usher and Loon from the album We Invented the Remix. In 2004, the song was featured on the Bad Boys compilation R&B Hits. Along with "I Need a Girl (Part Two)", P. Diddy achieved a rare occurrence by having two parts of a song become chart hits. Part one peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart. It also charted on the UK Singles Chart at number four. The song was ranked number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in 2002. The song contains a chord progression played on a Roland JV-1080 sound module, using a patch named "Flying Waltz".
"I Need a Girl (Part Two)" is a single by American rapper P. Diddy. It was released on May 21, 2002 as the second single from Diddy's and Bad Boy Records' remix album, We Invented the Remix (2002). It is a sequel to the single "I Need a Girl (Part One)", released a few months prior. The song includes guest appearances from Ginuwine, Loon, Mario Winans and Tammy Ruggeri. It was written by Sean Combs, Chauncey Hawkins, Mario Winans, Frankie Romano, Michael Carlos Jones and Adonis Shropshire and produced by Mario Winans and Diddy. Just like with "I Need a Girl (Part One)", the music video was directed by Benny Boom.
"Coming Home" is a song by American musical trio Diddy – Dirty Money, released by Bad Boy and Interscope Records on November 16, 2010, as the fourth single from their only studio album, Last Train to Paris (2010). The song contains a guest performance from American singer Skylar Grey, who co-wrote the song along with American rappers J. Cole and Jay-Z; the latter co-produced it with British record producer, Alex da Kid. A biographically written hip hop and pop ballad inspired by moments in Diddy's life, including the loss of his close friend the Notorious B.I.G., it references classic songs by Dionne Warwick, McFadden & Whitehead, and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. Jay-Z and Kid personally gifted the song to Diddy for Last Train to Paris.
The discography of American hip hop group The Lox, consists of four studio albums, one compilation album, two extended plays, one mixtape and fifteen singles.
"Mo Money Mo Problems" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released as the second single from his second 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, hence Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are 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 the song was released to Rhythmic contemporary radio in December 1996 and was physically released on January 7, 1997. The single was released through BMG Music, Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records.
"I'll Be Missing You" is a tribute song by American rapper Puff Daddy and singer Faith Evans, featuring the R&B group 112. It honors Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, a fellow artist on Bad Boy Records and Evans's husband, who was murdered on March 9, 1997. Released as the second single from Puff Daddy and the Family's debut album, No Way Out (1997), the track incorporates a sample from The Police's 1983 track "Every Breath You Take," with an adapted chorus by Evans. Additionally, it includes elements from the 1929 hymn "I'll Fly Away" by Albert E. Brumley and features a spoken introduction layered over a choral arrangement of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings."
