The ultimate hip hop mogul: A timeline of Diddy's accomplishments

Today (November 4th, 2022), Diddy turns 53 and what he has accomplished in those 53 years is breathtaking! Diddy is undeniably one of hip hop’s most innovative and wealthiest men. Born in Mount Vernon and raised in Harlem, Diddy is known as the smooth-talking founder of Bad Boy Entertainment.

Founded as a record label to nurture new talent, the label quickly became the centre of the horrific East Coast vs West Coast beef when rapper 2pac got shot while in New York’s Quad Studios. However, Diddy’s label was still home to the best-selling rapper of the 1990s, The Notorious B.I.G.

Even with the death of his protégé in 1997, the rapper and entrepreneur continued to prosper, and now he is officially at mogul status. Akin to the likes of 50 Cent, Diddy even entered the world of media and now owns his own television station, Revolt TV and is most definitely a tycoon of epic proportions.

In celebration of his 53rd birthday, we’re taking it back to the launch pad of his career, Bad Boy Entertainment (often called Bad Boy), to reflect on its best moments and pick out the finest of its output. Below we’ve assembled a timeline reflecting on his accomplishments in celebration of the man himself on his 53rd birthday.

A timeline of Diddy’s accomplishments:

1993 – Founding of Bad Boy Entertainment

Bad Boy is most definitely one of Diddy’s most renowned and well-known business ventures. Founded as an imprint of Sony Music Group, Bad Boy Entertainment was set up so that Diddy, who had his ear to the streets of the East Coast, could draft in the best new talent hip hop had to offer, and my what a job he did.

Diddy was the man who not only signed The Notorious B.I.G. but managed to turn the fairly overweight rapper into a global sex symbol. Other underground labels had spotted Biggie but passed on him because (with his weight) they didn’t believe fans (females in particular) would gravitate towards him. Diddy believed in him and packaged him the right way and for that alone, he is a genius. He did the same for Lil Kim and others. Bad Boy made Diddy a lot of money.

1998 – Combs wins a Grammy for the posthumous album Life After Death

Diddy accepted the Grammy for Biggie’s Life After Death posthumous album as it was released on Bad Boy Entertainment. Although some would have expected someone from Biggie’s family to accept it, naturally, they were still grieving, so Diddy offered to accept it. However, it was emotional for everyone involved.

2001 – Successfully transitioning into film

In 2001 Diddy not only changed his name from Puff Daddy to P Diddy but began taking on roles in film and venturing out into other arenas outside of music. In 2001 Piddy starred in the film Made alongside Vince Vaughn, playing the role of Ruiz, a drug dealer. Furthermore, that year he also starred alongside Halleberry and Billy Thornton in Monster’s Ball in which he played the role of Lawrence Musgrove, a murderer who is set to get the electric chair.

Diddy went on to feature in a number of films after this, including Carlito’s Way: Rise To Power, Get Him To The Greek and more.

2005 – Diddy listed in Time Magazine‘s ‘100 Most Influential People’ list

A massive accomplishment for the entrepreneur in 2005, twelve years after the founding of Bad Boy Records. With his music and film credits beginning to accrue and with his network within the film and music industry growing, Time Magazine knew that Diddy was becoming powerful.

They, therefore, had to include him in their list of ‘100 Most Influential People’ in 2005. A fantastic achievement for Combs.

2006 – Diddy releases number one album Press Play

Press Play was Diddy’s fourth studio album but was extremely successful and really contained some popular tracks. ‘Last Night’ featuring Keyshia Cole peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 but was a big hit in the clubs as a slow jam song.

The song’s is still extremely popular to this day, and acting as the second single for Diddy’s 2006 album, Press Play entered the Billboard 200 at number one and stayed there. It was Diddy’s first release in four years at the time and was a surprising number one for him.

2008 – Diddy gets his own television show

In 2008 Diddy got offered his own television show. However, this time it was a reality TV show centred around him. Entitled I Want To Work For Diddy, the show consisted of a group of people (similar to the apprentice) competing to get a job working for Combs.

The show, which was aired on the American reality TV channel VH1 in 2008, lasted for two series but didn’t have an extremely high viewership. The show won ‘Outstanding Reality Program’ at the 20th GLAAD Media Awards. However, the award is not considered prestigious. Regardless it was still a huge feat to even be offered his own show in the first place and was a stepping stone for Combs.

2013 – Diddy launches Revolt TV

Revolt TV is an extremely successful nationally syndicated American TV channel that is also available in the UK on cable TV and online via YouTube. Revolt TV is home to hip hop, with a lot of the shows on the channel aimed at an African-American audience and, more specifically, the hip hop community.

Shows that air on the channel are programs such as The Breakfast Club, which is also simulcast on Power 105.1 radio, as well as, Drink Champs, which is also available as a podcast. Many of the programs provide a platform for hip hop artists to express their views and promote their businesses and music. The channel was launched from the stoop (stairs) of Notorious B.I.G’s old house.

2022 – Diddy receives BET Lifetime Achievement Award

More recently, Diddy has been the recipient of BET’s lifetime achievement award in his award speech, Diddy announced that he would be contributing to his community by donating $1 million to Howard University and Jackson State University individually. You can watch his full acceptance speech below.