In Numbers: The twisting career of P Diddy
(Credit: Shamsuddin Muhammad)

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In Numbers: The twisting career of P Diddy

P Diddy (real name Sean Combs) is known worldwide as the founder of Bad Boy Records, the home of Notorious BIG and the Junior MAFIA. Coming to prominence during the 1990s on the New York hip hop scene, the rapper, record producer and label executive is known for his epic features, catchy vocals and entrepreneurial spirit. With business acumen and industry knowledge that would blow your mind, P Diddy is undoubtedly one of hip hop’s finest businessmen.

With his career beginnings in the late 1980s, Diddy’s mainstream commercial success came slightly later during the mid-90s when he became synonymous with Notorious BIG.

Diddy’s label released Notorious BIG’s debut album Ready to Die and would grow to become a mega-label with an epic roster. Aside from Notorious BIG, the label was home to a vast array of artists, including Craig Mack, Faith Evans, 112, Total, The LOX, Ma$e, Shyne and even Carl Thomas.

So, with such an expansive career, it is only fitting that we look back and review the facts and figures that detail the epic career of hip hop mogul P Diddy.

P Diddy’s solo albums

Across his 32-year career, P Diddy has only released four solo studio albums. However, the mogul, of course, has numerous other ventures outside of music. His four solo studio albums were all released before 2010, with No Way Out released in 1997, Forever in 1999, The Saga Continues… in 2001, and Press Play in 2006.

His most successful album to date is his debut album No Way Out. The album not only reached number one on the Billboard Hot 200 but has been certified as seven-times platinum by the RIAA. Although it is not his only number one album, it is his only platinum-certified album, with his 2006 album Press Play reaching number one but only going Gold. Diddy’s debut album sold 561,000 copies in its first week alone and won a Grammy award for ‘Best Rap Album’. No Way Out spawned several hits, including the legendary single ‘Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down’ featuring Ma$e, which spent six weeks at number one.

Both albums boast hits, with the 2007 smash-hit ‘Last Night’ featuring Keyshia Cole on the tracklist of Press Play.

P Diddy’s most streamed song

P Diddy’s most streamed song is off his 1997 album No Way Out and is the iconic ‘I’ll Be Missing You’’ featuring singer Faith Evans and 112. It is his most successful single of all time, going three times Platinum in the US and UK. The song has been streamed approximately 1.3 million times in these countries alone.

The song hit number one in multiple countries and was a tribute to the late Notorious BIG, a close friend of both Combs and Faith Evans. According to Spotify has been streamed over 396.7 million times.

P Diddy’s biggest video on YouTube

It should be no surprise to those who know P Diddy’s catalogue that his most successful video on YouTube is the music video for his 2007 single ‘Last Night’ featuring. It currently sits at 136 million views and was only published to YouTube in  2016. Of course, the music video pre-dates 2016 and was on TV screens in 2007.

The rapper’s second most successful video is for the 2006 ‘I Need a Girl (Part 2)’ featuring Loon, Ginuwine & Mario Winans which has accumulated 103.5 million views since its upload in 2016. However, the video is actually from 2002.

P Diddy’s net worth

P Diddy is one of the richest men in hip hop. In fact, Diddy is the third wealthiest hip hop artist behind Jay-Z and Kanye West, both billionaires. P Diddy’s net worth as of 2022 is a staggering $900 million, and if he continues to acquire more wealth may be the third rapper to break into the billion-dollar net worth bracket.