For a while, Puff Daddy found himself in the middle of one of the biggest east coast/west coast fights. Bad Boy Records Vs. Death Row Records. Basically it was Puff Daddy & Biggie Smalls Vs. Suge Knight & Tupac Shakur. This started when 2pac was shot for the first time in New York. (2Pac blamed his shooting on Biggie Smalls among other East Coast rappers) Before this, 2Pac & Biggie Smalls were friends. This was a big incident in the east coast-west coast situation. In 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot & killed. Shortly after this, Suge Knight was thrown in jail for a probation violation. Death Row Records didn’t turn out to be as “untouchable” as they said they were. (Puffy Daddy & Family made no direct involvement in this east coast-west coast fight and Puff Daddy now gives shout-outs to 2Pac saying R.I.P. 1997 was a big year for Bad Boy Entertainment. In early 1997, Puff Daddy was doing vocals for a change and Bad Boy had a new family member who went by the name of Mase. “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” was a huge hit from Puff Daddy & Mase. This track was blowin’ up while a solo album by Puff Daddy called “Hell Up In Harlem” was expected to be released soon. Unfortunately, in March tragedy hit. Notorious BIG was shot & killed. The death of Notorious BIG was a huge loss for Bad Boy Records. Puff Daddy had lost his best friend. Puffy recorded a track entitled “Missing You” which was a sample of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” in memorial for Biggie Smalls. This track surprisingly went platinum bring in 3 million dollars for that one track. A memorial album was also created in dedication to the Notorious BIG. The 3 million dollars that this track made was generously given to the family of The Notorious BIG by Puff Daddy In Summer of ‘97, Puff Daddy’s solo album entitled “No Way Out” was released. This album quickly went platinum and was a major success. It featured such Bad Boy family members as Mase, Notorious BIG, Lil’ Kim, 112, Faith Evans, Black Rob, and The Lox. Major hits from this album are “Can’t Nobody Hold me Down”, “Missing You”, “It’s All About The Benjamins”, and “Been Around The World”. Puff Daddy was now working with such artists as Busta Rhymes, KRS-One, Lil’ Kim, Boyz II Men, and Mariah Carey. He was seen in tons of rap videos and his name was printed on many new albums. In fall of ‘97, Mase’s solo album was released which was entitled “Harlem World”. In winter of ‘97, the entire Bad Boy family started their tour. This rap/r&b music tour featured the entire bad boy family plus other artists like Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Busta Rhymes, and Usher. The tour was ahuge success with sold out crowds everywhere. A portion of the money gained from this tour went to the family of Notorious BIG. Puff Daddy was born & raised in New York City. He now has a son named Justin. Puff Daddy runs a charity called “Daddy’s House” which gives money to the kids of New York for computer camps, trips to Africa, ETC. Puff Daddy even owns a restaurant located in New York which is called “Justin’s” (named after his son). |
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