Sean Combs discography

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.

Sean Combs discography
Combs performing in 2006
Studio albums	5
Singles	72
Collaborative	2
Remix albums	1

Combs began his career in the music industry working as an intern at New York-based record label Uptown Records. He served as executive producer for Mary J. Blige's debut 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 eventually became one of the most successful and influential songs in hip hop music.

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 January 1997 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". "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", which also introduced Combs' new protégé Mase, proved to be a commercial and critical success, eventually reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 where it remained for six consecutive weeks.

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 act 112. The song became the first ever hip hop song to debut at number one on the Hot 100, peaked worldwide charts in fifteen countries, won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, and 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, remain Combs' most successful records to date.

1997 would also be the year which Combs would be the artist with the most weeks spent at number one on the Hot 100 with 19 weeks, and 26 when including the Combs-produced songs "Hypnotize" by B.I.G. and "Honey" by Mariah Carey. Additionally, he became the first hip hop artist to replace himself at the number one position on the chart with "Mo Money Mo Problems" replacing "I'll Be Missing You" the following week.[1] In 1998, Combs would release 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 would release his second and third studio albums Forever (1999) and The Saga Continues... (2001) to relative success, albeit less than his previous work, and generally mixed reviews. By this point and onward, Combs and Bad Boy Records would receive criticism for being seen as the leading exploiter of the dumbing down and over-commercialization of hip hop, and for using too many guest appearances, as well as the over-reliance on samples and interpolations of older hits. Critics would often praise the production value and catchiness, but become weary of Combs' public figure and character, citing the remarkably materialistic nature of his lyrics and an overall lack of originality; commonly alluding to a style over substance argument.[2]