Everything about Bad Boy Records totally explained
Bad Boy Records (originally
Bad Boy Entertainment) is an
East Coast Hip-Hop/
R&B record label founded by producer/rapper
Sean "Diddy" Combs in 1993 that's a subsidiary of
Warner Music Group.
History
Beginnings
After his climb from a non-paying
internship to becoming an A&R executive at
Uptown Records, Sean (“Puffy”) Combs was abruptly terminated in 1993 by the then CEO
Andre Harrell—reportedly due to his own difficulty to work with. Upon his firing,
Arista Records chief
Clive Davis took advantage of Combs' free agent status and agreed to bankroll him his own vanity label to be operated through Arista and its
BMG parent. A handful of the acts who had been signed to Uptown via Combs just prior to his dismissal were dropped from the label; among them were Christopher Wallace (aka
The Notorious B.I.G.), and
Craig Mack—both of whom Combs would take with him to his new company.
The label’s first release was
Craig Mack's “
Flava In Yer Ear,” followed quickly by Mack's debut album, in 1994. On the heels of these releases came “Juicy” and
Ready To Die, the lead single and debut album from The Notorious B.I.G. (who would also be referred to as “Biggie”), released the same year. While Mack's album went gold,
Ready to Die achieved multi-platinum success. Dominating the charts into 1995, B.I.G. became one of the rap worlds biggest names of the day and Bad Boy’s premier star. Also in 1995, the label continued its success with platinum releases by
Total and
Faith Evans. Bad Boy, meanwhile, staffed a bevy of in-house writer/producers, including:
Chucky Thompson,
Easy Mo Bee,
Nashiem Myrick and
D Dot—all of whom were instrumental in producing many of Bad Boy’s most noted releases during this time.
Bad Boy vs. Death Row
The quick success of The Notorious B.I.G., and Bad Boy as a company, didn't set well with all—most notably the
Los Angeles-based
Death Row Records. For two years leading up to 1995, Death Row (and the
west coast hip hop scene that it led) had largely dominated the commercial rap scene. With Bad Boy, and east coast hip hop, now garnering the notoriety that it was, resentment loomed as the attention and acclaim now had to be shared.
Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records, especially didn’t take too kindly to the emergence of Bad Boy, and publicly jeered Combs. Tensions were heightened when west coast rap superstar
2Pac signed with Death Row, after having recently forged an indignant rivalry with Wallace (B.I.G). More fuel was added to the fire when some music fans began taking sides between Wallace and Shakur, Bad Boy and Death Row, as well as East coast-vs.-West Coast.
While Combs made a handful of attempts to denounce the coastal/label feud, and didn’t allow any of Bad Boy’s artists to publicly lash back at the slights coming from the other side, most of it fell on deaf ears as tensions reached a boiling point in 1996. Later in the year, 2Pac was shot and killed. Though Bad Boy issued a public statement of condolence, the bad blood continued. On
March 9, 1997, as the label readied for the release of Biggie’s second double album,
Life After Death, he too was shot and killed. The deaths of Biggie and 2Pac left many to speculate if the coastal hostility had been responsible for their demises. The police investigations of both cases, meanwhile, remain unsolved.
Life after Biggie
Posthumously, Biggie’s
Life After Death entered Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at number one. Its first two singles, “Hypnotize” and “Mo Money, Mo Problems” also topped the singles charts. It eventually sold 10 million copies, and was one of the highest selling rap albums ever.
In early 1997, Puff Daddy had begun recording his own solo debut album. The first single, “Can't Nobody Hold Me Down,” peaked at number one on the rap, R&B, and pop charts that spring. In response to Biggie’s death, the label rush-released a Puff Daddy tribute song, “
I'll Be Missing You,” which featured Biggie's widow, Faith Evans, and Bad Boy's R&B singing group
112. The single topped the charts for eleven weeks and became the hasty second single from Combs’ album,
No Way Out, which was released in the summer and sold seven million copies.
Mase, Combs’ newest protégé, in the meantime was immediately thrust into the void that Biggie left. His own debut album,
Harlem World, also released the same year, would go 4x platinum. Due to the successive successes of
Life After Death,
No Way Out, and
Harlem World, by the end of 1997, Bad Boy as a label and brand name had hit a commercial peak. During this time, the label began to promote its latest signing—the
Yonkers-based act,
The L.O.X., who had been prominently featured on various Bad Boy releases that year. Though highly anticipated, their 1998 debut album,
Money, Power & Respect sold below commercial expectation. Shortly thereafter, the group departed the label and entered into a long standing publishing dispute with Combs that would continue up until 2005.
In the years to follow, Bad Boy saw a decline. In 1999, Mase became religious and abruptly retired from the business—leaving a serious dent in the company, especially since his second album had just been released. Bad Boy found some success with
Shyne, a young rapper from
Brooklyn, who garnered both praise and criticism for his deep voice and slow flow—which many considered to be too reminiscent to, and perhaps a rip-off of, the Notorious B.I.G. Meanwhile, Combs’ own follow-up albums failed to generate the same kind of acclaim that his debut had. In an attempt to further market himself, he underwent several name changes; from “Puff Daddy” to “P. Diddy,” to now simply “Diddy.”
As the 2000s emerged, Bad Boy had noticeably floundered. Many of its more noted acts would eventually vacate the label, including diminishing act Faith Evans, who left Bad Boy and went on to record The First Lady for new label Capitol Records, while those who remained saw their sales dwindle as time went on. In spite of continually releasing new material, and various attempts at building artists to the status of Bad Boy’s deceased icon, few proved as successful as the company hoped.
Southern duo
8Ball & MJG released an album called
Living Legends to some success in 2004, prompting the creation of Bad Boy South; which would eventually house acts such as
Boyz N Da Hood and
Yung Joc. In 2002, Combs’ participated in
MTV’s Making The Band 2—which spun off the Bad Boy assembled act,
Da Band. In spite of their MTV exposure leading to a gold selling debut album, Combs later disbanded the group. At this time, the label also signed a rapper named Aasim, who hasn't been heard from since his signing.
Resurgence
Arista Records bought a 50% stake in Bad Boy in 1996. Following Clive Davis’s departure from its parent company, the label broke ties with Arista and
BMG; moving to
Universal Music Groups’ Universal Records in 2002. The change of distribution, however, didn't increase productivity. In 2005,
Warner Music Group bought out the remainder of Bad Boy's agreement with
Universal Music Group, then bought a large minority stake in the label. Today the label is distributed through WMG's
Atlantic Records, and continues to operate.
Bad Boy saw its fortunes improve in 2006, with the success of releases from new signees:
Cassie and
Yung Joc (both of whom would score top five singles/debut album albums). Also in 2006, Bad Boy hit paydirt with
Making The Band 3’s Danity Kane, whose debut album topped the charts at #1 (the labels first chart topping album since the three years prior), and spun off a top ten single.
Artists
See List of Bad Boy Records artists
Affiliated artists
Discography
| Information |
| Ready To Die by The Notorious B.I.G. Released: September 13th 1994
Singles: "Juicy", "Big Poppa", & "One More Chance"
|
| Project: Funk Da World by Craig Mack Released: September 20th 1994
Singles: "Flava In Ya Ear" & "Get Down"
|
| Faith by Faith Evans Released: August 29th 1995
Singles: "You Used to Love Me", "Soon As I Get Home", "Ain't Nobody", & "Come Over"
|
| Total by Total Released: February 13th 1996
Singles: "No One Else", "Kissin' You", & "When Boy Meets Girl"
|
| 112 by 112 Released: August 27th 1996
Singles: "Come See Me", "Only You", & "Cupid"
|
| Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G. Released: March 25th 1997
Singles: "Hypnotize", "Mo Money Mo Problems", & "Sky's the Limit"
|
| No Way Out by Puff Daddy & the Family Released: July 22nd 1997
Singles: "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", "I'll Be Missing You", "It's All About the Benjamins (Remix)", "Been Around the World", & "Victory"
|
| Harlem World by Mase Released: October 28th 1997
Singles: "Lookin' At Me", "Feel So Good", "What You Want", & "24 Hours to Live"
|
| Money, Power & Respect by The L.O.X. Released: January 28th 1998
Singles: "If You Think I'm Jiggy", & "Money, Power & Respect"
|
| Bad Boy Greatest Hits: Volume 1 Released: October 13 1998
Singles: "Too Too Old For Me" by Jerome
|
| Keep the Faith by Faith Evans Released: October 27 1998
Singles: "Love like This", "All Night Long", "Never Gonna Let You Go", "Lately I"
|
| Kima, Keisha, and Pam by Total Released: November 3 1998
Singles: "Trippin'", "Sitting Home"
|
| Room 112 by 112 Released: November 10 1998
Singles: "Love Me", "Anywhere", "Love You Like I Did", "Your Letter"
|
| Double Up by Mase Released: June 15 1999
Singles: "Get Ready", "All I Ever Wanted"
|
| Forever by Puff Daddy Released: August 24 1999
Singles: "P.E. 2000", "Satisfy You", "Best Friend"
|
| Born Again by The Notorious B.I.G. Released: December 7 1999
Singles: "Notorious B.I.G.", "Dead Wrong"
|
| Life Story by Black Rob Released: March 7 2000
Singles: "Whoa!"
|
| Emotional by Carl Thomas Released: April 18 2000
Singles: "Emotional", "I Wish", "Summer Rain"
|
| Shyne by Shyne Released: September 26 2000
Singles: "Bad Boys", "Bonnie & Shyne", "That's Gangsta"
|
| It Was All a Dream by Dream Released: January 23 2001
Singles: "He Loves U Not", "This is Me", "This is Me (Remix)"
|
| Part III by 112 Released: March 20 2001
Singles: "Peaches & Cream", "Dance With Me", "It's Over Now"
|
| The Saga Continues... by P. Diddy & the Bad Boy Family Released: July 10 2001
Singles: "Diddy", "Bad Boy For Life", "Let's Get It"
|
| Faithfully by Faith Evans Released: November 6 2001
Singles: "Can't Believe", "You Gets No Love", "I Love You", "Burnin' Up"
|
| Child Of The Ghetto by G. Dep Released: November 20 2001
Singles: "Special Delivery"
|
| We Invented The Remix: Volume 1 by P. Diddy & the Bad Boy Family Released: May 14 2002
Singles: "Special Delivery (Remix)", "I Need A Girl (Part 1)", "I Need A Girl (Part 2)"
|
| Bad Boys II: The Soundtrack Released: July 15 2003
Singles: "La-La-La (Excuse Me Miss Remix)" by Jay-Z, "Shake Ya Tailfeather" by Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee, "Show Me Your Soul" by P. Diddy, Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell & Loon
|
| Too Hot for TV by Da Band Released: September 30 2003
Singles: "Bad Boy This, Bad Boy That", "Tonight"
|
| Loon by Loon Released: October 21 2003
Singles: "How You Want That", "Down For Me"
|
| Hot & Wet by 112 Released: November 18 2003
Singles: "Na Na Na Na", "Hot & Wet"
|
| Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits Released: March 9 2004
Singles: "Victory 2004" by P. Diddy, The Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent & Lloyd Banks
|
| Let's Talk About It by Carl Thomas Released: March 23 2004
Singles: "She Is", "Make It Alright", "My First Love"
|
| Hurt No More by Mario Winans Released: April 20 2004
Singles: "I Don't Wanna Know", "Never Really Was"
|
| Living Legends by 8Ball & MJG Released: May 11 2004
Singles: "You Don't Want Drama", "Straght Cadillac Pimpin", "Forever"
|
| Welcome Back by Mase Released: August 24 2004
Singles: "Welcome Back", "Breathe, Stretch, Shake"
|
| One Love by New Edition Released: November 9 2004
Singles: "Hot 2Nite"
|
Bad Boy's R&B Hits Released: November 23 2004
Singles:
---
|
| Boyz n da Hood by Boyz n da Hood Released: June 21 2005
Singles: "Dem Boyz", "Felonies"
|
| B5 by B5 Released: July 19 2005
Singles: "All I Do", "U Got Me"
|
| The Black Rob Report by Black Rob Released: July 19 2005
Singles: "Ready"
|
| by The Notorious B.I.G. Released: December 20 2005
Singles: "Nasty Girl", "Hold Ya Head" "Spit Your Game"
|
| New Joc City by Yung Joc Released: June 6 2006
Singles: "It's Goin' Down", "I Know You See It", "1st Time"
|
| Cassie by Cassie Released: August 8 2006,
Singles: "Me & U" "Long Way 2 Go"
|
| Danity Kane by Danity Kane Released: August 22 2006
Singles: "Show Stopper", "Ride for You"
|
| Christian Daniel by Christian Daniel Released: September 26 2006
Singles: "Donde Quedaran"
|
| Press Play by Diddy Released: October 17 2006
Singles: "Come to Me", "Tell Me", "Last Night", "Through the Pain (She Told Me)", "Diddy Rock"
|
| Greatest Hits by The Notorious B.I.G Released: March 6 2007
Singles: "Running Your Mouth"
|
| Ridin High by 8Ball & MJG Released: March 13 2007
Singles: "Relax and Take Notes", "Cruzin", "Clap On"
|
| Hustlenomics by Yung Joc Released: August 28 2007
Singles: "Coffee Shop", "Bottle Poppin'"
|
| Don't Talk, Just Listen by B5 Released: September 11 2007
Singles: "Hydrolics", "In My Bedroom"
|
| Welcome To The Zoo by Gorilla Zoe Released: September 25 2007
Singles: "Hood Figga", "Tryin' To Make A Jug"
|
| Back Up n da Chevy by Boyz n da Hood Released: October 2 2007
Singles: "Everybody Know Me", "Table Dance"
|
| In and Out of Love by Cheri Dennis Released: February 26 2008
Singles: "I Love You", "Portrait of Love", "Remind You", "Showdown"
|
| Welcome to the Dollhouse by' Danity Kane Released: March 18 2008
Singles: "Damaged"
|
| Day26 by Day26 Released: March 25 2008
Singles: "Got Me Going"
|
| Let's Get Physical by Elephant Man Released: April 8 2008
Singles: "Five-O", "Jump"
|
Upcoming Releases
Awards & Honors
BET Awards
- 2007, Best Male Hip Hop Artist (Nominated)
Grammy Awards
- 1998, Best New Artist: Diddy (Nominated)
- 1998, Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group: Diddy - "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" (Nominated)
- 1998, Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group: The Notorious B.I.G. - "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" (Nominated"
- 1998, Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group: Diddy - "I'll Be Missing You" (Winner)
- 1998, Best Rap Album: Diddy - "No Way Out" (Winner)
- 2000, Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group: Diddy - "Satisfy You" (Nominated)
- 2002, Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group: Diddy - "Bad Boy For Life" (Nominated)
- 2004, Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group: Diddy - "Shake Ya Tailfeather" (Winner)
MTV Music Video Awards
- 1998, Video of the Year: "It's All About The Benjamins (Rock Remix)" (Nominated)
- 1998, Best Rap Video: The Notorious B.I.G. - "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" (Nominated)
- 1998, Best R&B Video: 112 - "Peaches n' Cream" (Nominated)
- 2002, Best Rap Video: Diddy - "Bad Boy For Life" (Nominated)
- 2004, Best Hip Hop Video: Diddy - "Shake Ya Tailfeather" (Nominated)
- 2006, Best Rap Video: Yung Joc - "It's Goin' Down" (Nominated)
|}
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bad Boy Records'.
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