Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records in 1993.
IHe embarked on his recording career following the success of his first signee, the Notorious B.I.G., for whom he served as manager and hype man. Combs's debut studio album, No Way Out (1997), received critical acclaim, peaked atop the Billboard 200, and received septuple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Two singles from the album, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "I'll Be Missing You", topped the US Billboard Hot 100—the latter was the first hip hop song to debut atop the chart. His second and third albums, Forever (1999) and The Saga Continues... (2001), both peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, while his fourth, Press Play (2006), peaked atop the chart.
Combs then formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money with R&B singers Kalenna Harper and Dawn Richard to release the collaborative album Last Train to Paris (2010), which peaked at number seven and was supported by the single "Coming Home".
His fifth studio album, The Love Album: Off the Grid (2023), received moderate critical and commercial response.