You’ve probably seen the pictures of P. Diddy’s Birthday Bash in Turks & Caicos on social media by now. His family and many of the friends he’s accumulated throughout the years from the world of music, entertainment and business, flew out for the event.
Music mogul, media maven, iconic brand builder, and all-around entertainment beast Sean “P. Diddy” Combs turned 51 this week on November 4 and he’s still got that hustler’s spirit, a pep in his step, a broke niggaz hunger and the desire to motivate and outwork everybody — even his own family.
He was the Harlem son of a street hustler who was killed in a drug deal gone wrong when Combs was just 3. It didn’t take long for the youngster to see that indulging in the criminalities of street life wasn’t for him. He turned his father’s tragedy into a fairy tale success story for himself.
Diddy attended the HBCU Howard University which helped cultivate his business acumen and provided the foundation, confidence, inspiration and testing ground for huge things to come. He started as a party promoter and kept rising through the game, learning new tricks and finding different avenues to utilize his abilities while making an impact on the world.
Via The Post, June 2017: Combs committed to a career in music. Not only did he re-establish the East Coast as the center of hip-hop, Combs took the music and the lifestyle into mainstream culture. He reveled in a glitzy, showy, almost Trumplike image gilded cars and Champagne bottle service that made him the unofficial King of New York in the 1990s and early 2000s. When you rolled with Puff, it was like you had the key to the city, says Quinnes Q Parker from the R&B group 112.
Almost A Billy
Diddy didn’t stop at music. The Bad Boy label and all of the triumphs and tragedies associated with the game was just a springboard to new heights. The New Yorker (aka Puff Daddy, aka Puffy, P. Diddy, Diddy) is worth around $900 million thanks to his successes in fashion, movies, TV, liquor branding and, of course, music and as far as Black Americans are concerned, he is on the same level as Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama when discussing his influence on the culture. Pop culture too.
He’s been a mainstay on Forbes’ highest-paid entertainer’s list and in 2017 he showed everyone that he still “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” as he was once again crowned the highest-paid artist of the year, with Beyonce, Drake, The Weeknd and Coldplay trailing behind.
Between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017 Diddy earned a plush $130 million, stemming from his hotly-anticipated Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour as well as his business endeavors including his liquor brand Ciroc and selling a stake of his brand Sean John.
Diddy continues to get the bag at an impressive rate. Diddy ranked 4th behind Kanye, Jigga and Drake (No. 4, $70 million) on Forbes’ “Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Acts of 2019”, raking in the bulk of his bucks from his lucrative deal with Diageo’s Ciroc vodka.
Chasing American Idol
Diddy’s most ambitious venture was The Four, which replaced American Idol as FOX’s go-to music competition franchise that lasted for three seasons. Diddy described it as only he can, comparing it to “Game of Thrones.” Unlike many other music competition shows, The Four was unique, and the street essence that birthed his journey to high society remained important.
“You get to challenge, and if you want to chop somebody’s head off, you have that power. Not literally, you know, figuratively, “Combs told the Television Critics Association.
Combs served as a judge on the show along with fellow musicians Meghan Trainor and DJ Khaled and record executive Charlie Walk, with Fergie serving as the host.
What’s next for the Great Gatsby of Music and Entertainment? You never know because Diddy has been staying a step ahead of the game for over a quarter of a century now.
Black Music Mogul To Black Mouthpiece For Social Justice
Let’s not forget his leadership in politics and how his relationships and relevance within the industry inspired other artists to support his Vote or Die campaigns, consequently inspiring thousands of people to get out and vote. These efforts as well as his, get-out-the-youth-vote slogan from the 2004 election set the stage for and helped Barack Obama eventually become the first African-American to seize the Presidency.
He continued pushing the vote and sharing messages of hope and visions for a better future for African-Americans in this country during the current COVID-19 pandemic and right up until election day.
Building The Combs Legacy
He has his sons and daughters now branding themselves and building their own legacies.
The death of Kim Porter rocked his world and made him reflect on life and attack it with a healthier, newer vigor. It provided the inspiration he needed to step his all-around game up to an even higher plateau and focus on the legacy they built together.
At age 51, Diddy is as young and vibrant as he’s ever been. One of the most influential tastemakers, culture-shapers, outdated policy breakers, party innovators and musical masterminds of our time deserves major props and reflection as he continues to trailblaze and looks forward to another year.
