Diddy

When Diddy got fired from his first music industry job — jump-starting the careers of Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and more — he didn't sit home and sulk. No, he launched Bad Boy Records, one of history's most successful hip-hop labels thanks in no small part to Diddy's proper debut, No Way Out. That'd be the home of his Police-sampling Notorious B.I.G. tribute (the GRAMMY®-winning "I'll Be Missing You"), as well as such proven party-starters as "It's All About the Benjamins, "Been Around the World," and the Grandmaster Flash/George Clinton/Michael Jackson collision course that is "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down."

Diddy's studio experience doesn't begin and end there, either. As our Next Steps shows, his platinum touch extends to a slew of other solo albums and special appearances.

Whether he's behind the boards or in front of a freshly passed mic, Diddy has always made his presence felt. On the sample-splicing side, that includes the sly Duran Duran nods of "Notorious B.I.G.," the restless synth lines of "Come to Me," and the deftly lifted Public Enemy loops of "P.E. 2000." As for his recurring role as a guest MC, Diddy howls over the sweeping neo-classical strings of "Hate Me Now," coasts across the future-shocked Just Blaze beats of "Tell Me," and splits his screen time with Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and a disembodied old-school hook (torn from Audio Two's breakthrough single, "Top Billin'") on "I Get Money."

From Broadway to fashion runways to MTV to the music industry itself — what hasn't Diddy conquered over the course of his two-decade-plus career? The charts have certainly caved under the weight of Diddy's platinum-plated work as a producer and performer, heard loud and clear through the hazy Bill Conti — see also: the Rocky series — horns of "Victory," the ravishing Diana Ross melody of "Mo Money Mo Problems," and boundary-breaking collaborations with R. Kelly ("Satisfy You," "Bump, Bump, Bump"), Faith Evans ("All Night Long," "I'll Be Missing You"), and rising gospel/R&B star Mario Winans ("I Need a Girl Pt. 2," "I Don't Wanna Know"). And, hey, the guy even sings atop the shifty drums of "Last Night." Can't nobody hold Diddy down, indeed.