Claim: In 1997, Sean Combs released his debut album.

Sean John Combs -LRB- born November 4 , 1969 -RRB- , also known by his stage names Puff Daddy , Puffy , P. Diddy and Diddy , is an American rapper , singer , songwriter , actor , record producer and entrepreneur . He was born in Harlem and was raised in Mount Vernon , New York . He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his label Bad Boy Entertainment in 1993 . His debut album No Way Out -LRB- 1997 -RRB- has been certified seven times platinum and was followed by successful albums such as Forever -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , The Saga Continues ... -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , and Press Play -LRB- 2006 -RRB- . In 2009 Combs formed the musical group Diddy -- Dirty Money and released the critically well-reviewed and commercially successful album Last Train to Paris -LRB- 2010 -RRB- .   Combs has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards , and is the producer of MTV 's Making the Band . He is the Chairman and CEO of Combs Enterprises . In 2017 Forbes estimated his net worth at $ 820 million .