The Puffy Chronicles :: Puff Daddy Music Musicians Rappers Essays

The Puffy Chronicles Puff Daddy, born Sean Combs on November 4, 1969 in Harlem to Melvin and Janice Combs, began his life of violence at a young age. When Sean was two years old, his father was tragically murdered. This forced Janice to move to a safer environment in Mt.Vernon, NY where she had to work three jobs in order to provide for her family. One can see that Sean’s broken home and the violence that constantly surrounded him influenced his lyrics and style of music throughout his life[I1] . His angry lyrics and shouts of aggression in his individual tracks certainly support the argument of his childhood having a big impact on his style of rap. Exploding onto the rap scene, Puffy soon found himself engulfed by the lifestyle of a rapper. For a short time, Puff Daddy was involved in one of the biggest East Coast vs. West Coast battles. Violence erupted, which lead to the death of two rappers: 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. During this whole time, Puffy was busy producing music and influencing the style of other artists.[I2] Biggie’s single â€Å"Hypnotize† soared up to number one and stayed there long after his death. It was not long until the world would get a taste of Puffy’s very[I3] own style. Puff Daddy released the solo album No Way Out in the summer of 97’. No Way Out is an odd mixture of gangsta rap, soul, and r&b. But, somehow it seems to work for Puffy and his crew. At times while listening to the tracks, one is confused as to which direction Puffy and such featured artists as Mase, Lil Kim, Notorious B.I.G., and Busta Rhymes are headed because the tracks are either violent, apologetic, or r&b. In â€Å"Victory†, Busta Rhymes spews out angry lyrics of violence about kidnapping rival West Coast Rapper families and gunning down enemies. Then in a spin-off of Sting’s â€Å"Every Breath You Take†, one can feel the pain and anguish as well as the regret in Puff’s voice as he raps about the death of his best friend, Notorious B.I.G. â€Å"I’ll Be Missing You†, a tribute to Biggie, won the award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (vh1.com 2). Biggie’s wife, Faith Evans, provided background vocals to th e song while Puffy raps, â€Å"Give anything to hear half your breath/I know you still living your life, after death.