Bad Boy Records
Categories: Record label stubs | Record labels
Bad Boy Records is an East Coast hip hop record label founded by producer/rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs in 1993 after his power climb from a no-pay internship to A&R executive at Uptown Records was terminated by the then CEO Andre Harrell. After his firing from Uptown, Arista Records chief Clive Davis bankrolled Combs' label.
Bad Boy's first release was Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear" in 1994. In 1996, Arista bought a 50% stake in the company, but following Davis's departure from its parent company, Bad Boy broke ties with Arista and BMG, moving to Universal Records in 2003.
Up until (and after) his untimely death in 1997, The Notorious B.I.G. was considered Bad Boy's most successful artist. His first album, "Ready To Die" (1994), is considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time, with classic hits like "Big Poppa" and "Juicy" becoming staples in the rap industry.
In 2005, Warner Music Group bought out the remainder of Bad Boy's agreement with Universal, then bought a large minority stake in the label. Today the label is distributed through WMG's Atlantic Records
Its artists have included Aasim, Ness, Chopper, Cheri Dennis, Boyz In Da Hood, The Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Tupac Shakur, Total, Faith Evans, Mase, 112, Carl Thomas, Shyne, Black Rob, G-Dep, Da Band, Dream, Loon, New Edition, Mark Curry, B5, Mario Winans, and 8Ball & MJG.
External links
- Bad Boy Online - Official site
- Bad Boy Forever - Official fan site
- P Diddy Bad Boy Online - Unofficial P. Diddy Bad Boy site