Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records in 1993. He embarked on his recording career following the success of his first signee, the Notorious B.I.G., for whom he served as manager and hype man. Combs’s debut studio album, No Way Out (1997), received critical acclaim, peaked atop the Billboard 200, and received septuple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.