Diddy had the world Harlem shaking since the mid-1990s. Building his Bad Boy empire from dust and being one of the pioneers of contemporary New Jack Swing, it’s no wonder Diddy is still doing better than good enough. GQ rolled out an oral history of the label, calling on Jadakiss, Ma$e, Bad Boy President Andre Harrell, and Sean Combs himself, alongside artists and industry insiders, to relive the B.B.E. legacy for its 20th anniversary. Read an excerpt below:
Jadakiss (rapper, the Lox): Getting on Bad Boy was like being the top pick in the draft, going to play with the Bulls when Mike was there. It put the battery in our back.
Janelle Monáe (singer, Bad Boy artist): Bad Boy was proof that the American Dream was real for hardworking young black artists in the ’90s, just like it had been real for Berry Gordy and all my soul and funk heroes at Motown in the ’60s and ’70s. When I graduated high school, I headed straight to New York. That’s where Broadway was. That’s where Puff was.
Russell Simmons (co-founder of Def Jam): Everything Puffy touched was golden. He just made hit after hit after hit.
Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs: I remember waking up one day and I had six of the Top 10 records. As a producer, I had taken over the charts. Everybody wanted a piece of that Bad Boy sound.
Gabrielle Union (actress): Every jam was like, “Aaawww, shit.” Y’know, one hand covering your face, the other in the air.
Andre Harrell (founder of Uptown Records, Combs’s mentor): Puff was a great groovemaker, and whoever controls the groove controls the attitude.