Editing Sean Combs (section)

===1996–1998: "Puff Daddy" and ''No Way Out''===

In 1996, under the name Puff Daddy, Combs released his first commercial vocal work as a rapper.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Sound Decisions|magazine=[[Radio & Records]]|issue=1178|page=21|date=January 3, 1997}}</ref> His debut single, "[[Can't Nobody Hold Me Down]]", spent 28 weeks on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, peaking at number one.<ref name="Hot 100 1997-03-22" /> His debut album, ''[[No Way Out (Puff Daddy album)|No Way Out]]'', was released on July 22, 1997,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coker |first=Cheo Hodari |date=July 22, 1997 |title=The Spotlight Turns on Puffy Combs: Dancing Close to the Flames |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-22-ca-14957-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528123803/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-22-ca-14957-story.html |archive-date=May 28, 2021 |access-date=May 28, 2021 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> through Bad Boy Records. Originally titled ''Hell up in Harlem'', the album underwent several changes after [[Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.|the Notorious B.I.G. was killed]] on March 9, 1997.<ref name="xxlmag 2007" /> Several of the label's artists made guest appearances on the album. ''No Way Out'' was a significant success, particularly in the United States, where it reached number one on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] in its first week of release, selling 561,000 copies.{{sfn|Traugh|2010|p=63}}

The album produced five singles: "[[I'll Be Missing You]]", a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G., was the first rap song to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it remained at the top of the chart for 11 consecutive weeks and topped several other charts worldwide.{{sfn|Traugh|2010|p=61}} Four other singles—"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", "[[It's All About the Benjamins]]", "[[Been Around the World]]", and "[[Victory (Puff Daddy song)|Victory]]"—were also released. Combs collaborated with [[Jimmy Page]] on the song "[[Come with Me (Puff Daddy song)|Come with Me]]" for the 1998 film ''[[Godzilla (1998 film)|Godzilla]]''.<ref name="Come with Me" />

The album earned Combs five nominations at the [[40th Grammy Awards]] in 1998, and would go on to win the [[Grammy Award for Best Rap Album]].<ref name="Rock on the Net 1998" />{{sfn|Traugh|2010|p=72}} On September 7, 2000, the album was certified septuple platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] for sales of over 7 million copies.<ref name="RIAA" /> By the late 1990s, he was being criticized for watering down and overly commercializing hip hop, and for relying excessively on guest appearances, [[Sampling (music)|samples]], and [[Interpolation (popular music)|interpolations]] of past hits.<ref name="Allmusic Bio" /> For example, in a 1997 review of ''No Way Out'' for ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', [[Havelock Nelson (writer)|Havelock Nelson]] commented: "...the over-reliance on huge swathes of undiluted samples is simply clumsy, lazy, and demeaning to the sources."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-08-16.pdf|title=Reviews & Previews, Albums, Rap|magazine=Billboard|date=August 16, 1997|page=61|volume=109|issue=33|access-date=August 19, 2024|via=World Radio History}}</ref> Also in 1997, [[Neil Strauss]] of ''The New York Times'' called Combs the "king of sampled hits".<ref name="Strauss sampling">{{cite web |last=Strauss |first=Neil | author-link = Neil Strauss |title=Sampling Is (a) Creative Or (b) Theft? |work=The New York Times|date=September 14, 1997 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/14/arts/pop-view-sampling-is-a-creative-or-b-theft.html|access-date=August 31, 2024 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20090414225616/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/14/arts/pop-view-sampling-is-a-creative-or-b-theft.html |archive-date=April 14, 2009 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription|page=AR-28}}</ref>