Bad Boy: The Influence of Sean "Puffy" Combs on the Music Industry

(Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Ro is an expert on gangsta rap whose two previous works on the subject, Gangsta: Merchandising the Rhymes of Violence (LJ 6/1/96) and Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records (LJ 4/15/98), were both informed and informative. This time around, Ro examines the triumphs and tribulations of actor/producer/singer/rap mogul Sean Combs (estimated worth: $400 million), previously known as "Puff Daddy" and currently sporting the nom de rap "P-Diddy." Bad Boy is primarily a dish-the-dirt biography, but for optimal comprehension, readers must be thoroughly familiar not only with rap music but also with its subgenres and proponents, both major and minor. Despite his indisputable command of rap philosophy and history, Ro's unfamiliarity with the pop music matrix itself is disconcertingly obvious: for example, he chronically refers to The Police's 1983 megahit "Every Breath You Take" (sampled by Combs on numerous productions) as "I'll Be Watching You." Also, while he clearly understands popular music as a business and can explain it clearly and thoroughly, his impressive discussions of the knotty contractual complications that impoverish even successful artists are too brief, too few, and too randomly scattered. Finally, even Ro concedes that Combs has exhausted his impact upon popular music. Still, Combs remains popular among youth, and for public libraries with a high demand in this area, Bad Boy is preferable to Cassie Murphy's Puff Daddy (Andrews McMeel, 1999) or Elizabeth Bowman's Sean "Puffy" Combs (Chelsea House, 2000). Bill Piekarski, Angelicus Webdesign, Lackawanna, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Rap analysis is hot, it seems, what with Michael Eric Dyson's Holler If You Hear Me [BKL Ag 01] on Tupac Shakur and Hip Hop Divas [BKL O 15 01] from VIBE magazine (now there's a rap sheet for you). But the rapper landscape changes so fast that the subtitle of Ro's take on rapper-fashionista-(exonerated) miscreant Combs was superannuated long ago: Puffy, who used to be Puff Daddy, is now P. Diddy. Still, if anyone can penetrate Combs' high-profile, low-concept world, Ro can. Dripping street cred, Ro tells us how Combs built Bad Boy Entertainment and how his "bad decisions, his hubris, and his legendary temper" created a situation in which that conglomerate "can no longer work the way it used to." Reportage on recording projects, rap feuds, and da trial comes amid a flurry of colorful street names, and the always enjoyable aura of danger that the gangsta milieu exudes makes this a crucial read for fans and detractors, and an excellent piece of hip-hop history to boot. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Atria (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743428234
• ISBN-13: 978-0743428231
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #569,216 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Is Incredible, April 11, 2002

By A Customer

Many people might not know about this book since it was released in early September of 2001. But Ronin Ro's Bad Boy is a must-read work. Instead of rehashing details about the coastal rap rivalry he already covered in Have Gun Will Travel, Ro presents an entirely different tale, in an intriguing new voice, but with the same eye for the telling detail. For the first time, a book details every stage of Puffy's career--Ro describes his days as an ambitious aspiring music executive, his first steps at R&B/rap label Uptown and his apprenticeship under Andre Harrell, his contributions to the rap remix format, his rise in the industry(precipitated by well-placed acquaintances at various rap magazines), and his relationship with the late rapper Notorious BIG (covered through a mix of Big's lesser-known interviews and compelling and exciting interviews with label insiders, associates and more). Bad Boy also reveals the creative process behind the label's string of hit albums during the 1990s, how Puffy marketed and--in some cases--watered down his artists' music and how he scrambled to save face after some, including The Lox and Mase, abruptly left the label and the man who claimed to have made them famous. Anyone expecting another book-length retread of the Bad Boy Death Row beef might want another book. Bad Boy is more than that. For a balanced look at Sean "Puffy" Combs and the empire he tried to build, the most in-depth portrait of Biggie Smalls ever offered, and a gripping account of Puffy's 2001 criminal trial, read this book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Objective but depressing, June 14, 2003

By A Customer

I enjoy reading about entrepreneur and learning about how they built their particular business into a success. If you are looking for the same thing in this book you will be very disappointed. The book goes through a blow-by-blow account of P Diddy's problems and ultimately questions his ethics. I believe the book is written objectively, but very few pages are are actually dedicated to expalining how he actually made the leap from intern to a CEO of a multi-million dollar company. That was the story I really wanted to read about. Unfortunately, I learned more about Puffy's legal trial than I did about how he built his empire. If you want an entrepreneurial focused book buy Russell Simmons' Life and Def instead.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not really what I expected..., July 12, 2009

By	Louis Porter Jr. (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thought this book would be more focused on actual business strategies used to grow the business not the stories on how Puffy he recorded CDs.