Bad Boy Entertainment CEO and music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has dropped the Diddy and changed his stage name back to Puff Daddy.
When Combs hit the music scene in 1997 as Christopher Wallace’s (better known as The Notorius B.I.G or Biggie) producer and best friend, he went by the name Puff Daddy.
In 2001, Puff Daddy shortened to Puffy, then changed his name to P.Diddy after came after he was found not guilty of weapon possession charges in connection with a 1999 shooting reports Sydney Morning Herald.
In an interview after the trial Combs told MTV that he wanted to change his name to put the past behind him.
Previously, he told MTV: ''No more Puff Daddy. The first week in June we're gonna have a name change ceremony ... I'm not doing it as serious as Prince [but] I just want something fresh ... I'm rockin' with P. Diddy now -- my man Biggie gave me that name.''
He reinvented himself again by shortening the name to Diddy in 2005 and has gone by it up until now. According to NY Daily News, the name change the comes just before the release of his first album in four years, MMM.
When he briefly shortened it to 'Diddy' in 2005, he claimed his fans didn't know how to address him, but was forced to go back to using P. Diddy after London DJ Richard Dearlove, who had been performing under the name Diddy since 1992, sued him.
He hit back at fans for criticising him for making another name change and insisted he's simply going back to the name he has ''always used''.
Combs, however, says he’s always been Puff Daddy. On Tuesday, he tweeted from his account @iamdiddy saying "For the record, I did not change my name. I always have been and always will be PUFF DADDY! :) Be cool Man lol."
The name change was announced in a trailer for his new single Big Homie featuring Rick Ross and French Montana which is due for release next Tuesday, April 1, 2014.
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