P Diddy’s Parents are Melvin Earl Combs and Janice Combs. While he tragedically lost his father at an early age, his mother singlehandedly raised him and instilled ethics that would make him one of the most influential names in Hip Hop.
Today, he is not only one of the best American rappers, record producers, and executives, but the Harlem-born also excels in several other businesses. Here’s all to know about his parents.
P Diddy’s Father, Melvin Earl Died When He was Just Three
Melvin Earl’s early life has not been established but records have it that he was a hustler and lived as one for most of his life. At the time he met and married his wife, Janice, he was serving in the US Air Force. Following his retirement, he started selling drugs on the streets of Harlem, New York.
During the late 1970s, Melvin Earl was one name that everyone in and within Harlem recognized. Not only was he known for the local drug trade, but he also feared that neighborhood for his gang. Unfortunately, it was during his drug transaction that he was killed after being misidentified as an informant. He was shot on January 26, 1972, at the age of 33 while sitting in his car on Central Park West.
Reports say he had ties to the convicted New York drug dealer, Frank Lucas and his name continued to ring the bell on the streets of Harlem.
Melvin never got to share a father-son relationship with his son as he died just three years after Diddy was born. On several occasions, Diddy has mentioned has mentioned that he misses having his father in the big picture.
He Shares Two Children With His Wife
There is no established information on when Melvin Earl and his wife Janice got married however, their marriage saw the birth of two children, Sean and Keisha Combs. Their first child who is known as P Diddy was born on November 4, 1969, and he’s 55 years old at the moment while Keisha was born a year after in 1970.
P Diddy pursues a career in the music industry as a rapper, record producer, and record executive. On the other hand, his sister has mostly lived a private life and not so much is known about her. Nonetheless, he also shares in the fame of his brother.
Janice Combs Raised Her Son as a Single Mother
The 83 -year-old mother of 3 was born on December 22, 1940, and raised in New York City. Following the death of her husband, she was left with the sole responsibility of raising her two children Diddy and Kiesha. He revealed during an interview that his mother played the role of a father while his grandmother stood in as his mother most of the time.
He added that his mother taught him the tough lessons of life telling him that people took advantage of weakness while his grandmother coddled him most of the time.
The family lived in Harlem at the time and Janice juggled between three jobs to keep the family going. She would later move the family to Mount Vernon, New York as it was a safer environment to raise her kids. In addition to this, she was able to enroll them in good schools.
Her son Diddy started at the Catholic boys school in the Bronx and later moved to Washington D.C., to attend Howard University.
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She Kept the Truth of his Father’s Identity From Him
According to Diddy, he got to know about his father’s identity and the truth of his death on the streets of Harlem. His mother had reportedly kept this information away from her children as a way of keeping them out of trouble. She also didn’t want them to have bad memories of their father or follow in his footsteps. it was also for this reason that she moved out of Harlem while they were growing up.
Diddy noted that the story his mother always told him about his father was that he died in a car accident. However, this story didn’t sit well with the ones he was told on the streets. He continued to hear even more details about his dad until he found out the truth.
While P Diddy agrees that you cant miss something you’ve never had, he admits that, “There’s definitely been times as I’ve gotten older that I’ve missed my father — his presence, not being here.”.
A Look at Janice Comb’s Career as a Model among other things
Long before Janice became known as the mother of the American rapper Puff Daddy, she pursued a career in the fashion industry as a model. She worked with several brands to keep up with the demands of her children.
Aside from modeling, she also juggled between working as a teacher and assistant teacher for several years. In the early 2000s, she owned Mama Duke Southern Cuisine and later made a few appearances in shows like America’s Next Top Model, and I Want to Work for Diddy. She made her worked behind the scene for the 2022 thriller film “Ear 2 Ear”.
Following the success of her son’s career in the music industry. He has established several businesses and named a few after his mother including Janice Combs Music Publishing and Janice Combs Management. In addition to this, he made her the manager of his restaurant and she’s also in charge of other ventures.
Diddy has always honoured his mother in diverse ways and also find ways to make her feel special and this includes