Bad Boy 4 Life?: The Failed and Short-Lived Careers Of Bad Boy Records

The Failed and Short-Lived Careers Of Bad Boy Records

The Hip-Hop blogosphere got an unexpected surprise when 21-year-old rapper Machine Gun Kelly announced his signing with Sean “Diddy” Combs, Bad Boy and Interscope this morning.

While we want to congratulate Young MGK on his new deal, we hope the Cleveland newcomer and his EST crew thought this move through.

On one had, Bad Boy is one of the most storied and successful labels in music, but on the other, Sean Combs has left a trail of artists broke, forgotten or dead, while he Diddy-bopped his way to the top.

Here’s a look at The Failed and Short-Lived Careers Of Bad Boy Records.

Craig Mack

Mack was one of the first artists on Bad Boy. He released one album on Bad Boy in 1994, but was outshined by Biggie Smalls’ success, and later split from Puffy in 1997…never to be heard from again.

Ma$e

Mase was a star on Bad Boy, but after two albums, he moved to Atlanta and became a preacher, only to return to Bad Boy in 2004. He was never the same. After attempting a 2nd comeback with G-Unit in 2006, his star power had faded.

The Lox

The Lox gained notoriety after working with B.I.G. on his Life After Death album, but after B.I.G.’s death, the Lox released one Bad Boy album in 1996 and afterwards left Diddy’s shiny suits behind for Ruff Ryder Entertainment.

Black Rob

Black Rob’s hit single “Whoa” led to two Bad Boy albums, but he was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2006 on robbery charges.

Total

Kima, Keisha and Pam were on top of the R&B game in the early years of Bad Boy. They were last seen working at Walmart, Target and Wendy’s, respectfully…nah we’re joking. But seriously, what happened to Total?

Shyne

After a platinum debut album released on Bad Boy in 2000, Shyne was sentenced to 10 years following a shooting at a Manhattan club which left three people injured.

Shyne was released from prison in 2009, signed a new deal with Def Jam, but was deported to Belize. He now lives in Jerusalem doing only God knows what.

Loon

Loon was seemingly Ma$e’s replacement in Puff’s grand scheme of things. He only released one album on Bad Boy in 2003.

He later left Diddy’s label and has since converted to Islam, and travels the world, talking to teens about his life, and encourages them not to make the same mistakes he did…like signing to Diddy.

G-Dep

His lone Bad Boy release and hit single “Special Delivery” came in 2001. We didn’t hear much else from G-Dep until 2010, when he turned himself in for shooting a man in 1993, only to find out that he killed the guy.

G-Dep is facing life in prison if convicted.

Mark Curry

Curry was signed to Bad Boy from 1997 to 2005. He was so pissed about his days with Bad Boy that he wrote a book about it.

Da Band

This is the first group Diddy put together through his MTV show Making The Band. They released a gold album, Too Hot For TV, in 2003 but were later released from their contracts with Bad Boy…all of them.

B5

We don’t even know what to say.

Aasim

He’s been signed to Bad Boy since about 2005, but wasn’t done much more than ghost write for Diddy. Never heard of him, huh?

Boyz N Da Hood

This ATL group was signed to Bad Boy South. They released an album in 2003.

Jeezy later left the group and went on to super stardom. BNDH replaced Jeezy with Gorilla Zoe, who later went on to be a star (kinda), but the other three members never panned out.

Danity Kane

Another MTV Making The Band group that didn’t last very long.

Cassie

We can’t say Cassie’s career is a complete fail, but she hasn’t released an album since her Bad Boy debut in 2006. Other than she’s had a rumored romance with Diddy, and shaving the side of her head.

We don’t know what the hell else she’s been doing.

Day 26

Another MTV Making The Band that didn’t work out.

Donnie Klung

See Danity Kane and Day 26. He’s them but solo.

Yung Joc

Joc was actually having a successful rap career until he started complaining about his deal with Bad Boy South and Block Entertainment. Joc’s career has been “goin’ down” ever since.

The Notorious B.I.G.

The curse of Bad Boy Records can probably be traced back to the murder of Christopher Wallace on March 9, 1997.

Without question B.I.G.’s murder was the darkest day in Bad Boy’s legacy and one of the sadness moments in Hip-Hop history.