10 Things Diddy Made Famous

Read on—you might even pick up a little starpower yourself.

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10 Things Diddy Made Famous - You know how you know someone's really famous? When anything they're associated with gets famous by association. It's like fame osmosis. Take Sean "Diddy" Combs, who celebrates his 42nd birthday today, Sunday, Nov. 4: He's so famous, his butler got a record deal (what up, Farnsworth). What better way to celebrate the rapper-producer-mogul's big day than a look at 10 things (and people) he made famous? Click on to read — you might even pick up a little star power yourself. —Alex Gale (Photo: Phil McCarten/PictureGroup)

White Parties - Diddy popularized the "white party" trend with his annual, star-studded shindigs in the Hamptons. Dry cleaners everywhere are eternally grateful. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images/Getty Images for Blueflame)

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White Parties - Diddy popularized the "white party" trend with his annual, star-studded shindigs in the Hamptons. Dry cleaners everywhere are eternally grateful. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images/Getty Images for Blueflame)

7. Diddy Lands Deal With Diageo (2008; $100 Million) - How awesome is it to get paid $100 million to become the face of a vodka brand? In 2007, Diddy landed a deal with Diageo to develop the Ciroc brand. Since then it's turned into the vodka of choice for club go-ers, hip hop artists and pretty much anybody in between. Though hip hop artists have been endorsing alcoholic beverages for years, this was one of the first brands with a legit hip hop impresario at the helm pooling all of his resources into making it the du jour vodka brand of choice for those actively a part of the hip hop lifestyle. Years before, Dame Dash and Jay Z had tried their hands at popularizing Armadale vodka but it never quite caught on. Ciroc did. And we're pretty sure it's here to stay. (Photo: Annette Brown/Getty Images)

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Ciroc\r - Until the French vodka brand signed Diddy to an endorsement deal and partnership in 2007, the Ciroc boys were most definitely not in the building.\r\r(Photo: Annette Brown/Getty Images)

The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy and Ma$e, "Mo Money, Mo Problems"  - The larger-than-life video that defined rap's shiny-suit era, featuring Diddy and Mase floating on compressed air, Harlem-shaking it in garishly lit tunnels from the year 3000 and bigging up Tiger Woods. (Photo: Bad Boy Records)

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Shiny Suits - Our eyes are still recovering from Diddy's jones for dancing around in shiny suits back in the late '90s.(Photo: Bad Boy Records)

Describing Crack’s Impact on “Things Done Changed” - If I wasn't in the rap game / I'd probably have a key knee-deep in the crack game / Because the streets is a short stop / Either you're slingin’ crack rock or you got a wicked jumpshot / S**t, it's hard being young from the slums / Eatin’ five cent gums, not knowin' where your meals comin’ from / And now the s**t's gettin' crazier and major / Kids younger than me, they got the Sky Grand Pagers / Goin’ outta town, blowin’ up / Six months later all the dead bodies showin’ up / It make me wanna grab the nine and the shotty / But I gotta go identify the body / Damn, what happened to the summertime cookouts / Every time I turn around, a n***a gettin’ took out(Photo: Everett Collection 271379A)

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The Notorious B.I.G.\r - It was Diddy's idea to juxtapose Biggie's hardcore Brooklyn rhymes with R&B hooks and squeaky-clean, crossover productions. The game-changing results launched the two men's careers into the stratosphere. \r\r(Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

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Remixes - Diddy likes to say he invented the remix, but this isn't really true — Pete Rock, Premier, the Dust Brothers and other producers had already logged several classic remixes before Diddy hit the scene. But Puff did change the definition of the term: before Diddy, "remix" meant the same song with a different beat; ever since the seminal "Flava In Ya Ear" remake he helped put together — which bolstered a Craig Mack hit with new verses from Busta Rhymes, Biggie, LL and others — remixes now often feature the same beat and hook but new verses from an all-star guest roster.  (Photo: Bad Boy Records)

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Remixes - Diddy likes to say he invented the remix, but this isn't really true — Pete Rock, Premier, the Dust Brothers and other producers had already logged several classic remixes before Diddy hit the scene. But Puff did change the definition of the term: before Diddy, "remix" meant the same song with a different beat; ever since the seminal "Flava In Ya Ear" remake he helped put together — which bolstered a Craig Mack hit with new verses from Busta Rhymes, Biggie, LL and others — remixes now often feature the same beat and hook but new verses from an all-star guest roster.  (Photo: Bad Boy Records)

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Ma$e\r - Mason just wouldn't have looked right dancing around in a shiny suit to Diana Ross and Kool and the Gang loops all by himself. \r\r(Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

"Brohawks"\r - Diddy started rocking a Mohawk around the time he ran in the New York Marathon in 2003 — maybe it was more aerodynamic. Either way, before that, the left-field hairstyle was the exclusive territory of punk rockers.  \r\r(Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

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"Brohawks"\r - Diddy started rocking a Mohawk around the time he ran in the New York Marathon in 2003 — maybe it was more aerodynamic. Either way, before that, the left-field hairstyle was the exclusive territory of punk rockers.  \r\r(Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

Jennifer Lopez and Diddy - Their relationship fizzled out faster than the trucker hat trend, but Diddy and J.Lo were still together long enough to create a tabloid frenzy when they broke up amid rumors that Diddy was cheatin'. The rap mogul copped to his infidelities years later, admitting that he cheated on J.Lo with his baby mama, Kim Porter. He also hinted that Jenny may have gotten around the block herself, saying "Jennifer did her thing on some things, too."  (Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

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J. Lo\r - Before Diddy, she was just plain ol' Jennifer Lopez. From bandanas to arrests to club shoot-outs, he helped his then-boo score some invaluable hip hop cred. Is it any wonder her career leveled off when she started dating Ben Affleck?\r\r(Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

Voting - Before Diddy, we all thought voting was something you tried to squeeze in between an after-work K-Mart run and Good Times reruns, if you had time. Little did we know it was actually a matter of life or death.    (Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

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Voting - Before Diddy, we all thought voting was something you tried to squeeze in between an after-work K-Mart run and Good Times reruns, if you had time. Little did we know it was actually a matter of life or death.    (Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

Diddy (@iamdiddy) - TWEET: “Congrats to @stevestoute on his book The Tanning of America- AVAILABLE TODAY!!!"Diddy congrats former music executive Steve Stoute on the release of his book, “The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy,” which examines hip hop’s effect on the global marketplace.  (Photo: Tim Whitby/Getty Images)

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Name Changes\r - From Puff Daddy to Puffy, from P. Diddy to Diddy — and don't forget that short-lived "I Am Swag" tomfoolery — Sean Combs changes titles more than most folks change hairstyles. What's his next name gonna be? Our money's on Diddy-Diddy Bang-Bang.\r\r(Photo: Tim Whitby/Getty Images)

Photo By Tim Whitby/Getty Images