Sean "Puffy" Combs: artist of the year
John Amorose
Collegian staff
The snow is falling (and falling).
The twinkle lights have been strung.
The end of the year is quickly
approaching. Looking back at the
musical smorgasbord that was 1997,
very little truly stands out. As
always, there were a plethora of
catchy tunes by various "one-hit
wonders". Who can forget addictive
toe-tappers like "Fly" by Sugar Ray,
"Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba,
and "Mmm Bop" by the brothers
Hanson, all of which took turns
ruling this year's pop airwaves?
Matchbox 20 revived the power
ballad with the soulful, yet sappy
"Push," and the spright and
curvaceous Spice Girls invaded the
U.S. with their chart-toppers
"Wannabe" and "Say you'll be
there."
Many oldies-but-goodies made
triumphant returns this year. The
Rolling Stones made their usual
three or four year reappearance with
the album "Bridges to Babylon,"
accompanied with yet another
wildly popular and extremely
elaborate world tour. Bob Dylan
rose from the proverbial ashes with
his release "Time out of Mind," and
like the Stones, decided to drag his
withered bones on yet another tour.
But the most improbable of all
reunions was that of Fleetwood
Behrend concert
choir performs
winter concert
by John Grolier then took the stage alai proceeded
news layout editor to perform three pieces collectively
The Behrend Concert Choir, as entitled "Ultimate Praise."
well as the Gospel Choir, During the second portion of the
performed their winter concert on program, the concert choir
Sunday at 3:00 in the Reed performed 9.41110 w a Rose," in
Commons Building. Under the which the, choir members were
leadership of Steve Skinner, the positioned around the . room
choir's' new director, a very according to their respective vocal
impressive adaptation was made. parts; thus providing ‘.• for a
With nearly 200 spectators resonating, rich soUnd. The next
song, "Bring a Torch," was sun in
I thought it went well. I a mixed, formation followed by ,
"Snow," which featired altOsoloist
was happy with the Lisa Perrette. Next clatie the "0,
performance... It was
Holy Night" trio, followed' by two.,
better than I expected. closingiumaters: "Declaim H
Lacy Heitmann and "4., MerrY chOlitml,SO4"
Choir President, Psychology, 07 Fallowing the concert; ,' ; , a
reception washeld, iniivhickgoostil
were offered cookies and punch.
braving the inclement weather, the Choir prtktident Lacyllatniguili,
concert choir performed twelve PSY, 07, was pleased With the
songs, including an "0 Holy Night" performance of the " choir. "I
trio. by Kira Griesbach, soprano; thought it went well.' I was happy
Patrick Kramer, baritone; and with the performance. I wait flyin'
John, Grolier, bass. The musical high afterwards. It was bear than
pieces included: "Here We Come I expected.
a Wassailing," "Past Three A Mirley Stoner, IlistorY, , 01, an
Clock," featuring soloists Christy audience member, commented that
Taylor, soprano. Scott Moncrief, she "really enjoyed the concert,.
tenor; and Kramerk, '0 Magnum It's nice to see thait Itehrehof has a
Mysterium," and "The Shepherds' good m o gdegd•p r o gr i a littiv, . •
Cradle Song." The Gospel Choir r• ••
time sun exposure
occurs before age
18, and the damage
Sponsored by
The Health and Wellness Center
Mac, the angst ridden, drug riddled,
and problem laden quintet from the
1970'5. Their latest release, "The
Dance," is a seventeen track
collection (thirteen classics, four
new) culled from three live
performances on a Burbank, CA,
soundstage. The album, which
debuted on the Billboard's album
chart at number one, comes on the
twentieth anniversary of
"Rumours," arguably the bands best
and most popular release.
That's all well and good, but when
When historians look back at the musical scene of
1997, it will be known as the year of Bad Boy
Entertainment, and its founder, producer, performer,
and CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs.
historians look back at the musical
scene of 1997, it will be known as
the year of Bad Boy Entertainment,
and its founder, producer, performer,
and CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs. As
hip hop's jack-of-all-trades, there
are a lot of superlatives that could
be used to describe Puffy. Most
accurate, however, might be the
term "renaissance man." Combs has
established himself as one of the
biggest names in hip-hop, as well
as redefining the rap culture of the
1990'5.
Before pursuing a career as a
vocalist, Puffy made his name by
On average,
more than
half of a
person's life-
is cumulative.
dancing in various music videos,
promoting hip-hop concerts, and
producing acts for Uptown Records.
He soon became the A & R rep for
Uptown, while producing double
platinum albums for Mary J. Blige,
including her debut "What's the
411?".
After being released by Uptown,
Puffy took his act to the high
bidding Arista Records' distributing
team in late 1993, who are rumored
to have paid an estimated $75
million for Combs to establish his
own record label. He then created
Bad Boy Entertainment.
During the spring of 1994, Bad
Boy began promoting the single
"Flava in Ya Ear" by Craig Mack
from his album "Project: Funk Da
World" which was wildly
successful. 1994 also brought the
debut of Bad Boy's most influential
and successful artist, The Notorious
8.1. G., and his debut album "Ready
to Die," both of which took the
young label to new heights.
Following the platinum success of
The Notorious 8.1. G. and Craig
Mack, Combs began producing and
ACROSS
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Duck out
Bribing
Agent 99 on
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river
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29 Notorious lover
32 Historic
stretches
33 Phi-psi se
parator
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38 Blocker of
"Bonanza"
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40 Jane or John
41 Last of cash?
42 Genetic letters
43 Soon-to-be
former car
45 " Soffel"
46 Suspicious
48 Neither high nor
low
50 Letters
51 Angry states
52 Hautboy
55 Bettors figures
57 Join the ranks
59 Bank account
choice
64 Humble
65 Rough weather
66 Scrimp
67 Dunderheads
68 Frank of CNN
69 Former Soy. unit
DOWN
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2 Bay window
3 Full of visions
4 Toy-inventor
Rubik
5 Indication
6 Explosive letters
Features
remixing a variety of tracks for
artists like New Edition, KRS-One,
Mariah Carey, and Lil' Kim. At the
same time, he also introduced R &
B artists like 112, Faith Evans, and
Total.
In early 1997, Puffy stepped aside
from the production room and went
in front of the mic for the first time
as the prominent MC on an album.
In "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down,"
his duet with Mase, Puffy adds his
thin, monotone voice over
Grandmaster Flash's classic beat
from "The Message." The single
went double-platinum, and
maintained the number one spot on
Billboard's top singles for twelve
weeks. Following the tragic death
of The Notorious 8.1. G. in March,
and his posthumous multi-platinum
release "Life After Death," Puffy put
together a tribute song to his friend
over the Police track "Every Breathe
You Take" to once again top the
charts. "I'll Be Missing You,"
featuring Faith Evans and 112, was
number one on five Billboard charts,
and was certified triple platinum.
Just before midnight on July 22,
the Virgin Megastore in Times
Square, New York was gridlocked
with estimated crowd of over 3,000
fans all waiting for Puffy's much
anticipated solo release "No Way
Out." The album was executive
produced by the late Notorious
8.1. G. and features several guest
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1997 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Cigar end
Opie's aunt
OK
Assert without
proof
Eddie Cochran
hit of 1958
Wedding vow
Ump's cohort
Inspiration
Persecution
delusion
Poker openers
Man's best
friend
The ones that
got away
Two-time
grand-slam
winner of tennis
Russian rulers
Splinter group
Wolf-crying
Memory choice
E3arbera's
partner
Neighbor of Ark.
The Behrend College Collegian Thursday, December /1, /997 -Page 9
appearances inc'uding Lir Kim,
Bad Boy recording artists Faith
Evans, 112, The Lox, and Mase,
among others. The album debuted
at number one, and has been a
permanent fixture on the charts
ever-since.
The success of "No Way Out" was
followed by Bad Boy's release of
"Harlem World," the debut album
from the Puffy protege Mase, that
spawned the hit single "Feels So
Good," which features vocals by
Puffy.
And if all of that wasn't enough
to solidify Mr. Combs as the best
artist of 1997, he also completed a
remix of the 1979 Police hit
"Roxanne" which was featured on
the recently released Police Greatest
Hits compilation, produced the track
"Honey" on Mariah Carey's newest
album, as well as a song on Boyz II
Men's latest album "Evolution," and
won two MTV video awards for
"Best R & B Video" ("Can't
Nobody Hold Me Down") and the
"Viewers' Choice" award ("I'll Be
Missing You").
With an album currently making
waves and a roster full of chart
topping artists, Combs is
unquestionably the boss of the
candy store. Congratulations Sean
"Puffy" Combs for being the
Collegian's 1997 Artist of the Year.
answers are
on the next
44 HST follower
47 Senior
49 Links activity
53 Sty comments
54 Last one
56 Woad and anil
57 Simple plant
page
58 Sphere starter?
59 Hatterlike
60 Seller's $$
equivocation
61 Silly billy
62 66, e.g.
63 Canvases?