<P> After his climb from a non-paying internship to becoming an A&R executive at Uptown , Sean `` Puff Daddy '' Combs was fired in 1993 by Andre Harrell . Combs soon founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 . The label 's first release was `` Flava In Ya Ear '' by Craig Mack , followed quickly by Mack 's debut album , Project : Funk Da World in 1994 . On the heels of these releases came `` Juicy '' and Ready to Die , the lead single and debut album from The Notorious B.I.G. ( a.k.a. Biggie Smalls ) , released the same year . While Mack 's album went Gold , Ready to Die achieved multi-platinum success . Dominating the charts in 1995 , B.I.G. became one of the genre 's biggest names of the day and Bad Boy 's premier star . Also in 1995 , the label continued its success with platinum releases by Total and Faith Evans . Bad Boy , meanwhile , staffed a bevy of in - house writer / producers , including : Easy Mo Bee , Chucky Thompson and D Dot -- all of whom were instrumental in producing many of Bad Boy 's most noted releases during this time . </P>
<P> After his climb from a non-paying internship to becoming an A&R executive at Uptown , Sean `` Puff Daddy '' Combs was fired in 1993 by Andre Harrell . Combs soon founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 . The label 's first release was `` Flava In Ya Ear '' by Craig Mack , followed quickly by Mack 's debut album , Project : Funk Da World in 1994 . On the heels of these releases came `` Juicy '' and Ready to Die , the lead single and debut album from The Notorious B.I.G. ( a.k.a. Biggie Smalls ) , released the same year . While Mack 's album went Gold , Ready to Die achieved multi-platinum success . Dominating the charts in 1995 , B.I.G. became one of the genre 's biggest names of the day and Bad Boy 's premier star . Also in 1995 , the label continued its success with platinum releases by Total and Faith Evans . Bad Boy , meanwhile , staffed a bevy of in - house writer / producers , including : Easy Mo Bee , Chucky Thompson and D Dot -- all of whom were instrumental in producing many of Bad Boy 's most noted releases during this time . </P>
who was the first artist signed to bad boy records
who was the first artist signed to bad boy records
Craig Mack
Craig Mack