Following his father's death, he and his mother Janice continued to live in Harlem.

The golden couple split during the trial

Combs was sent to a boys' private school before going on to study at Howard University.

It was here he developed his entrepreneurial skills by organising and promoting house parties, before dropping out of education altogether.

His potential was spotted by the boss of Uptown Records, Andre Harrell, who took him under his wing and taught him the ropes.

Combs' junior role in the company did not last long and he was promoted to vice president of promotion for his successes with the likes of Jodeci and Mary J Blige.

Notorious

His climb up the corporate ladder was marred by a tragedy in 1991 when he organised a celebrity basketball match.

The event ended with the deaths of nine people after chaos and fighting broke out in the overcrowded auditorium.

Combs was blamed for deaths by the authorities because of a lack of security and poor organisation.

But it did not affect the influence he was having on the rap world and he launched his own Bad Boy record label.

His most high-profile discovery was Biggie Smalls, aka the Notorious B.I.G, a one-time drug dealer.

Harrell at Uptown could see how big his prot�g� had become and promptly fired him.

Number one hits followed for Combs' own stable.

It was becoming clear though that a new kind of turf war was emerging.

Suge Knight and Death Row Records were another successful record company, creating stars out of Tupac Shakur, Dr Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Shootings

Although Knight and Combs started out as friends the cracks soon started to show.

When Shakur was wounded by a gunshot in 1994 and another of Knight's friends was killed, suspicion fell in the direction of Combs and his entourage.

Extravagant style from the Sean John label

Tupac was then shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996.

The following year the Notorious B.I.G also fell victim to a gunshot while out with Combs.

A devastated Combs released I'll Be Missing You, featuring B.I.G's widow Faith Evans, which went to number one around the world.

As well as releasing solo material, he has lent his name and production skills to a host of artists such as Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men and LL Cool J.

Knight is currently serving a nine-year jail term for violating his probation for beating up two rappers back in 1996.

He has said his rival Combs should not be put behind bars.

Combs' empire now stretches beyond music with his expansion into the fashion world.

He was often seen at catwalk shows in the world's fashion capitals before launching his own label, Sean John.