<P> Combs graduated from the Roman Catholic Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987 . He played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986 . Combs said that he was given the nickname "Puff" as a child, because he would "huff and puff" when he was angry . </P> <P> Combs was a business major at Howard University but left after his sophomore year . In 2014, he returned to Howard University to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities and deliver the University's 146th Commencement Address . </P> <P> Combs became an intern at New York's Uptown Records . While talent director at Uptown, he helped develop Jodeci and Mary J. Blige . In his college days Combs had a reputation for throwing parties, some of which attracted up to a thousand participants . In 1991, Combs promoted an AIDS fundraiser with Heavy D held at the City College of New York (CCNY) gymnasium, following a charity basketball game . The event was oversold, and a stampede occurred in which nine people died . </P> <P> In 1993, after being fired from Uptown, Combs established his new label Bad Boy Entertainment as a joint venture with Arista Records, taking then - newcomer The Notorious B.I.G. with him . Both The Notorious B.I.G. and Craig Mack quickly released hit singles, followed by successful LPs, particularly Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die . Combs signed more acts to Bad Boy, including Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, 112, Total, and Father MC . The Hitmen, his in - house production team, worked with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil' Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin, and others . Mase and the Lox joined Bad Boy just as a widely publicized rivalry with the West Coast's Death Row Records was beginning . Combs and Notorious B.I.G. were criticized and parodied by Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight in songs and interviews during the mid-1990s . During 1994--1995, Combs produced several songs for TLC's CrazySexyCool, which finished the decade as number 25 on Billboard's list of top pop albums of the decade . </P>

How did p diddy began his career in the music industry