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Billboard’s Greatest Pop Star of 1997: Puff Daddy

Puff Daddy is Billboard's Greatest Pop Star of 1997 for bringing rap to new pop heights, though his year's grandeur suffers under recent revelations.

That July, Puff dropped his debut, No Way Out, featuring some of the last verses Biggie recorded, including his turns on the iconic Tunnel banger “It’s All About the Benjamins” and the Rocky-sampling “Victory,” which resulted in one of the most expensive music videos of all time and received a half-hour premiere special on MTV. That meant it was the most popular song in America when the Bad Boy family, clad all in white (and with Sting as an honorary member), performed it in a medley with “I’ll Be Missing You” at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 4. He played the hero in Men in Black, the second biggest movie of the year, and the New York Times dubbed him “the only man in American movies who can easily address a space alien as ‘Baby.’” Contrary to what the film’s hit theme song said, you weren’t going to forget his winning smile and total charisma: The 29-year-old rapper, actor and former Fresh Prince was on his way to becoming the hip-hop generation’s Tom Hanks and its Paul McCartney with Big Willie Style, Smith’s breakout solo LP, featuring clean hits like “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” “Miami” and “Just the Two of Us.” It won Grammys and Video Music Awards, earned platinum plaques and provided a stress-free soundtrack to many a middle-school dance.

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