Music: Hip-Hop Nation: Sean Puffy Combs

Streetwise, boardroom savvy, he is the music's ambassador of cool

On a balmy winter's night in Nassau, the Bahamas, Sean ("Puffy") Combs kicks back in an office at Compass Point Studios. Dressed down in a polo shirt, Gucci slippers and a glittering diamond ear stud, he is taking a break from recording his new album, Forever, to explain the world according to Puffy. "Kids don't want to be like Mike anymore," he says, referring to a certain recently retired athlete. "Their heroes are rappers. In five years if Master P and I endorse a presidential candidate, we could turn an election. Hip-hop is that deep."

If all that sounds a tad...

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