July 22 In Hip-Hop History: Diddy Drops Debut Album 'No Way Out'

Diddy was already one of Hip-Hop's leading record executives by the time he decided to pursue his own musical endeavors. Once he got in the booth and started rapping, the Bad Boy founder made numerous hit records for his debut album, which dropped 25 years ago today.

On July 22, 1997, Sean "Diddy" Combs dropped his first album No Way Out with his Bad Boy family under his original moniker Puff Daddy. The 17-track album, which arrived a few months after the tragic death of The Notorious B.I.G., is jammed packed with some of Diddy's biggest records like "Victory" featuring Biggie Smalls and Busta Rhymes, "Senorita" and "It's All About The Benjamins" featuring The LOX, The Notorious B.I.G., and Lil' Kim.

No Way Out features other bangers that impacted Hip-Hop culture forever like "I'll Be Missing You" featuring Faith Evans and 112. The somber record, which samples the Police's 1983 hit song "Every Breath You Take," was made as a tribute to the late Christopher Wallace, yet it became one of Diddy's most successful singles to date. Diddy's debut album also contains some of his biggest collaborations with his former artist Ma$e like "Been Around The World" and "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." It also contains appearances from JAY-Z, Carl Thomas, the late Black Rob, Ginuwine, Twista, and Foxy Brown.

Diddy's first album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and has become 7x certified platinum since its release. In celebration of the project's incredible milestone, Diddy is dropping an expanded version of No Way Out. On the day before the 25th anniversary, the music mogul announced his plans to re-release the LP with its original 17 tracks plus 15 bonus tracks full of remixes, radio mixes, instrumentals and more.

Listen to Puff Daddy & The Family's No Way Out below.