section_path: Early life
section_name: Early life
paragraph_text: Early life
  
  Sean John Combs was born on November 4, 1969, in Harlem, New York City. Raised in Mount Vernon, New York, his mother Janice Combs (née Smalls) was a model and teacher's assistant. His father, Melvin Earl Combs, served in the U.S. Air Force; he was an associate of convicted New York drug lord Frank Lucas. At age 33, Melvin was shot dead while sitting in his car on Central Park West, when Combs was two years old. Combs has a sister, Keisha, and grew up in poverty.
  
  Combs was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy. He graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy, an all-boys Catholic school, in 1987. He played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986. Combs said he was given the nickname "Puff" as a child, because he would "huff and puff" when he was angry. Combs was a business major at Howard University, but left after his second year.
  
  Sean John Combs was born on November 4, 1969, in Harlem, New York City. Raised in Mount Vernon, New York, his mother Janice Combs (née Smalls) was a model and teacher's assistant. His father, Melvin Earl Combs, served in the U.S. Air Force; he was an associate of convicted New York drug lord Frank Lucas. At age 33, Melvin was shot dead while sitting in his car on Central Park West, when Combs was two years old. Combs has a sister, Keisha, and grew up in poverty.
  
  Combs was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy. He graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy, an all-boys Catholic school, in 1987. He played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986. Combs said he was given the nickname "Puff" as a child, because he would "huff and puff" when he was angry. Combs was a business major at Howard University, but left after his second year.