Atlanta mayor gives rapper Diddy prestigious Phoenix Award

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms presented rapper Diddy with the Phoenix Award, the city’s highest honor.

Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, was honored Wednesday at Morehouse College for his musical efforts in Atlanta through his record label Bad Boy Records, the Mayor’s Office said in an emailed statement.

“Sean Combs has been a staple in the Atlanta community for more than three decades. As a child, he spent every summer here with his aunt and credits Atlanta for helping him to cultivate his creative talents,” the mayor’s spokesman Michael Smith said. Combs was also honored by the Georgia Entertainment Caucus this week.

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The honor coincided with the rapper’s Revolt Summit, which provides networking and performance opportunities to young and upcoming artists. This year’s summit is held at 787 Windsor in Southwest Atlanta and will last through Sunday. A second summit will be held in Los Angeles later this month.

The Phoenix Award is given to those who have made significant contributions to Atlanta. The distinction is given to a small number of people, often reserved for dignitaries, prominent figures and celebrities, including Atlanta Hawks player Kent Bazemore and famed television writer and producer Norman Lear.

Combs founded Bad Boy Records which cultivated late rapper Notorious B.I.G. and Atlanta-based acts such as R&B group 112 and singer Faith Evans. In the mid-2000s, Combs opened Bad Boy South, a division of the label that developed Atlanta acts such as rapper Yung Jock and rap group Boyz N Da Hood. In 2013, he launched Revolt, a television network aimed at Hip Hop culture.

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