happening all over again for the very first time."

"We're putting a legacy on tour," says creative director and choreographer Laurieann Gibson, who's worked with Combs since his days as an A&R for Uptown Records.

"So this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. There's like 20 records that are smashes that we can't even get to."

"I'm tellin' you, for this intro? If you can unplug some plugs," says Puff from his couch. "It's my last night in New York and I want it dark.""I wish I could," Schneider replies. "You can do whatever you wanna do. Think about that." Few understand doing the impossible like Combs, who turned a label built on adventurous, highly lyrical New York hip-hop singles into the most formidable hit-making machine of the late Nineties. The 20-date Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, gathers most of the names that built the empire: Ma$e, Lil Kim, Faith Evans, Mario Winans, Total, Carl Thomas, 112 and the L.O.X. Combined they have 35 Top 20 hits between them, and that's not even taking into account their work with the late icon Notorious B.I.G.

Minutes before he was belting his 1998 hit "Victory" from a riser extending high up into the smoky air of New York's Madison Square Garden, rapper-mogul Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs seemed in search of the right vibes: three bouquets of roses adding a fragrant touch to his cabana-style backstage lounge, a request for some gospel, then some James Brown followed by some Soul Train videos on his big-screen TV. During a quick meeting with production manager Bobby Schneider, he attempted to similarly set a mood for the packed crowd.