The 56 Most Intriguing Blacks Of 2001

Ebony, Nov, 2001

His mega-watt romance with singer-actress Jennifer Lopez, was placed under even greater scrutiny when Combs was charged with carrying a gun and attempting to bribe witnesses in the wake of a shootout at a New York nightclub. Following a trial that got saturation coverage in the media, Combs was found innocent of all charges, but the Combs-Lopez union withered under the pressure. After the breakup, Combs emerged with a new name and a new CD, P. Diddy and the Bad Bay Family, which quickly went to No. 1. The 31-year-old music mogul, whose 9-year-old Bad Boy label has produced in the neighborhood of a half-billion dollars in music, even made a huge splash in fashion. His Sean Jean label is nipping at the heels of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

But the father of two says that both the triumphs and tribulations of the past year have bolstered him. "It's made me a stronger person," he says.

CRAIG DAVID

BRITISH-born Craig David is not your ordinary R&B hipster. The son of a Grenadian father and White mother, 20-year-old David--he of the honeyed voice, smashing good looks and lilting accent--launched an assault on U.S. sensibilities with his debut CD, Born To Do It. That effort is based on a unique brand of two-step, garage (pronounced gah-ridge)-influenced R&B.

The triumph of the British singer has generated a lot of talk and a great deal of music industry buzz. Sean Combs courted the former DJ--whose mother still does his laundry--for his Bad Boy label, and neo-soul sister Angie Stone has recorded a duet with him.

But David hasn't let success go to his head. To understand how clean-cut this Brit is, you have to notice that the title of his CD comes not from the streets, but from a line in the film, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.

DR. DRE

RAP music and hip-hop culture have invaded the hearts and minds of American society, and perhaps no one is more responsible for that than Andre (Dr. Dre) Young, who won an American Music Award this year for favorite rap/hip-hop artist and two Grammys for best rap performance by a group or duo and producer of the year. The 36-year-old rap impresario also appeared as a corrupt Los Angeles police officer in the new Denzel Washington film, Training Day.

For more than 10 years, Dre has either performed on or produced some of the most popular and influential songs of the past decade, including the quintessential hip-hop album, 1992's The Chronic and its immortal anthem, "Ain't Nuthin' But a `G' Thang." That album brought hip-hop out of the inner city and into the suburbs and established the multiplatinum artist as a producer.

Dre lives in Los Angeles with his wife of five years, Nicole.

MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN

WHEN Michael Clarke Duncan left his job as a Chicago ditch digger and scored a hit in his first big movie role, people said he was only a one-movie wonder. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound actor proved them wrong in 2001 by scoring in a juicy role in Planet of the Apes.

In the wake of these triumphs, he has become a fixture on the Hollywood star scene and has won plaudits for his talent and his personality. And although people talk a lot about his size, he says that dreams, not size, define a man. "Fulfilling your dreams and living life to the fullest," he says, "is what makes you a man."