Diddy – Press Play
Bad Boy Entertainment (release date: 10/17/2006)
Rap/dance
OK”¦ I’ve got just one goal in mind as I approach this review.
With all my being, I will not be the 1,000th critic to make the obvious “Press Play? More like Press Fast Forward!” joke.
Hell, truth be told, I’ve even grown to accept Puff P. Diddy Just Diddy Daddy over the years. He gets sh*t over his rampant sampling from those that don’t understand the origins of rap. He gets equal amounts of manure from those that do know rap, with regards to his “shiny suit-ification” of the genre in the late ’90s.
At the end of the day, Diddy is a mediocre rapper and above average producer, which basically makes him a dancing Dr. Dre. Plus, as David Spade has showed us, it’s not easy being an entertainer of limited talent who rides the decomposed coattails of his dead fat friend.
Press Play is the hyped-to-the-heavens fourth LP from Sean Combs. And, heaven help us, it debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts.
Let’s cut right to the bone”¦ this is a terrible album. It’s an absolute embarrassment on every level and this is coming from a guy who actually enjoyed Diddy’s (admittedly overstuffed) The Saga Continues”¦ CD in 2001.
Criticizing Diddy’s lyrical skill is easier than preschool, but for God’s sake:
“”¦I bang like Chitty-Chitty”¦” -from “The Future”.
“Let me be your tour guide
I’m your burger / You my fries”¦” -from “Diddy Rock”.
And, those are just two examples from the most excruciating 80 minutes of audio in recent hip hop history.
The guest list is long and alluring, but Diddy’s production keeps Christina Aguilera’s vocal chords in check on “Tell Me”. Later, Brandy seems to be satirizing her own syrupy style on “Thought You Said”, which sounds an awful lot like the 10th or 11th “love letter to Jennifer” concept.
Other cameos include Jaime Foxx (“Partners for Life”), Mary J. Blige (“Making It Hard”) and Keyshia Cole (“Last Night”), but everything is dull, formulaic and, most disappointing of all”¦ no fun.
Ah, but don’t think we can’t pick a worst track here. “Special Feeling” is ripped right from a 1985 New Edition outtake on the production side, while Diddy’s (ahem) “flow” flops around like a fish fresh out of water.
So, it’s not all awful. Nas forced Diddy to raise his game just so the latter can keep up on “Everything I Love”. But, one redeemable song simply isn’t enough to save Press Play. Diddy does have talent, so perhaps it’s possible that he meant to miss the target by this much.
After all, anyone can go out on top, but going out on the bottom is really an accomplishment.
Rating:
