Diddy

“Press Play”

(Bad Boy)

3 Stars


Diddy (alternately known as Sean Combs, Puff Daddy, Puffy, and P. Diddy) is very famous and very important. He’s created Danity Kane on MTV’s reality series “Making the Band,” promoted his record label, initiated the “Vote or Die” campaign, expanded his clothing empire, and touted Proactive acne treatment’s ability to “moisturize [his] situation and preserve [his] sexy.” And occasionally, reportedly, he records music.

As expected, Diddy’s new album “Press Play” is stuffed with upbeat tracks and A-list cameos that reflect his flamboyant and entrepreneurial persona. Featuring appearances from Kanye West, Pharrell, will.i.am, Mario Winans, Just Blaze, Nicole Scherzinger, Christina Aguilera, Big Boi, Ciara, Timbaland, Twista, Shawnna, Nas, Cee-Lo, Brandy, Keyshia Cole, Jamie Foxx and Mary J. Blige, it is safe to say that it cannot help but generate some quality songs.

Diddy’s versatility and marketability make it impossible to think of him as just a rapper; he is a jack-of-all-money-making-trades, which he shows off all over the album. Most notably, “Everything I Love,” with Nas and Cee-Lo, showcases (or maybe invents) the conscious side of Diddy, enhanced by the ever-insightful rhymes of Nas. Diddy also highlights his vulnerabilities on several tracks, such as “Last Night.” In this duet with Keyshia Cole, Diddy makes his singing debut with a tender ballad. It’s crass, but also effective.

As a whole, the album blends R&B melodies, hip-hop beats, and dance music into a fairly novel sound for the hip-hop genre. It is both a refreshing break from familiar beats and trite expressions and it is easy to listen to continuously because the songs follow a natural progression.

And for once, Diddy tones down what used to be his trademarks: relatively few tracks are obvious appropriations of classic hits, and he refrains from plastering any of his names over every track.

But this being Diddy’s album, the most important question is how much money it will make. And from this standpoint, it has not been successful: his first single from the album “Come to Me,” featuring Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls, has peaked at only no. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ultimately, record sales of “Press Play” will likely determine if the mogul’s time is better spent cultivating artists and his clothing brand, instead of continuing to promote his own music.

Whether credit for the assembly of this album should be attributed to Diddy or his talented guest contributors (most likely the latter), it is clear that it is has all the same crowd-pleasing elements of previous Bad Boy projects. Despite your personal feelings about Diddy, you must admit that he knows how to put together a product.