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| Diddy - Press Play | All pressure rests on Diddy’s shoulders. He used to reign supreme as the undeniable king of hip-hop, and his status at the head of Bad Boy Records and Sean John reminded us of his outstanding position. Enter Jay-Z. Hova assumed control of Def Jam and Roc-a-fella to level himself corporately with Diddy. The ball flew back into Combs’s court, and he returned it spiritedly with his Press Play.
Critics worldwide reamed Sean’s earlier releases for a variety of reasons. The same flaws as arose on earlier discs resurface here. However, like on other efforts, Combs manages to churn out a couple of hit tracks to accompany the lesser songs. The introductory “Testimonial” immediately reminds us of Diddy’s propensity to snatch samples and claim them as his own by laying down a few not so spectacular lines over their keystrokes. He first strikes with a listenable track with his interlude “I Am,” a less than two-minute, rough track in which Combs spits in a borderline freestyle fashion. “Hold Up” exercises an impressive, slow winding rhythm, but unfortunately Diddy lacks the ability to adequately pace his flow to match the decelerated speed smoothly. He sounds here like a cheap, more awkward version of Kanye West.
Combs allows us to recall what brought him to the top in the first place with Nicole Scherzinger’s assistance on “Come to Me.” The duo work over an extremely minimal electronic beat with incredibly spaced horn blasts to create an enjoyable club track. Here we remember that Diddy’s ability to churn out energizing party tracks drew us to his singles in the first place. Christina Aguilera tries to replace Scherzinger on the following “Tell Me.” Although Sean John whips out some of his most natural rhymes to date the song still fails to impress. The team seems too distant and entirely disconnected to truly garner any legitimate amount of interest. Timbaland joins the mix on “Diddy Rock” which gives the track a distinct “Sexyback” vibe. However, Tim’s skills work much better in conjunction with Timberlake’s smooth, lacy vocals than Diddy’s unpolished ones. Still, the infectious beat provides one of those fun hits fans grew to expect from Combs. In fact, the vast majority of the pieces leading off the record fit that same entertaining mold.
The second half of the record, though, slows things down considerably. Diddy tries to mix things up with R&B beats and a flood of female guests starring on virtually every track. The most unfortunate portion of the CD comes when Sean manages to trash a Keyshia Cole assisted tune by trying to sing and failing miserable. He barely gets by rapping, but his singing voice proves infinitely less endurable. Needless to say, the listener struggles greatly to endure the conclusion to Press Play.
The lyrics actually read reasonably well for an album with such shallow, rage-oriented intentions. However, ghostwriters take the credit for the literary prowess present. Though an artist with more integrity pieces together his own material, Diddy’s ability to fess up to hiring help shines relatively admirable when compared to Ashlee Simpson episodes and comparable situations of modern pop music.
Jigga ripped a serve into Diddy’s court with his snowballing mogul status in the hip-hop world. Rather than simply dumping his return into the bottom of the net, Combs steamrolled a collection of not all too engaging but still somewhat enjoyable jams back to Jay-Z. Now he it’s up to Jay to slow things down or take control completely with Kingdom Come. |
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Displaying posts 1 - 15 of 38. |
12:19 AM on 11/16/06 | greg, i really like you. but some of the shit you say is so outrageous in my opinion. how you can compare PUFF DADDY to jay-z as a hip-hop artist is beyond me. jay-z has consistently put out good records of his own, while puffy rides the fame of whoever he seems to try to cash in on (anyone remember DREAM???) i think puff has become a fucking joke. given, he has the corporate/business talent, and dude has great marketing, but as a hip-hop artist, there is no contest.
like i said, i like you, and im not trying to be a douche here, but i just had to say it. | | |
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12:23 AM on 11/16/06 |  Originally Posted by themostdeplete greg, i really like you. but some of the shit you say is so outrageous in my opinion. how you can compare PUFF DADDY to jay-z as a hip-hop artist is beyond me. jay-z has consistently put out good records of his own, while puffy rides the fame of whoever he seems to try to cash in on (anyone remember DREAM???) i think puff has become a fucking joke. given, he has the corporate/business talent, and dude has great marketing, but as a hip-hop artist, there is no contest.
like i said, i like you, and im not trying to be a douche here, but i just had to say it. |
:applause:
seriously. not to mention diddy was NEVER the king of hip-hop, i don't know where you come off thinking that. he's the king of pop-rap or some bullshit like that. the man cannot rap to save his life. he makes some good beats and has found some good talent to cash in on but that's about it. jay-z has been pretty good from the beginning and he's much better now, but not a king either. i don't see why you're comparing the two in the first place -- kinda biased/unfair, agreed? i'm just glad you gave this album a bad score -- it deserves it. diddy's latest protege? the pussycat dolls. ugh. | | |
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12:27 AM on 11/16/06 | It's never been a competition between the two on a simple artistic basis. They compete as hip-hop moguls. Diddy used to be king by running the show for Bad Boy and Sean John. Then Jigga added another element to his musical dominance by taking the reigns of Roc-a-fella and Def Jam. There's no question Jay-Z raps better than Combs, but he's just recently taken control of the community as a whole. Some of Diddy's artists are making a comeback for him now too (even if I'm not really their biggest fan - Pussycat Dolls, etc.). | | |
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12:38 AM on 11/16/06 | Originally Posted by Perfect Teeth:applause:
seriously. not to mention diddy was NEVER the king of hip-hop, i don't know where you come off thinking that. he's the king of pop-rap or some bullshit like that. the man cannot rap to save his life. he makes some good beats and has found some good talent to cash in on but that's about it. jay-z has been pretty good from the beginning and he's much better now, but not a king either. i don't see why you're comparing the two in the first place -- kinda biased/unfair, agreed? i'm just glad you gave this album a bad score -- it deserves it. diddy's latest protege? the pussycat dolls. ugh. |
hahaha fyi, a grade in the 60's isn't a bad score. i'd say its above average. | | |
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12:41 AM on 11/16/06 | Originally Posted by themostdepletehahaha fyi, a grade in the 60's isn't a bad score. i'd say its above average. |
I'm still in a transition process. A score in the 60s for me isn't good. By the outset of 2007 it will be though. I just don't want to all of a sudden go straight from lenient grading (which I used to use) to stricter scoring. This is a subpar score. | | |
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12:51 AM on 11/16/06 | Um guys, didn't you see the youtube vid. Diddy is the king of music. | | |
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01:12 AM on 11/16/06 | Originally Posted by Greg DonaI'm still in a transition process. A score in the 60s for me isn't good. By the outset of 2007 it will be though. I just don't want to all of a sudden go straight from lenient grading (which I used to use) to stricter scoring. This is a subpar score. |
man it's hard to keep up. every one scores things completely different. i vouch for a letter grade system, instead of the numbers. it's just a loooot easier to see an C- compared to a 70% (7/10). because as far as i'm concerned, a 70% is a pretty damn good cd. a C- however, is sub-par. | | |
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01:17 AM on 11/16/06 | it's bad boy baby, take that take that, harlem stand up...(we need a harlem shake smiley) | | |
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01:39 AM on 11/16/06 | Good review.
However, there does need to be a grading system set in stone for the whole website, ideally. | | |
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03:12 AM on 11/16/06 | I expected this would be better (the album, not review). | | |
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04:47 AM on 11/16/06 | why are we reviewing hip hop and rnb crap. | | |
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05:05 AM on 11/16/06 | Originally Posted by J_169why are we reviewing hip hop and rnb crap. |
cause people on here like more than one genre of music. | | |
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05:36 AM on 11/16/06 | Originally Posted by J_169why are we reviewing hip hop and rnb crap. |
Because some people want to listen to something besides 20-something white kids bitching about their feelings every once in awhile. | | |
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