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Volume 72, Issue 65,
Monday, November 20, 2006
Life & Arts Diddy's latest isn't impressive or disappointing by ELI JABBE
Sean Combs, also known as Puffy, or P. Diddy, is one of the entertainment world's most recognizable and polarizing figures. He made a name for himself in the music world as a CEO that was instrumental in starting and guiding the careers of legends such as the late, great Notorious B.I.G. Music isn't what Diddy is ultimately famous for; thanks to his branching out, Diddy is more famous for ventures like his successful clothing line Sean John and pimping products from Proactiv and now Burger King. Because Diddy has never been an impressive artist, it's been easy to forget about his music. The CEO, producer and artist has only released three albums despite being in the business for over a decade. His most impressive album was his debut No Way Out. Sure, he didn't write any of the lyrics, and the production, infamously sampling hits from ‘80s stars like Sting, wasn't original either, but the album was exceptional. Its success was probably because it was really a compilation. It featured an extensive list of guest appearances from stars like Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Busta Rhymes and Ginuwine, along with other artists on Diddy's Bad Boy label. The album, released in the aftermath of the tragic death of Diddy's close friend Biggie, found Diddy in a somber, introspective mood on many songs. Even if he didn't write the lyrics, songs like "Do You Know" were great. Almost a decade later, Diddy's latest follows a similar formula. On Press Play there are a large amount of guests, especially female singers. Stars like Christina Aguilera, Keyshia Cole, Mary J. Blige, Brandy and Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of The PussyCat Dolls) all duet with Diddy. He even sings for the first time on the Aguilera collaboration. The list of guest rappers is much shorter. Legends like Nas and Big Boi from Outkast make appearances, but that's about it. However, rappers made contributions in other ways. Excellent lyricists like T.I., Pharaohe Monche and The Game wrote a bulk of the songs that Diddy raps on. On "Come To Me," the duet with Scherzinger, Diddy has basic lyrics: "She's digging my style, my swag, my suede, my swerve, my way with words, the boy's absurd for sure." It's apparent that Diddy wrote those lyrics. Fans will notice that Diddy has unfortunately stopped using the hilarious ad-libs that he has been known for in the past ("Take that" and "eh-eh", among others), so the music is a little less entertaining. Diddy is slightly outshined on "Everything I Love" because of Kanye West's excellent city, Cee-Lo's (one half of Gnarls Barkley) great chorus and Nas' guest verse. Diddy declares, "I'm the heart of the city / I'm the honorable Diddy." Sometimes it's just hard to take this guy seriously, even when he is trying to be serious. Along with West, other elites like The Neptunes and Timbaland contribute beats. Tim produces and sings on the chorus of the impressive "P. Diddy Rock." Overall, this is an album fans of R&B will enjoy. With the exception of the guest appearances, the rap lyrics aren't something you should look forward to, but that's a given because this is Diddy. Fans shouldn't expect the myriad of rap lyrics heard on No Way Out (which featured many rap stars, such as Jay-Z, Biggie, The Lox and Mase), as Combs has shifted his sound to a smoother style on this album. Still, this is an entertaining album -- because this is Diddy after all. And with so many different guest artists, there is something for everybody. Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu |
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