P. Diddy - Press Play

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Album Track Listing

P. Diddy:
Press Play

Release Date: 16 October 2006

Reviewed By: Brendan Scott

1. Testimonial (Intro)

2. We Gon' Make It (ft. Jack Knight)

3. I Am (Interlude)

4. The Future

5. Hold Up (ft. Angela Hunte)

6. Come To Me (ft. Nicole Scherzinger)

7. Tell Me (ft. Christina Aguilera)

8. Wanna Move (ft. Big Boi, Ciara & Scar)

9. Diddy Rock (ft. Timbaland, Twista & Shawnna)

10. Claim My Place (ft. Avant) (Interlude)

11. Everything I Love (ft. Nas & Cee-Lo)

12. Special Feeling (ft. Mika Lett)

13. Crazy Thang (Interlude)

14. After Love (ft. Keri)

15. Through The Pain (She Told Me) (ft. Mario Winans)

16. Thought You Said (ft. Brandy)

17. Last Night (ft. Keyshia Cole)

18. Makin' It Hard (ft. Mary J. Blige)

19. Partners For Life (ft. Jamie Foxx)

Sleepy Brown - Mr Brown
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Puff Daddy, no…P. Diddy, or is it just Diddy? Anyway, Mr. Sean Combs, the music mogul-cum-entrepreneur extraordinaire drops his fifth album, ‘Press Play’ to much fanfare, but should we believe the hype?

The opener, ‘Testimonial’, sets the scene for much of what is to come in the last half of the album. This kitsch intro uses a Tears for Fears sample, and reminds you that Diddy is not only unafraid of rehashing 80’s pop songs, but that he also possesses an air of pomposity paralleled only by the other Sean, S. Carter.

Speaking of which, the following track, ‘We Gon Make It’, uses the same ‘Shaft In Africa’ sample as the current Jay-Z track that is doing the rounds (‘Show Me What You Got’), but unfortunately isn’t quite as effective. I don’t know who pipped who to the post but is it any wonder people complain that commercial Hip-Hop has become homogenous?

The start of this album continues strongly with the dope, yet truncated, ‘I Am’. This song has wailing, soulful horns and rolling drums, however it excludes the latter half, featuring Aasim and a switch of beat, found on the superior full version.

Next up is ‘The Future’, produced by Havoc of Mobb Deep. The doubled up kicks and snares and doleful synth bass line provide a moody beat for Diddy to showcase a meandering flow that we haven’t heard from him before, yet is somehow familiar. A quick look in the inlay, however, reveals that it doesn’t belong to him and that the lyrics and rhyme pattern have been ghostwritten by the one and only Pharoahe Monch. Still, if you’ve got the money you may as well spend it wisely.

Track 5 is also ghost written by Monch and co-produced by Havoc. This is arguably the best, most Hip-Hop – whatever that means – song on the album. You’ve got the sound of vinyl crackling, snares that knock, minimal deep bass, slight, harp-like strings and if that wasn’t enough a children’s choir to boot.

At this point ‘Press Play’ takes a massive nosedive, with the exception of ‘Everything I Love’ – a K West-produced doozie featuring Nas and Cee-Lo, which thuds along with much aplomb.

The rest is dire, with tracks like ‘Special Feeling’ and ‘Through The Pain’ sounding more like Human League than Hip-Pop and with so many self-indulgent, schmaltzy, R&B duets, the rest of the CD is practically rendered unlistenable.

With a cringe factor akin to hearing your Dad trying to rap, it makes you wonder at which point Hip-Hop came to accept Diddy as a rapper in his own right…though it probably didn’t.

It’s a real pity that with an album featuring so may revered individuals from across the urban music industry (Cee-Lo, Nas, Twista, Big Boi, Timbaland, Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, Jamie Foxx, the list is endless…) that someone can churn something out that is so – excuse the perfume-poaching pun – unforgivable. Despite the fact that this album will no doubt sell by the tricked out truckload, it really is not very good. Press stop indeed.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Best Tracks:

5) Hold Up

3) I Am

11) Everything I Love feat. Cee-Lo and Nas

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Album Track Listing	P. Diddy: Press Play Release Date: 16 October 2006 Reviewed By: Brendan Scott
1. Testimonial (Intro) 2. We Gon' Make It (ft. Jack Knight) 3. I Am (Interlude) 4. The Future 5. Hold Up (ft. Angela Hunte) 6. Come To Me (ft. Nicole Scherzinger) 7. Tell Me (ft. Christina Aguilera) 8. Wanna Move (ft. Big Boi, Ciara & Scar) 9. Diddy Rock (ft. Timbaland, Twista & Shawnna) 10. Claim My Place (ft. Avant) (Interlude) 11. Everything I Love (ft. Nas & Cee-Lo) 12. Special Feeling (ft. Mika Lett) 13. Crazy Thang (Interlude) 14. After Love (ft. Keri) 15. Through The Pain (She Told Me) (ft. Mario Winans) 16. Thought You Said (ft. Brandy) 17. Last Night (ft. Keyshia Cole) 18. Makin' It Hard (ft. Mary J. Blige) 19. Partners For Life (ft. Jamie Foxx) Sleepy Brown - Mr Brown Read Review

		Puff Daddy, no…P. Diddy, or is it just Diddy? Anyway, Mr. Sean Combs, the music mogul-cum-entrepreneur extraordinaire drops his fifth album, ‘Press Play’ to much fanfare, but should we believe the hype? The opener, ‘Testimonial’, sets the scene for much of what is to come in the last half of the album. This kitsch intro uses a Tears for Fears sample, and reminds you that Diddy is not only unafraid of rehashing 80’s pop songs, but that he also possesses an air of pomposity paralleled only by the other Sean, S. Carter. Speaking of which, the following track, ‘We Gon Make It’, uses the same ‘Shaft In Africa’ sample as the current Jay-Z track that is doing the rounds (‘Show Me What You Got’), but unfortunately isn’t quite as effective. I don’t know who pipped who to the post but is it any wonder people complain that commercial Hip-Hop has become homogenous? The start of this album continues strongly with the dope, yet truncated, ‘I Am’. This song has wailing, soulful horns and rolling drums, however it excludes the latter half, featuring Aasim and a switch of beat, found on the superior full version. Next up is ‘The Future’, produced by Havoc of Mobb Deep. The doubled up kicks and snares and doleful synth bass line provide a moody beat for Diddy to showcase a meandering flow that we haven’t heard from him before, yet is somehow familiar. A quick look in the inlay, however, reveals that it doesn’t belong to him and that the lyrics and rhyme pattern have been ghostwritten by the one and only Pharoahe Monch. Still, if you’ve got the money you may as well spend it wisely. Track 5 is also ghost written by Monch and co-produced by Havoc. This is arguably the best, most Hip-Hop – whatever that means – song on the album. You’ve got the sound of vinyl crackling, snares that knock, minimal deep bass, slight, harp-like strings and if that wasn’t enough a children’s choir to boot. At this point ‘Press Play’ takes a massive nosedive, with the exception of ‘Everything I Love’ – a K West-produced doozie featuring Nas and Cee-Lo, which thuds along with much aplomb. The rest is dire, with tracks like ‘Special Feeling’ and ‘Through The Pain’ sounding more like Human League than Hip-Pop and with so many self-indulgent, schmaltzy, R&B duets, the rest of the CD is practically rendered unlistenable. With a cringe factor akin to hearing your Dad trying to rap, it makes you wonder at which point Hip-Hop came to accept Diddy as a rapper in his own right…though it probably didn’t. It’s a real pity that with an album featuring so may revered individuals from across the urban music industry (Cee-Lo, Nas, Twista, Big Boi, Timbaland, Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, Jamie Foxx, the list is endless…) that someone can churn something out that is so – excuse the perfume-poaching pun – unforgivable. Despite the fact that this album will no doubt sell by the tricked out truckload, it really is not very good. Press stop indeed. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Best Tracks: 5) Hold Up 3) I Am 11) Everything I Love feat. Cee-Lo and Nas Return to Latest Reviews or select review by artist or Soundtrack, A-Z. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z