Being seen as "commercial" seems to be a-okay and is now the "in thing" in hip hop music these days, when 10 years ago, it would have been the ultimate insult to the average rapper.
Everyone seems to be dipping and dabbing into other areas of entertainment other than music to increase their bottomline -- 50 Cent (my distant cousin lol), Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg are trying to milk America for every dollar it's worth in what many say is "getting their hustle on". But while everyone in the country knows them, your grandma will probably only recognize Diddy in a police line up. Why? Because Diddy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy or whatever you choose to call him, is more known for his "image" over his actual music.
Since I didn't get into rap until 1999, I totally missed the boat on the entire "East Coast vs West Coast" beef in the mid-90's. Sorry, but hey, I do my homework and check out what I missed. I didn't get to buying the infamous "No Way Out" album until 2000 because that's all I remember hearing people talking about when I was in the 6th grade (when it was new: 1997). I liked a few cuts on it, but it didn't rock my socks like I expected it to.
Next up I bought his 1999 release "Forever". This is when I started to hate this guy and realize he's nothing but sizzle and no steak. Not only did this album suck ass, I accidently ended up with the clean version because I thought that "clean" meant it wasn't edited and "dirty" meant it was touched and violated by censors lmao. Ah, I miss being a 13 year old idiot. I still have the disc (which I might get around to reviewing one day), but the case has literally become a coaster for me. I think it even has a cup ring on it. Oopsies..
To me, that was the last straw. If I buy a shitty album, you're done with me and it'd take a lot to convince me to buy something else of yours... and I didn't. Buying shit like "Forever" and a few others I got from that stupid "Buy 12 CDs for 1 cent!" shit made me realize that it's a gamble.
I don't even think I gave Mr. Combs the dubious honor of being on my hard drive at all. I can't remember ever dl'ing a Diddy song now that I think about it... I always liked the other artists on Bad Boy more than him. I still don't understand what exactly he does to stay rich though...
So after a few compilation and remix albums enjoyed decent success on the Bad Boy imprint (like the Bad Boys II soundtrack in '03, which is one of the best soundtracks I've heard in awhile), Didz thought it was time to go back to a solo project. When he started hyping it (the only way he can -- shameless plugs), I started to fear the worst. He was hyping "Forever" to be some monster album and it made my ears get the shits.
Diddy was even bold enough to start a channel on YouTube that he claims "he bought" (when channels are free to anyone to create lol) where he posted up videos of him doing all kinds of mundane things. A few highlights of what he dubs "DiddyTV" include him going to Burger King and ordering some food "his way" while trying to get the food for free because "he's Diddy," him talking to homeless bums about the release of his new album, and him taking a piss in a public restrooom.
Even with his odd methods of promotion and seemingly endless hype, the CD has only sold a dismal 600,000 copies. When I was working at Best Buy around the time it was released, we had BOXES full of "Press Play" (we had to send a lot of them back) and customers were even telling me how whack it was. I was like "Damn, is it that bad?," so when I got off work one night I downloaded it and threw it on my iPod. The result? I'm blown away. While it certainly won't win any street cred. with the 14-year-olds who strictly only listen to G-Unit nor will it impress fans of lyrical prowess, if you want a CD you can jam to all night long, then this is the perfect choice.
The people who told me this was whack must not know what a good dance record is. I question people's taste in music sometimes, and if you want to question mine, then go right ahead. If you get yourself amped to hear Diddy spit some thoughtful lines that rival lyrical geniuses like Eminem or 2pac, keep it movin'. That said, the lyrics that are here are good for the song subjects even if Didz didn't write the majority of stuff featured.
That's right folks, he had the assistance of "ghost writers" (lol, hey, remember that PBS show "Ghost Writer"? Damn I'm old!) to help pen the album. Some big names in the game helped, in fact -- T.I., The Game, Pharoahe Monch, and Royce Da 5'9" are just a few. I remember listening to some lyrics like "wait, that sounds like something T.I. would say" since I've been listening to his album, King, for what seems like forever on my iPod now. I guess you can say Diddy sorta copycats these artists when he raps, but the end result is I'm impressed (I really don't care either way about who writes the song.. Does it seriously matter in mainstream music anyway?). For awhile, I forgot that he even rapped to begin with between his clothing line, cologne products, and straight to DVD movies lol. It's like hearing a friend of yours rap or sing for the first time and they're actually decent, haha. I also call this the "Will Smith effect". I have a lot of names for trends if you haven't noticed :)
Another saving grace of this album, and probably the most apparent thing, is that it's LOADED with guest appearances. I never heard Dr. Dre's "2001," but I remember reading the track listing on the back of the case one day and being disgusted that every track had somebody else on it. I don't see that as the artist trying to make a "monster album," I see it as that they need help making a great song or album. I complain about this often in my reviews, so again, I saw this plethoera of features on "Press Play" as a sign of weakness -- he's probably cognizant of his sucktitude. The only track he's truly solo on is "The Future" where he raps about all kinds of crazy space age shit. It's a light hearted track, but if this was same deal through the entire disc, I'd get sick of it after 3 songs, which is why pretty much everyone you can think of is on here: Ciara, Big Boi of Outkast, Twista, Keyshia Cole, Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls, Christina Aguilera, Nas, Cee-Lo, Mario Winans, Brandy, Jamie Foxx, Timbaland, and Mary J. Blige are ALL on here.
It can seem like it's too much if you just read the track listing, but this actually works to Diddy's advantage through out the 80 minute duration of "Press Play". I don't even know why this should even be considered a solo album versus a compliation (featuring Diddy lol), but oh well. Every track is something new and fresh and more than 90% of the time, the guest carries the track. If I sat here and explained how I felt about all the guest tracks, I'd be here all day; so I'll just focus on the best. For example, on the track "Wanna Move", Diddy says barely anything. It might as well be viewed as a Ciara song because you hear her all over the track. Even Timbaland pops up on "Diddy Rock" to say his usual schtick whenever he produces a beat. It's sad I remember his verse, along with Twista's and Shawnna's, but can't recall what the fuck Diddy said at all. The real sad part is that I've heard that particular track the most because it's my favorite on the album lol.
Speaking of Timbo, is this guy gettin' paid or what? He produced "Diddy Rock" and the up beat "After Love" (which features a new artist by the name of Keri Hilson.. well, atleast I think she's new.. I haven't heard much of her stuff, but I'm looking forward to in the future) -- both tracks are hot are worth the download. Other production on the CD is equally impressive and pretty much all the songs cross fade into one another in a similar fashion of a techno album. If you want to dance, I can't think of a better American album to suggest and I dare the haters to find something better in that respect..
Diddy won me over with this. I went in with very low expectations was satisfied with the entire album. It seems pretty balanced and barely ever starts to drag. even though I'm not the biggest fan of some of the interludes. By surrounding himself with hitmaker producers and a virtual who's who guest list, how can you NOT like this? He literally BOUGHT HIMSELF a hit record. If you can find it for $9.99 or below and you love feel good jams, I'd say buy it. Otherwise, this is well worth the download because it definitely has some bangers on here that'll be great for crusin' around in the summer to.
I would have given this a perfect rating if it wasn't so damn long. I don't have A.D.D. by any means, but I hate when albums go longer than 40 minutes -- it's like eating 2 cheesecakes instead of a few slices. What saves this is Diddy's laundry list of guests that make every track something new, so I can put up with it being 80 minutes, but damn lol. If he just trimmed the fat and made it more streamlined at about 13 or 14 tracks instead of 19 it would be so much better.
Overall, it's an under rated release that I enjoyed far more than any Diddy album in the past and is worth your time either legally or illegally lol.
Paq's Favorite Tracks:
1. Diddy Rock
2. Wanna Move
3. After Love
4. Last Night
Paq's Least Favorite Tracks:
1. Nothing really irks me to the point of being "skippable", but if I had to pick something I'd say "Special Feeling".
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Being seen as "commercial" seems to be a-okay and is now the "in thing" in hip hop music these days, when 10 years ago, it would have been the ultimate insult to the average rapper. 
It can seem like it's too much if you just read the track listing, but this actually works to Diddy's advantage through out the 80 minute duration of "Press Play". I don't even know why this should even be considered a solo album versus a compliation (featuring Diddy lol), but oh well. Every track is something new and fresh and more than 90% of the time, the guest carries the track. If I sat here and explained how I felt about all the guest tracks, I'd be here all day; so I'll just focus on the best. For example, on the track "Wanna Move", Diddy says barely anything. It might as well be viewed as a Ciara song because you hear her all over the track. Even Timbaland pops up on "Diddy Rock" to say his usual schtick whenever he produces a beat. It's sad I remember his verse, along with Twista's and Shawnna's, but can't recall what the fuck Diddy said at all. The real sad part is that I've heard that particular track the most because it's my favorite on the album lol.
