Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 16/10/06
Label: Bad Boy

Saying P Diddy is a unique individual is putting it politely. At once influential and laughable, a new album from the man who took hip hop from the streets and made it America's biggest selling commodity is always going to be a big deal. Just not always for the right reasons. Let's not forget, Diddy reinvented hip hop from behind a desk, as CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment.

His career on the mic has been an altogether more contentious and confused tale and "Press Play", his first solo album in five years, is indeed another weird and rambling chapter of it. Since last we heard from him, he's thought about gospel and toyed with dance, but his sole output has been "Unforgivable", a perfume. Yes, hip hop's main mogul has been lost in the rap wilderness, and "Press Play" suggests he's not quite back yet. It's an album of two diametrically opposed halves.

Bathed in a seedy glow of blue neon and '80s synths, the first part is possessed with a cutting edge retro which, at times, feels like Diddy's stumbled on the next ultra-hip thing. The collar-up cruising of "We Gon' Make It" and "The Future"'s dark robotics are all undeniably cool and shrewd, or they would be if his raging ego didn't keep getting in the way. From "Hold Up"'s march to Christina Aguilera's guest spot on "Tell Me", his relentless I'm-the-Donald-Trump-of-rap droning overshadows everything. The Kanye West-produced "Everything I Love" is a highlight, not least because Diddy's input is diminished by Cee-Lo and Nas' all-consuming presence.

Similarly, the second half, a surprisingly understated and tasteful R&B selection, lead off by the Prince-like "Special Feeling", produced by Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am, is made all the better by Diddy's lack of obvious participation. It's like there was a phone call midway through recording and he had to step out to take care of 'business', leaving the stellar cast of contributors - including Mary J Blige, Mario Winans, Timbaland and The Neptunes - to make a sublime soul-pop album without him. The '80s, "Miami Vice" theme continues, but it's more about quality songs than desperately trying to innovate.

Both halves have plenty to recommend them. Earlier tracks offer a cool vibe, which while he hasn't made the most of them, may prove more influential than anything he's been involved with for some time. But it's when Diddy adopts the role he's really good at, the executive producer - bringing together and overseeing the real talent - for the closing stages, that "Press Play" moves from being another chaotic and bloated stab at a rap career to being something approaching a great album.

    by Dan Gennoe