Press Play

Diddy (Sean Combs) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bad Boy
• ASIN: B000GPI2EA
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,011 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Testimonial (Intro)

2. We Gon' Make It

3. I Am (Interlude)

4. The Future

5. Hold Up

6. Come to Me

7. Tell Me

8. Wanna Move

9. Diddy Rock

10. Claim My Place (Interlude)

11. Everything I Love

12. Special Feeling

13. Crazy Thang (Interlude)

14. After Love

15. Through the Pain (She Told Me)

16. Thought You Said

17. Last Night

18. Making It Hard

19. Partners for Life

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sean "Diddy" Combs has spent so many years as an entertainment/fashion mogul and tabloid celebrity, that it's easy to forget that he also makes music. Press Play, his first album since 2001's The Saga Continues, is a reminder that whether he's named Puff, Puffy, or Diddy, Combs has a keen sense of what makes a good pop/hip-hop song but that he's also a middling rapper. Listening to Diddy rap in the same monotone flow he's had for years--not to mention his anemic songwriting--is a distracting sonic drag on an otherwise fluidly produced album. There are some excellent tracks, however. Mobb Deep deliver the dark and sinister "The Future" while Rich Harrison knocks out another vigorous workout of a beat for "Making It Hard." The best songs like "Everything I Love" (featuring Nas and Cee-Lo) and the fast, frenetic "Wanna Move" (with Big Boi, Ciara, and Scar) allow Diddy to play a secondary role rather than the main attraction. He's still a savvy mind behind the scenes, but there's not much gained in putting him in front of the mic. --Oliver Wang

Product Description

No one says it better than Diddy himself--"Press Play is based on all my musical experiences - from the Uptown era, when I was working with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and Heavy D...to the Biggie, 112, Mase, Total, and No Way Out era. As time evolved, and I started traveling around the world and going into dance and techno clubs, I began to see music from a global point of view. It all came together on Press Play, all those sounds in my head. I've evolved, studied the game, been a part of it, had success. It all comes down to press play. After you press play, it's gonna make or break you in this game." A year in the making, Press Play finds Diddy joined by a who's who of contemporary artists and producers. Among the guest performers are: Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, Big Boi, Brandi, Keyshia Cole, Nas, Fergie, Avant, and Pharoah Monch. Diddy was joined on the production side by the likes of Kanye West, Just Blaze, Pharrell Williams, Havoc from Mobb Deep, Will.I.Am, Rich Harrison, among others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars DONT PRESS PLAY......, December 12, 2006

By 

S. ELLIS - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Press Play (Audio CD)

Ok you already know, this album is full of collabos from Twista to my main girl Keyshia Cole. But this cd sucks. Yeah he got some tight beats to rock in the club to but thats it. My favorite track is LAST NIGHT feat. KEYSHIA COLE, That girl can blow, and thats makes the song tight, not Diddy. And like others have been saying, Yeah Diddy is a great business man and thats it. In my opinion he should just stay behind the scene's. Hang up the rapping Diddy, cause you are not it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No bias here., December 22, 2006

By 

Pablo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Press Play (Audio CD)

I truly do despise Diddy. Sean Puff Daddy Puffy P. Diddy Diddy Combs has grated my nerves for well over a decade, since he was whispering "I like that" in the background of all B.I.G.'s hits on Ready to Die, and making an appearance in every Bad Boy video. His swagger is corny, his delivery is wack, and his income in a day is more than most men will make in a lifetime. Diddy's got a lot of haters, and he's warranted all the criticism he's received. But this album, simply put, is fun.

Diddy literally bought a hot album for himself. He rounded up an entourage full of a-list producers and writers, and virtually had everyone make this album for him. The only thing he does on this album is rhyme; and let's not get it twisted, his delivery is still as mush-mouthed, and unpolished as it's ever been. However, the rhymes, written by everyone from Monch to Tip, are still hot, the all-star cast of guests deliver, and the production is handled magnificiently. If anyone but Diddy was delivering these rhymes, it's hard to say that this wouldn't be an album of the year contendor; it's got all the elements of a perfectly formulated album, with the exception of Diddy himself.

Unlike virtually everyone else, I didn't come into this album looking for Diddy. I didn't acquire this album because I wanted to bash Puffy, or because I saw the "Come to Me" video on MTV, and felt inspired to rush to the record store, and pick it up. I purchased this album because emcees like Big Boi, Nas, T.I., and Pharoahe Monch contributed to it, and producers like Kanye and Havoc provided beats. This is more of a compilation than it is a solo release; Diddy maybe all over the release, but he's spitting other's writtens. He also isn't 'producing' any of the beats on this album, so you don't get any ganked "Kashmir" riffs, or Grandmaster Flash-backs. You get an entirely original hip-hop release, that is remarkably fresh coming from someone like Diddy.

The only thing Diddy deserves credit for on this release is shelling out the cash for it. Otherwise, nothing on this album portrays Diddy as an artist; something he most definitely isn't. It may not be cool to support Diddy, but this album is definitely worth checking out. Just don't go into expecting anything other than tight rhymes over dope production, unfortunately performed by a man with a disgustingly bad flow; because then, and only then, will you be dissapointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 2-1/2 stars -- Why? Why? WHY?, June 22, 2007

By 

Anthony Rupert "shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP!!!" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Press Play (Audio CD)

Let's be honest: was anyone really checking for a new Diddy album? We all know that he was never really the best lyricist, but he still shined when he wanted to ("Diddy", "It's All About the Benjamins"). But his latest album Press Play will have you doing everything BUT that.

Now, Diddy has been known for bringing a slew of guest stars on his albums, especially since his first and third releases credit some variation of "and the family". At first glance, it appears that he is trying to roll for dolo this time around (although that didn't work on Forever), but in actuality, this album is also littered with guest stars, and their performances really aren't that great. And as far as the Bad Boy influence, I can conversely compare this release to posthumous Biggie releases: Biggie was paired with artists he'd probably never work with if he were alive, while here, you'll find people that normally wouldn't be paired with Diddy, like Nas ("Everything I Love") and Big Boi ("Wanna Move").

There are a few tolerable tracks like "After Love" and the necessary song with Mary J. Blige on the hook, "Making It Hard". The best songs, though, would have to be "Come to Me" (with Nicole Scherzinger -- I don't know WHY I like that song so much) and the latest single, "Last Night" featuring Keyshia Cole (but it should really say Keyshia Cole featuring Diddy because Diddy is only on the chorus). But other singers seem to make bad songs even worse, like Brandy ("Thought You Said") and, unsurprisingly, Mario Winans ("Through the Pain"). And if 2006 wasn't such a bad year for collabos, the Christina Aguilera-assisted "Tell Me" would have easily been in the running for my most hated collaborations.

That song also suffers from a hectic beat, which points out another downfall on the album: the production. The beat from the aforementioned "Wanna Move" sounds like it came straight from a Yamaha drum machine, and "Special Feeling" sounds like it was made with a My First Sony. But other songs are just garbage, like "The Future" and especially "Diddy Rock" (and that's also a wack title). Also skippable is "Hold Up", which features Diddy saying that when it comes to foes: "They disturb me, but it's love like tennis." What?

And this damn album is 79 minutes long, too. Basically, as other reviewers have said, the only button you'll really be pressing after listening to Press Play is STOP/EJECT.

Anthony Rupert