No Way Out [Explicit Lyrics]

Diddy (Sean Combs) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 22, 1997)
• Original Release Date: July 22, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Bad Boy
• ASIN: B0000039QD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (369 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,091 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Originally, producer/bad boy CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs intended for the debut album from his Puff Daddy persona to feature nothing but non-stop party jams. Unfortunately, the murder of The Notorious B.I.G. (credited here as Executive Producer) threw an ugly spin on the album, resulting in a mixed bag of fun fluff and gangsta posturing. Puffy's delivery is thin and nasal, and his raps uninspired, but help from pals like Lil' Kim, Busta Rhymes, and protégé Mase partially make up for his deficiencies. With his unrivalled knack from nicking hooks--he pilfers from Sting ("I'll Be Missing You"), Grandmaster Flash ("Can't Nobody Hold Me Down") or classical composer Samuel Barber ("No Way Out (Intro)") with equal aplomb--Puff Daddy epitomized homogenized hip-hop. --Kurt B. Reighley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GUILTY PLEASURE, July 12, 2002

By 

E.J. Rupert (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: No Way Out (Audio CD)

Puff Daddy couldn't rap back then, and he really can't now either, but SOMEBODY bought this record. Back in 1997, you weren't even considered real if you didn't bankhead bounce to "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", sing along to Big's (as well as Mase's and Puff's) lyrics in "Been Around the World", or "throw ya' hands up" (like Busta said) in "It's All About the Benjamins". And don't front on the gangsta tracks like "I Got the Power" with The Lox and "Young G's" with Jay-Z and Big. In the latter song, Puff proved why we don't buy his albums expecting dope rhymes from him ("...nice cars, nice b's and rings/Guess it's safe to say a n like me got nice things"). We instead bought No Way Out expecting a party, and this album rocked many a frat house back then.

So what were you doing when this album came out? Hating Puff for beat-jacking and weak rhyming or running to the dance floor whenever one of his songs came on? You did both? Me too.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Quite possibly the worst thing ever committed to wax., May 1, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Way Out (Audio CD)

I am a fan of many types of music -- you name it, I'm probably diggin' it. Hip-hop is part of what I grew up on. This album, with it's unsubstantiated platinum success and unjustified Grammy wins, represents everything that is _wrong_ with hip-hop.

Now, before the infantile, elementary-minded pop crowd labels me a "playa hata", allow me to illustrate my disgust for this album:

1) The obvious beat-jacking. 15 out of 17 tracks contain a sample of some sort. This is not creative by any means; it is tacky and it represents the commercial, lowest common denominator production that has plagued rap music for the better part of this decade. Sampling should serve to accentuate a song, not dominate it. (see: X-Cutioners, DJ Shadow, and the work of DJ Premier for examples of what sampling is _supposed_ to be; the curious could also look for the "Deep Concentration" compilations.)

2) Puffy wants to be everything to everyone. Fact of the matter is, he lacks the talent and the fortitude to be a producer or an MC. With his business ventures, he's better off as a label head a la Russell Simmons. Why has he not yet realized this?

3) To call this hip-hop is grossly inaccurate. Anybody who knows the music knows that hip-hop is comprised of 4 key elements: DJing, MCing, Breaking, and Gaffing. That fact that Puff hasn't mastered any of these arts is reflected in the music, which has no being placed in the hip-hop pantheon. Nowhere on this album is the essence of hip-hop captured, and as a result, it bores the higher-level thinking listener.

4) Puff manages to contradict himself at every turn. Just as he mourns a friend's loss, he's rapping (as wack as can be) about a hedonistic, narcissistic, gangsta lifestyle. With so much of this repetitive bull$#|t getting heavy play on radio and video music channels, the need for something fresh and enlightening grows.

5) Those heads that call this "the greatest album ever" and deify Puff as a "genius" need to pull their heads out of the bubblegum pop cosmos and do their homework on hip-hop. This is among the more powerful artforms out there today, and it does not need to be homogenized and abused by the likes of Puff.

(Recommended artists: De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Outkast, Gang Starr, Digable Planets, The Roots, Brand Nubian, The Coup, Xzibit, Bahamdia, Hieroglyphics, Aceyalone, and the entire Rawkus Entertainment catalog, to name a few.)

There, I've said my piece. I'm off to memory lane to the tune of "Dynamite!", off the Roots' "Things Fall Apart", an album truly worthy of your time and money.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The best rap album ever made!, May 25, 2002

By 

Danny "Alan Smithee" (South Philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Way Out (Audio CD)

Give me a break. If you believe my title, then you're in dire need of help and need to go out and buy some quality rap albums. That said, I still rather enjoy this little ditty of pop rap. The naysayers may complain that Puffy (or P.Diddy, whatever) completely ruined hip hop, but if they try to say that they didn't want put the volume on their car radios up full blast when "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" came on, they're liars.

Puffy isn't exactly the most gifted rapper in the game, and he knows this, which is why he puts a myriad of his fellow Bad Boy family on every one of his albums. But I don't listen to his songs for deep lyrics and clever metaphors. Sometimes I just like to rock out with mindless wordplay and bumpin' beats, which is where this album would come in. These songs amp me up and make me want to dance, especially "Victory," which samples part of the score from "Rocky" and features a Busta Rhymes hook. This is the best song on the album. Other highlights include the already mentioned "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down," "Senorita," and the well-known and controversial "I'll Be Missing You." On this song, Puffy takes sampling to a whole nother level, transforming sampling to just plain beat stealing. Even so, this is still a pretty good song and remains the best Biggie tribute thus far.

Rap purists need to lighten up and come to realize that the new sound of hip hop won't die for a while, since it's now the most lucrative genre of music. And just because this "Puffy" Combs guy decided to try something new is no reason to hate him. You've heard the songs before, and you know if you like this type of rap by now, so I won't be redundant in saying, "buy this album!" I myself am entertained by it. Whatever.