Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this album contains some strong language (all the four-letter words) and sexual lyrics. It's also an example of a project on which fine production and a generous assortment of special guests make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. For this reason the edited version is better than most.
Families can talk about Diddy's reputation as a media star as well as a rapper. What qualities do you think make some artists more appealing as "stars" than others, regardless of actual talent?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kathi Kamen Goldmark
In his press releases, Diddy is quoted as saying "It all comes down to press play. After you press play, it's gonna make you or break you in this game." It's an obvious reference to the digital act required to begin listening to a CD player or iPod. But Diddy is also ingenious at another form of the phrase -- he knows how to play the press like no one else, having kept himself front and center in the media limelight since the beginning of his career as a rapper, producer, merchandiser, and society darling.
Whether or not the double-entendre is intended, PRESS PLAY, Diddy's first offering since 2001's The Saga Continues, shines because of the artist's greatest strengths: exceptional production standards and liberal use of his celebrity-studded Rolodex. A-list contributors include Christina Aguilera, Big Boi, Ciara, Scar, Timbaland, Twista, Nas, Mario Winans, Brandy, Mary J. Blige, and Jamie Foxx, and they elevate what might have been a monotonous project to genuine artistry. The most successful tracks are those on which Diddy takes a back seat to his guests: "Everything I Love" (featuring Nas and Cee-Lo) and "Wanna Move" (featuring Big Boi, Ciara, and Scar).
Lyrics are all over the road from a message point of view. Some violent content ("Tell me who shot Big ... take the bullets out of 2Pac's ribs" on "We Gon' Make It"); brand names (liquor, cars, clothing, perfume, CD inserts); liberal use of all the usual four-letter words and self-aggrandizing bravado ("I'm the king of all kings, I abide by no rules and do what I do by any means"); and sexy innuendo ("you will feel the passion when I'm smashin' you/climaxin' the thrill is everlasting" on "Special Feeling") are tempered with some genuinely sentimental lyrics ("After Love" and "Partners for Life" are two examples).
Ultimately, Diddy's greatest strength turns out to be his producers' instinct for collaboration, causing the whole to be greater than the sum of its parts. Fans of this CD should check out the solo efforts of Press Play's guest artists, including Blige's The Breakthrough and Aguilera's Back to Basics.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentLyrics get quite sexual on songs like "Special Feeling": "You will feel the passion when I'm smashin' you/climaxin' the thrill is everlasting." |
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ViolenceSome violent imagery: "Tell me who shot Big … take the bullets out of 2Pac's ribs" on "We Gon' Make It." |
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LanguageEvery four-letter word you can think of. |
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Social BehaviorAll over the map: Sexually predatory on some tracks, family-man sweetness on others. |
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CommercialismSeveral products are mentioned in the lyrics and advertised in CD inserts. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoA few references to drinking and getting high. |
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