Diddy – "Press Play" Review: The Best Album of 2006 That Would Have Been Better Without Diddy
- Jay Jewels
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Quick Verdict
Press Play is Diddy's fourth solo album and his most revealing. Released in October 2006, it is an 80-minute exercise in vanity production — a showcase for Diddy's Rolodex rather than his artistry. Slant Magazine acknowledged it might be the best-produced album of 2006, then noted in the same review that Diddy still doesn't have an original bone in his body or a fresh idea in his head. The New York Times called it a garish, puzzling album that isn't the sort of CD people pick up when they want to explain what's great about hip-hop. Cokemachineglow rated it 35 percent and called Diddy a voice that bumbles through every song. The consensus, even among the album's more charitable critics, was that Press Play is a great album that would be significantly better without Diddy on it. Metacritic: 62. Rating: 3/10.
At a Glance
Album Details
Table of Contents
Context: Where Press Play Fits in Diddy's Career
By 2006, Sean Combs had spent five years since his previous solo album doing essentially everything except rapping: running a clothing line, developing a perfume called Unforgivable, running the New York City Marathon, dabbling in gospel music, and expanding his Bad Boy empire. Press Play arrived in October 2006 as his first solo release since The Saga Continues (2001), and his first album to position itself as a genuine artistic statement rather than a commercial vehicle. The album was released under the name P. Diddy after a DJ in the UK called DJ Richard Dearlove filed a lawsuit preventing him from using his preferred shortened name Diddy in certain territories. It was a typically chaotic piece of Diddy brand management that perfectly captured the album's overall energy: lots of noise, lots of names, and Diddy himself slightly losing control of the narrative around his own project.
The Central Problem: Diddy Is His Own Album's Biggest Liability
Slant Magazine identified Press Play's central paradox immediately and precisely: Diddy is such a piss-poor MC that he becomes his own album's liability. AllMusic noted that peculiarly enough, Diddy is practically the opening act on his own album — he dominates the first several tracks with his expected variations on hubristic boasts, then the album morphs into a showcase for his features that is substantially better. A Rate Your Music reviewer described Diddy as hiring actually talented rappers including Pharoahe Monch, Common, and Nas to ghostwrite his verses and teach him how to recycle their flow. Whether or not ghostwriting was involved, the dynamic is visible in the finished product: every track with a strong guest outperforms every track where Diddy holds primary responsibility. The New York Times summarised Press Play as a garish, puzzling album that isn't what people reach for when they want to understand what's great about hip-hop. That assessment remains accurate.
Production: The Album's One Undeniable Strength
Slant Magazine called Press Play possibly the best-produced album of 2006, and that is not a ridiculous claim. Timbaland and his protege Danja contribute some of the album's strongest tracks, including the Wanna Move collaboration with Big Boi. Mario Winans co-produces and contributes the baroque album-closing sequence featuring Brandy, Keyshia Cole, and Mary J. Blige. Kanye West, Rich Harrison, Just Blaze, and Will.i.am all appear on the production credits. The production genuinely elevates the album above what Diddy's rapping would otherwise support, which is the album's saving grace and its most damning indictment simultaneously. AllMusic described the final 30-minute stretch — as the features take over — as teetering on the edge of brilliance. That stretch is the best argument Press Play makes for its own existence.
Best Songs on Press Play
Last Night featuring Keyshia Cole is Slant Magazine's pick for hit lying in wait — a slick R&B track where Cole's vocal does most of the heavy lifting and the production is genuinely strong. Thought You Said featuring Brandy was called a daring drum n' bass-influenced tour-de-force by Slant, and the assessment is fair. Brandy is the album's best individual vocal performance by a significant margin. Making It Hard with Mary J. Blige and Wanna Move with Big Boi round out the album's strongest stretch. What all four tracks have in common is that Diddy's presence is minimal or effectively backgrounded by the collaborators around him.
Weakest Moments
The Future — the album's opening boast where Diddy claims his potential to be the first black president — was described by Slant Magazine as all hubris and the weakest opening stretch of the album. After Love featuring Keri was called a cliched R&B track that does nothing to change the perception that Diddy has no original ideas. Special Feeling, though well-produced, is described by RapReviews as a carbon copy of 1980s Prince without the magic. But the album's most consistent failing is not any single track — it is the 80-minute runtime that gives too much space to Diddy's pedestrian rapping across the first half, before the features rescue the second. A 45-minute version of Press Play built around its best collaborations would have been a genuinely strong album.
The Features: The Real Stars of Press Play
Press Play features Nicole Scherzinger, Christina Aguilera, Keyshia Cole, Brandy, Jamie Foxx, Ciara, Nas, Timbaland, Mary J. Blige, CeeLo Green, Keri Hilson, Big Boi, Mario Winans, and Fergie — a guest list so extensive it effectively functions as a compilation album rather than a solo project. AllMusic called the roster of collaborators both extensive and impressive. The irony is that the album's best moments are consistently those where Diddy steps back and lets these artists operate. Brandy on Thought You Said, Keyshia Cole on Last Night, and Mary J. Blige on Making It Hard are the album's creative peaks. A Metacritic reviewer captured the essence of Press Play perfectly: you could argue the all-star assemblage would have been even stronger without Diddy's direct involvement.
Final Verdict and Rating
Press Play earns its place on this list not because it is artistically terrible — in places it is genuinely excellent — but because it is the definitive document of rap's most elaborate vanity project. Diddy is a spectacular executive producer who assembled an extraordinary team and then insisted on being the least interesting element of everything they made together. Slant said he becomes his own album's liability. The New York Times called it garish and puzzling. A Rate Your Music reviewer compared making a Diddy album to a hobby a successful businessman pursues between more important activities. All three characterisations are correct. The album's best tracks earn a 3/10 above a 2/10. Diddy himself earns the score it has. Final Rating: 3/10.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Press Play a good album?
In places, the features and production are excellent. As a Diddy rap album it is frequently embarrassing. Metacritic scored it 62. The New York Times called it garish and puzzling. Slant called it possibly the best-produced album of the year, then noted Diddy has no original bone in his body. Both assessments are correct simultaneously.
What are the best songs on Press Play?
Last Night featuring Keyshia Cole, Thought You Said featuring Brandy, Making It Hard with Mary J. Blige, and Wanna Move with Big Boi are the album's strongest tracks. All four benefit from Diddy's presence being minimal or effectively backgrounded.
What is the rating for Press Play?
Our rating is 3/10. The production and features score highly in isolation. Diddy as a rapper scores at the bottom of the scale. The combination produces an album that is impressive in places and deeply mediocre overall.
References and Further Listening
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