Leak Of The Week: Diddy, ‘Press Play’

It almost feels wrong to call Press Play, the forthcoming album from Diddy, a solo effort. The Whopper-loving impresario is joined by a chartload of guests on the record, which arrives in stores on Tuesday; Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Big Boi from OutKast, and Jamie Foxx are all given a chance to share Diddy’s studio time. Seriously, it’s like his birthday party invitation from a few years ago, only with production credits by will.i.am and Kanye West.

Press Play opens with a looped sample of Tears For Fears’ “Head Over Heels,” and it’s repeated enough times to inspire worries that he’s returned to his really-obvious-sample ways. Thankfully, it doesn’t stay in that rut because it’s so all over the place; the long list of guest stars makes the album sound a little schizophrenic. And supersized King-sized, too; its skits, songs, and gratuitous uses of the word “motherfucker” clock in at 78 minutes, just a few seconds shy of the limit that a CD can handle. There are a few decent songs buried in there–and Making the Band fans will recognize the hook Christina Aguilera’s singing on “Tell Me”–but Press Play only reaches euphoric heights on the bouncy “Thought You Said.” Brandy’s vocal performance and the song’s jittery beat almost made us forget about Diddy’s lackluster flow.

Diddy – Thought You Said (featuring Brandy) [MP3, link expired] Diddy – Press Play [Torrent Portal]