This isn’t really a Diddy album in the traditional sense, but it starts like one. When he first raps on the opening Love song; his voice hasn’t changed much after all these years; it brings about a sense of late 1990s nostalgia. Bad Boy was on top of the rap world back then and a major player when it came to the modern soul genre commonly referred to as “R&B”. This is more of a compilation album with strong emphasis on the latter.

There are twenty songs here and every one has a singer on the hook, most of whom are quite famous. That says more about Diddy’s clout than his artistic skills as the mogul bows out of whole songs like he’s still talent scouting for Uptown Records. You won’t fall in Love with most of them; the constant crooning rarely results in memorable melodies; but The Weeknd steals the show with his feature and HER shines on the Space closer.

my rating : 3 of 5

2023