Ranking the Best Diddy Albums
Well, it’s finally happening.
After years of promises, Sean Puffy Puff Daddy Diddy Mitch Love Combs vows to SAVE R&B with his upcoming LP: The Love Album: Off the Grid.
Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard our share of R&B false profits over the years but, to his credit, Diddy was the mastermind behind the hip-hop soul movement that redefined the genre in the 90s – also known as the “why can’t music be THIS good again!?” era for the olds like me.
But Puff was never one to sit behind the scenes. Since 1997, he’s released several “solo” projects, if you don’t count the 5,454,354 guest stars packed on each one. Before the Love Album restores R&B to its former glory (…allegedly…) let’s revisit every Diddy solo project, ranking them from bottom to top.
This time around, I’m not just including studio LPs, but mixtapes and collaboration projects as well. No compilations or remix albums though.
He told us he wouldn’t stop. And for three decades, he hasn’t lied.
7. 11:11 (2014)
Soul in Stereo rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Edd said: Real talk, you’ve gotta be a gold card-carrying Diddy stan to know this album. Back in 2014, Puff teamed with Israeli dance producer Guy Gerber for what can only be described as a curiosity. 11:11 is little more than a showcase of mid 2010s dance instrumentals, and lord knows the VIBEZ are strong with this one. What you’d expect to be upbeat instrumentals are, at best, midtempo, spacey scene-setters – and at worst, murky, dreary cuts that drone on forever. Sadly, most of the tracks fall into the latter. If not for the dual billing and a few random vocals here and there, Puff’s presence is practically invisible. Gerber may be a major name on the techno scene but this album is barely a blip on his and Puff’s radars.
Forgotten favorites: “Lifted,” “Floating Messiah”
6. Forever (1999)
Soul in Stereo rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Edd said: Puff’s 1997 release was one of my favorite albums in that era, so best believe your boy was at the Wrecka Stow bright and early August 1999 for the release of the follow-up. And what a disappointing day that was. Forever attempts to rekindle the magic of its predecessor – the massive roster of guest stars, top-tier producers, the whole deal – and fails at every turn. No one will ever accuse Puff of being a great rapper but he’s abysmal on most of these tracks. He’s so off beat that even Big Sean and Silkk da Shocker were waking up in cold sweats. Despite big names behind the boards, the production was a massive step down, and most of the guests seemed to be phoning it in as well. A couple of posse cuts at the tail end save the album from sinking to the depths of a Lil Pump LP but even then, it’s too little, too late.
Forgotten favorites: “Is This the End Part 2,” “Reverse,” “Journey Through the Life”
5. MMM (Money Making Mitch) (2015)
Soul in Stereo rating: 3 stars out of 5
Edd said: Here’s another one you’ve probably forgotten. MMM is allegedly a “sonic motion picture,” but ignore that cheesy Netflix movie description. This mixtape is the usual Diddy presentation, which means A-list guest stars, top shelf production, and the worst lyrics Puffy’s money can buy. When the guests are good, so is the album, with Pusha T, King Los, Lil Kim and former refrigerator tossers The LOX keeping things afloat. But when Puff leans on the help of lesser artists – or, gasp, has to carry things himself – things get off track quickly. Still, it’s a largely inoffensive release, it’s just very forgettable.
Forgotten favorites: “Everyday (Amor),” “Auction,” “Help Me”
4. The Saga Continues… (2001)
Soul in Stereo rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Edd said: In the past, I’ve called 2001 the final year of Bad Boy’s dominance – and for good reason. By the turn of the millennium, the label had lost two major headliners in The Notorious BIG and Mase and long-established R&B acts like Faith Evans, 112 and Total were wrapping up their contracts. New blood was needed and The Saga Continues felt like a showcase for a the next generation of Bad Boy artists. Carl Thomas, Black Rob and G. Dep seemed like the surest shot to carry the Bad Boy banner, and they make the biggest impressions here. Everyone else? Not so much. Puff is still Puff – he’s fine as the master of ceremonies (and thankfully he opened up the bag to get better ghostwriters this time around) and there are a handful of hits that still hold up pretty well today. But the album’s overabundance of filler – especially on the second half – drag down what should have been a really good time. Overall, it’s not bad but nowhere near peak Bad Boy – a phrase Puff would hear a lot over the next few years.
Forgotten favorites: “The Saga Continues,” “Child of the Ghetto,” “Roll With Me”
3. Last Train to Paris (2010)
Soul in Stereo rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Edd said: This was the album I was most interested in revisiting for this post. In some corners of the Innanets (especially R&B Twitter) Last Train to Paris is embraced as a cult classic. I hadn’t listened to this album since 2010 but I don’t remember being all that impressed by it at the time. More than a decade later, I can confidently say:
It’s aight, I guess.
The album depicts Puff’s journey across Europe as he chases a lost love with the backing of Dirty Money AKA Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper. It’s the perfect setting for the album’s Eurodance sound and, arguably, it makes LTTP his most sonically cohesive album to date. The production is well done but Puff n’ friends rarely do anything interesting with it, with most songs barely rising above so-so 2010s club fare. The real stars of the album are Dirty Money, who steal the show on every track. In fact, this probably would have worked better as their project.
Forgotten favorites: “Angels,” “Someone to Love Me,” “I Know”
2. Press Play (2006)
Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5
Edd said: This is the album that succeeds when Last Train to Paris derails. Prior to social media, I considered Press Play an underrated gem in Puff’s crown. But once Twitter popped off, it was clear that this album has a pretty big following, which came as a pleasant surprise. Y’all make me proud … sometimes. Puff is a master of reinvention and Press Play is a much more pop and dance friendly project that anything that came before it. And it works! Big-time features from Keyshia Cole, Christina Aguilera and Nicole Scherzinger may grab the headlines but strong album cuts with intriguing production keep the album on course. And don’t worry, Puff has the good ghostwriters on deck; this album features his best rapping to date. Of course, as with all Puff projects, there are a few rough spots – filler and a bloated runtime, per usual – but it was great seeing Diddy find himself again after years of uncertainty.
Forgotten favorites: “We Gon Make It,” “Thought You Said,” “Partners for Life”
1. No Way Out (1997)
Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5
Edd said: To me, this album represents the height of Bad Boy Mania. Though the music world lost Biggie just three months prior to this release, Bad Boy Records was hitting its mainstream peak. And the guy who was known for Dancin’ All In The Videos now was truly the star of the show. Puff was smart enough to know that he couldn’t carry an entire project, so he turned to The Family – a star-studded array of guest artists and producers who crafted the equivalent of a summer blockbuster. Radio hits galore, new artists getting to shine and a final farewell to rap’s one true GOAT – No Way Out remains not just the defining Puff Daddy album but a representation of everything that made Bad Boy unstoppable. Take that, take that.
Forgotten favorites: “Do You Know,” “Is this the End,” “Pain”
What’s your favorite Diddy album? Last Train to Paris stans, yell at me in the comments below.
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