Album Review: Diddy, The Love Album: Off the Grid

Diddy

The Love Album: Off the Grid (released September 14, 2023)

“R&B is muthaf***ing’ dead as of right now….It’s our fault for accepting anything less for anybody getting on a mic. I feel like there was a death of R&B singing, and I’m a part of bringing that s*** back!”

— Sean Puffy Diddy Daddy Lovely on Instagram, August 2022

“I swear if I hear ONE autotuned note on this new Puff album I’m calling Suge Knight.”

— Me on the Soul in Stereo Sessions on YouTube, September 2023

Also me, 15 minutes into The Love Album: Off the Grid album:

*Record scratch*

You’re probably wondering how I got into this situation. Let me start from the beginning…

Unless this is your first time joining us here at Soul In Stereo – or if you’ve been living in a condo beneath a boulder for a decade – you probably know the state of emergency R&B has been facing.

R&B’s veterans abandoning the genre that brought them fame to chase sounds of the moment. Rich, soulful harmonies stripped away in favor of autotuning and mumbly pseudo-rap. Poetic songwriting replaced with toxic rants straight from a Reddit thread. Music education classes – once a training ground for young talent – erased from school curriculums. Creative sampling, once a stable of the genre, morphing into outright karaoke. A generation of promising young talent with no real guidance forced to follow the day’s Tik Tok trends to stay relevant.

R&B, once a staple at the top of the charts, has all but vanished from mainstream eyes.

I can’t even be mad at younger fans for not understanding how far R&B has fallen. If their only exposure to the genre is mainstream outlets, it’s easy to assume all is well and Future is the King of R&B.

Or even worse, Jacquees. But more on him later.

The “R&B is dead!” conversations have only gotten louder in recent years – especially when former stars turned podcasting loudmouths realized that they could make money by stirring the pot.

So while your former favorite singers screamed they are the solution to the R&B problem – only to do absolutely nothing to turn the tide – I was willing to give Diddy the benefit of the doubt.

When we old heads scream about the halcyon days of 90s R&B, most times we’re worshipping at the altar of Bad Boy Records. It was a pioneering Puff who spearheaded the hip-hop soul movement, launching Mary J. Blige and Jodeci into the stratosphere. It was Bad Boy who introduced the world to acts like Faith Evans, 112 and Carl Thomas, who became fixtures of the genre with 5-star albums. It was Diddy who became king of the remix, giving everyone from homegrown acts like Total to legends like New Edition new life with sample-heavy classics.

And while I never bought into the “R&B is dead” hysteria and have long argued against the need of a “hip-hop savior” I’m willing to admit this:

If anyone had the chops to cure what ails R&B, it’s Puffy.

So even though my skepticism was higher than Snoop Dogg riding a giraffe on a helicopter, I was all for letting one of R&B’s greatest trailblazers do what he does best.

… And then I heard the first single.

“Another One of Me,” featuring The Weeknd, 21 Savage and French Montana – a moody, uneventful outtake from Weeknd’s 2013 Kiss Land project.

So, Puff is “saving R&B” by … doing what everyone else has been doing for 10 years? Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

Before I start ranting, let’s talk about what Off the Grid does right. Since his 1997 debut album, Diddy usually takes a backseat on his solo projects and lets his guest stars carry the load of the project. That’s the case here – even more so in fact. He’s barely a presence on many tracks, giving the guests more than enough time to shine. And true to his pedigree, there are lots of instances of standout production – a major win when compared to the flaccid, monotone beats infesting airwaves today.

Fans of Dirty Money will be pleased to see that Dawn and Kaleena are back for “Deliver Me.” Just like their showstealing performances on Last Train to Paris, the duo show incredible chemistry, backed by very solid production (but just like LTTP, we don’t get enough of them). Though “Stay Awhile” with Nija and “Stay Long” with Summer Walker aren’t necessarily standouts, the production sure is, especially the 702 sample on the former.

Speaking of sampling, Mary J. Blige reworks her incredible My Life album cut “Don’t Go” for “I Like.” Puffy’s verse is more of a distraction than an asset but the production hits all the right nostalgia buttons. Oh, and in an sentence you’ll probably never read again, Justin Bieber of all people may be this album’s MVP. I haven’t been as big on “R&Bieber” as some fans but his vocals pair wonderfully with the production of “Moments,” making it one of the few instant highlights.

And if you thought me giving props to Biebs was out of character, get a load of this one – despite my never-ending beef with the King of Roaches & Bedbugs Jacquees, I have to give him props for “Pick Up.” Unlike many of his contemporaries, he has an undeniable charisma on his songs, even when the technique lacks. He’s like a R&B 21 Savage in that way. Plus, a solid feature from Fabolous makes the song much better than you’d expect.

The rest of The Love Album is much harder to, um, love.

You’d expect contributions from artists like Jazmine Sullivan and HER to be standouts, since they’re among the few high-profile names in R&B today. But “Need Somebody” and “Space,” respectfully, are very forgettable. Fresh faced acts don’t do much with this spotlight either. Songwriter Jozzy, the first signee of Puff’s Love imprint, gets more time to shine than anyone besides Diddy himself, but her outings are a mixed bag. The funky yet flirty “It Belongs to You” is a body-rolling good time but “Homecoming” doesn’t offer much. And the interlude “Nasty” absolutely wastes the top-tier production, sounding like an In Living Color parody of a Jodeci track. Nova Wav, a songwriting duo riding high off the success of Beyonce’s Renaissance, also disappoints with “What’s Love” – their vocals sounds way too throaty and restrained, like anchors tugging on their vocal chords.

“Stay Pt 1” is basically the opposite of the MJB track I mentioned above. Whereas “I Like” thrived off the nostalgia of its predecessor, Kalan.FrFr’s version of the Jodeci track is hampered by stilted lyrics, needless autotune and zero passion. Poor K-Ci sounds downright exhausted on the feature.

Even “Kim Porter,” a heartfelt tribute to mother of Diddy’s kids, should have been an easy win with both Babyface and John Legend involved. Sure, the duo sounds great but at seven minutes, the track goes way too long with nothing to justify the runtime. There aren’t enough peaks and valleys in the performance so things just get repetitive.

And hey, if you ever wanted to hear Jeremih do a Prince impression, “Boohoo” is the track for you! And if you actually DID want to hear that, seek Jesus.

I can’t deny that The Love Album has its moments but those moments are so fleeting. For every promising song here, there are two Ty Dolla Sign songs that are lesser versions of whatever he’s been doing for a decade.

That’s what makes this project so frustrating – Puff tries to have cake and eat it too. He recognizes R&B’s current weaknesses (like the poor production) and creates a project that raises the bar in that aspect. But he also wants those sweet, sweet streaming numbers. So instead of turning to lesser-known but talented acts with quality performances (See Rory’s I Thought It’d Be Different) he loads the project with popular names who show little motivation or are counterproductive to the whole “saving R&B” mission. Why is Swae Lee of all people here, other than to grab curiosity streams? Because his Android Anita Baker act sure ain’t resurrecting the genre.

Take nothing away from Sean Combs. His legacy as an architect of R&B is secure.

But to paraphrase Kendrick Lamar, this is not your savior.

Best tracks: “Moments,” “It Belongs to You,” “I Like”

3 stars out of 5