Rating: 8.5 / 10
“10 years from now we’ll still
be on top” – Fourteen years ago Puff Daddy, now named Diddy, spoke
this over the classic track “Mo Money Mo Problems”. With his
latest release, Last Train to Paris,
he is reinventing himself yet again with his new group entitled, Diddy
Dirty Money. The group consists of Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper.
Last Train to Paris
is technically a Hip-Hop album – however ifyou are expecting it to sound like one prepare to shocked to reality.
With the #1 release of his last album,
Press Play
, Diddy is clearly taking bigger chances with LT2P.The album succeeds in creating a new sound unlike many being heard nowadays.
From first listen of the “Intro” it is apparent that the journey
of the next 16 tracks will be unlike much you’ve listened to this
year. LT2P won’t likely appeal the average backpacker Hip-
Hop fan, but if will probably please the casual music listener.
The album can almost be classified in its own genre –the way Diddy
integrates Hip Hop, Techno, and Pop influences into a cohesive compilation
is admirable – but falls short slightly on certain tracks.
LT2P
containd songs that captivate and create chaos that Diddy relishes in. Songs like “Yea Yea You Would” and “Coming Home”
discuss the turbulent love life of a music mogul. Diddy and crew sonically explore everything from talking
to his children about life to being unlovable.
While he is Diddy the majority of the album, Sean Combs appears on many
tracks – opening a door into his personal life. “Looking for
Love” one of the brightest tracks on the album. Usher carries the
song forward while Diddy supplies the backup well. Many of the
features on LT2P boast the featured artists more than
Diddy – possibly calculated, but often poorly executed. Songs such
as the aforementioned “Looking for Love” and “Yesterday” featuring
Chris Brown seem as if they were created for the featured artists’
albums but placed on Diddy’s instead. This is surely a pitfall;
taking away from what Diddy Dirty Money created causing the tracks feel
“borrowed” rather than organically grown.
While Dirty Money is indeed a group,
Diddy is the only member that seems significant. Dawn Richard
and Kalenna Harper’s voices compliment every track, however Diddy
is the absolute nucleus. If LT2P
could be compared to a recent movie, its counterpart would be this years
release, The Town. Both succeed in explaining the
main character/proprietor of the project (Diddy and Ben Affleck respectively),
but failed to showcase the other major and relevant pieces in its creation.
Songs such as “Hate You Now” and “I Know” feature Dawn and Kalenna, but they feel underused and slightly insignificant to the overall piece. More Dawn and Kalenna would have boded well for LT2P.
“Shades” and “Strobe
Lights” feature a pre-jail Lil Wayne – obviously verses
recorded a year in advance to this release. The topic surrounding
“Shades” still escapes this reviewer, however as a club track
it works greatly. “Your Love” seems to be one
of the few tracks, with a feature, that sounds like it is Dirty Money’s
song. The final song on the album, “Loving You No More” featuring
Drake, feels as if it was just thrown on for the Young Money feature. “Coming
Home” would’ve been a more fitting final track.
Diddy Dirty Money managed to create
a solid, entertaining album in LT2P.
It cannot be considered a great Hip-Hop album, rather a musically fusion
from all the top genres of music today. Diddy compiles a lot of
great voices and visionaries on this LP to create something which
will still be played months later. Many Hip-Hop fans will scoff
at this album so everybody won’t be aboard the last train. Diddy should have sufficient passengers on his caravan to lead him to another opus.