Puff Daddy "Forever" (1999)

I couldn't help myself, despite its poor reputation and some bad reviews I had to check out Forever. My love of No Way Out had me searching for more of the same on Puff's "solo" release, dropping the "Puff Daddy & The Family" moniker. It is perhaps telling of an album that focuses more on Puff as a rapper than producer yet it suffers from both mediocre production and a lack of spice the Bad Boi family brought on the last record. Despite almost every track having a feature, including the likes of Nas, Redman, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Bizzy Bone and a posthumous Biggie, the album fails to ignite a spark as it lulls through the motions.

Forever opens with a track to set the stakes high, the pressures of Puff's situation encapsulated with news sound bites, sirens, lightning strikes, gun shots and tribal singing slowly elevating with heavenly choral chants, spinning chopper blades and soaring bagpipes. Its an ambitious tone which slips away into the slick and pristine production of tight kicks and dazzling electronics sparkling around the piano melody on What You Want. You can hear the problem when Puff steps on the mic, his flow soft, timid and to calm to be the lead voice. He gets his point across with decent lyrics but the delivery lacks immediacy and energy to elevate the beat, his casual conversational style would prove to fall behind the production on almost every track.

 Do You Like It encapsulates a lot of this record, super slick late nineties production comes to life with tight snappy drums resonating off futuristic synths rattling electronic zap noises around the key vocal sample as the baseline strikes sparingly. Its one of the better tracks as Jay-Z brings it to life with a stronger, superior presence as a voice with power. Unfortunately this vision fades as quite a few weak cuts dilute the run time as the albums better instrumentals are drowned out. I must mention Pain, a brilliant sampling of the opening chords to Les McCann's Benjamin, however it was done better a few years back by Mobb Deep.

Puff's self obsessed, status oriented ego dominates the albums tone, every other song is affirming his wealth, success and it seems he is paranoid of anyone who doubts his riches. It gets tiring quickly and manifests into a handful of weak interludes that border being laughable. This obsession with status and perception reaches a bizarre point with the return of the Mad Rapper, Puff appearing in his dreams to rob him. Its a strange moment right before the closing track which no doubt is the records best cut. Puff declares himself as public enemy number one for a song almost redeeming of the record. A banging beat and enthusiasm in his rhymes goes a long way to create a bright end to a dull record.

Favorite Songs: Pain, Reverse, P.E. 2000
Rating: 3/10

My Top 10 Music Discoverys In 2017

Its been a difficult list to write up, had to shorten fifteen or so down to ten and that is after I decided to remove artists that featured in My Top Albums Of 2017 post. Its been a hectic year and I think it may be time to tune out from some of the mediocre Metal bands Ive kept up with and dedicate some more time to discovering new sounds! These are my favorite discoveries this year.

(10) DMX

Not a name that's new to me and of course I heard Party Up and other classics plenty of times before but I decided to get through some of these records that dominated the charts towards the end of the record industries stranglehold on music. I'm glad I did so, not the greatest records ever but X has a charm and every album had a couple of great tracks to return to.

(9) Post-Malone

Although I've not been to impressed by his debut album I think Post-Malone shows a wealth of potential as a musician developing a new sound that's really engrossing with over the top relaxing and chilled out vibes. These songs are still growing on me and with a new album is on the way I find myself really anticipating his next move!

(8) Austra

 

The best of this band comes from their debut Feel It Break, the combination of Kraftwerk-alike melodies in simple electronic arrangements with Stelamnis's hypnotic vibrato voice makes for easy going, uplifting music with a strong current of emotional value attached to it. Great discovery but unfortunately It seems as if they might not reach this peak again.

(7) Oranssi Pazuzu

Inching open the Metal horizon even further Oranssi Pazuzu bring dark, abysmal psychedelia to Post-Black Metal with a freighting stroke of genius resulting in harrowing, grisly soundscapes that are completely unworldly. My cup of tea! I still very much love to turn on their seventeen minute epic song from time to time for another trip into the depths of abandon.

(6) Milk Teeth

This is just the right shade of Grunge for my taste, although in this Internet age they may come off like a nostalgia act, Milk Teeth are very much their own band with a strong emotional energy and ear for aesthetic noise that elevates many of their songs with wild noisy energy emanating from their guitars in the songs peaks. The latest release did seem a little turned off from that direction but I'm hoping they can turn it around!

(5) Puppy

Ive had the pleasure of seeing them twice this year and both shows were fantastic! Puppy are an up and coming band pulling in all strains of influence from Metal, Grunge, Hard Rock and Alternative resulting in warm music with fun songs, grooves and dazzling guitar solos from Jack Norten are the cherry on the cake! They are also working on a new record to look forward to in 2018.

(4) Fief

Plucked from the past, this gem of medieval fantasy nostalgia is the most inviting and easy going project to grace my ears this year! It casts its spell instantaneously and paints a pretty picture of garden courts and tea parties in the realms of kings and dragons. A simply wonderful discovery!

(3) Load & Reload

 

Its time to break the rules! Although this section is usually reserved for new bands, I had to put these records in. In a way it felt like discovering Metallica again for the first time, a treasure trove was unlocked in two excellent albums that I had dismissed in my youth, and now I get to relish in the energy they bring. I simply cannot get these albums out of my head! They are wonderful and reflectively a really great direction for the band to evelve in.

(2) Puff Daddy

Everyone who grew up in the nineties knows of Puff Daddy but I had always been put off by his whispering voices on songs he had produced for other artists. Remembering a vivid memory of picking this album up as a child in a record store I decided to check this out and what a treat! This album is the epitome of the late 90s sound which has really grown on me over the years. I adore this record, a real classic!

(1) Danzig

As much as I'm loving the Danzig sound I have to admit my appreciation is partially analytical, I understand whats fantastic about the music but I feel as if I'm playing catch up. It will take some time to drill these songs into my mind but already I feel as if this would of been perfect music to bond with in your youth. I'm on the third record now and its just a great! I've read the first four are where its at so more Danzig to enjoy in 2018!

Puff Daddy "No Way Out" (1997)

I have a vivid memory of a brief moment in my childhood back when my record collection was just starting. I recall the busy wintry high street, the sizeable store, the layout of the sanitized shelves and myself picking this record up and staring at it for ages. I vaguely recognized the name Puff Daddy but had no idea who his family were, or that the Notorious B.I.G was one of them. This was back when every record on display was a mystery, something of interest. I had permission from my parents to buy one album and after contemplating for sometime I believe I settled on something I knew, Micheal Jackson if I recall correctly. It occurred to me a while back that their is nothing stopping me from ordering myself a copy. Its a strange sort of nostalgia, hearing something for the first time yet knowing this would of been "that" album to bring me into the wonderful world of Hip Hop.

No Way Out is Puff's debut as a solo artist, one that unsurprisingly incorporates many of the artists from his Bad Boy records who huddle together to make one heck of a statement. Its a marvel of the 90s sound but finds itself having a unique angle, the death of Biggie Smalls who was assassinated during the recording stage, he appears on three of the tracks delivering his usual brilliance, it has a strange contrast when Puff's lyrical direction is reflecting on death and people around him dying. Its saddening and captures a very dark moment in Hip Hop history direct from one of Biggies closest friends.

The music is on point, a classy production that brings out the best in the scenes transition into less sample orientation with programmed drums and instruments. There is however a lot of interpolation and snippets loaded between the beats. As the lyrics lead, the instrumentals reflects on a healthy variety of vibes. Summery, uplifting tales of wealth and success with bold jiving grooves can then swing to the shadows as they dive into the gangster oriented braggadocio with shades of Mafioso Rap and the horrifying sounds of gun splatter. Two sides of a coin that find a path as the record flows smoothly between its luscious Disco, R&B influenced tracks and its gritty, tragic side.

Production is Puff's strength but as a rapper he does nothing wrong. Such an easy flow and tone of voice amends his lack of lyrical gymnastics or tenacious wordplay that other rappers use to dazzle. Smooth and steady his very direct use of language goes down a treat, engaging us in his thoughts, narratives and stories at a steady pace. This of course resonates with the moment this record resides within, immortalized by the tragedy that looms over tracks like "Pain" and "Is This The End", where Puff picks up the pace and holds his own with some tighter flows in brief moments.

The features across this record are great, everyone brings their best and The LOX turn up again, I keep hearing them dropping slick verses, featured on many records. Their debut, released a year later, hasn't particularly aged well with me, perhaps they save their best for other peoples records. Black Rob really impressed me with his rhymes on "I Love You Baby" and Faith Evans on "I'll Be Missing You" gives so much soul on a fitting tribute to the death of Biggie. Ive always adored that song, I fondly remember watching it on MTV as a kid, perhaps that's were I knew the name Puff Daddy from, all those years ago.

No album is perfect and as stunning as this one is it has a couple of duller tracks as it draws on. An icky skit at the end of "Friend" we could of done without and the final track, a remix of "The Message" just doesn't hold up, its a bonus track but the rhymes and tone of Puffy and Mase just don't gel with the beat. Other than that its a pretty stellar record that Ill be enjoying for years to come. Should of brought it! But hey maybe I wouldn't of appreciated it in the same way back then.

Favorite Songs: Victory, Been Around The World, What Are You Going To Do, Don't Stop What Your Doing, If I Should Die Tonight, Do You Know, I Love You Baby, It's All About The Benjamins, Pain, I'll Be Missing You

Rating: 9/10