Like the Vanguard movement of the 1970s, Puff Daddy (Sean Combs), Bad Boy CEO and entertainer, finds that originality can be a bad thing.
Popularized by pop artists such as Andy Warhol and literary staples like Manuel Puig, the Vanguard movement questioned the boundaries of originality. Was Warhol's famous painting of Campbell soup cans actually something new or was Puig's "Kiss of the Spider Women" a book largely based on B-movies like "Cat People," inventive? Some critics would say no.
Whatever the debate surrounding originality and the creative license of an artist, Puff Daddy's use of song samples and lyrics on his debut album, "No Way Out," can only be described as unique.
Puff Daddy and his musical family present their unoriginally unique opus, "No Way Out," to the world. Executive producer of such R&B gems like "Ready to Die" by the Notorious B.I.G. and the self-titled double platinum debut of Faith Evans, Puff Daddy challenges the public's stereotype of R&B and hip-hop by showing that one can even find the next hip-hop hit on old tracks by David Bowie.
Among the album's highlights, it features probably the last extant works by the Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), the late rapper and executive producer of this compilation.
Beginning with a brief intro, the album's second track features Biggie Smalls and Busta Rhymes rapping while a classical-themed sample complete with violins and french horns provides the background. The orchestra riff first seems stangely odd within the hip-hop construction, however, it fulfills itself when the bass line drops and rapping becomes fast and furious.
Track three, featuring rapper Mase and the Notorious B.I.G., is sure to become a hit. Featuring a bouncing jeep beat and a riff from Bowie's "Let's Dance," "Been Around the World" is simple yet strangely interesting. Mase raps as Notorious B.I.G. lends his deep-throated tenor to the chorus: "Been around the world/ and I, I, I/ we been player-hating/ I don't know why, I don't why/ why they want us faded/ I don't know why they hate us/ is it our ladies or our drop Mercedes."
Lil' Kim appears on the track "Don't You Stop What you Doing," a disco-flavored ditty featuring her voice crooning "you don't really want to stop." Puff Daddy, producer by day, moonlights as rapper on this song. Combs, although a brilliant producer, definitely has issues in the rap department.
"Pain," featuring a Roberta Flack riff, is a reflection on a "pain that makes you feel that you can't go on." One of few tracks featuring Puff Daddy, the song speaks about losing a loved one.
The album's last two tracks will be one of the reasons that most Puffy fans will buy the album. Faith Evans, the Notorious B.I.G.'s wife, and 112, a male quintet, croons along to heavily sampled "I'll be Missing You" featuring a cut from the Police's "Every Breath You Take." A dirge to the late Wallace, the track was released earlier and included in a compilation dedicated to him. Faith's silky voice drapes over the listener like a warm down coat, while 112's army of voices backs her up.
From classical, R&B and even salsa, "No Way Out" is a musical tour-de-force. Combs takes from previous works creating a powerful amalgam, equal parts funk and novelty. Although there are few original tunes, seeing what Combs does with old material causes one to ask: "Why be original?"
Critics may say this album steps backwards by not exploring new musical avenues, but with this album, Puff Daddy proves he is an innovator and imitator of the highest art.
