No Way Out [PA] - Puff Daddy & The Family > Reviews > No Way Out for Puff Daddy

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Great music and beats, good lyrics and a long - life
Disadvantages:	Poor rapping

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When this album was first released I decided that I wouldn't buy it because I didn't like the sound of Puff Daddy's rapping. I felt that as a vocalist he was very weak and this showed in some of his tracks which I had previously heard. However, I eventually decided to buy the album and was very surprised with the quality of the tracks.

The whole base of the album is that it is a tribute to Christopher Wallace (AKA - Notorious B.I.G). After the brief and frankly unnecessary intro the first track is Victory. This track has the kind of heavier beat and rap talking which is similar to that is used in track 10 – It’s all about the Benjamins. The next track – Been around the world, has a much more upbeat tempo to it and really brings the album to life. Track 6, If I should die tonight (interlude), is more of a space filler than a track but it has a superb piano solo which is backed up by the words of Puffy. The nest landmark track is It’s all about the Benjamins. This track has a hard hitting beat and some good rhymes but lacks the vocal gymnastics which I think an artist such as Nas or Tupac would have given the song.

The following tracks are basically a showboat for the vocal talents which Puff used to spice up this album. People such as Lil’ Kim, Notorious B.I.G, Ginuwine, Twista, The Lox, Foxy Brown, India, 112 and Faith Evans. Of course 112 and Faith Evans appear on the excellent, I’ll be missing you which is a remake of the police song every breathe you take. The final track on the album is a very fast paced and well-suited track called can’t nobody hold me down. This track accompanies the rest of the album well and polishes off what is more of a compilation album than a solo one but is nonetheless a great album.