Press Play

1	Testimonial (Intro) 2:24
2	We Gon' Make It / Jack Knight 3:33
3	I Am (Interlude) 1:46
4	The Future 3:11
5	Hold Up 3:29
6	Come to Me / Nicole Scherzinger 4:36
7	Tell Me / Christina Aguilera 4:06
8	Wanna Move / Ciara 5:18
9	Diddy Rock / Shawna 5:12
10	Claim My Place (Interlude) / Avant 3:25
11	Everything I Love / Cee-Lo Green 4:23
12	Special Feeling / Mike Letts 4:25
13	Crazy Thang (Interlude) 1:15
14	After Love / Keri Hilson 4:47
15	Through the Pain (She Told Me) 5:28
16	Thought You Said 5:49
17	Last Night / Keyshia Cole 6:26
18	Making It Hard 4:54
19	Partners for Life 4:31

Barnes & Noble

Ever the pop culture vulture, Diddy (if he keeps shortening his moniker, by his next album it will be Did) opens his first disc in five years with an intro thanking his fans for supporting him to the beat of Tears for Fears' "Head Over Heels." But will listeners fall head over heels for Press Play? Well, whether they'll go tumbling for him or not, the disc will pleasantly surprise those convinced that Puff's flow will never rival Jay-Z's and those expecting his ego to be as sky-high as ever (after all, on the abbreviated, horn-sampled "I Am," he defiantly raps, "Never no losses/ I'm a winner / The boss of all bosses"). The beat-savvy Press Play boasts production credits by Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Rich Harrison and features top-shelf guest appearances by Christina Aguilera (the club-ready "Tell Me"), Mary J. Blige (the percussive "Everything I Love"), Jamie Foxx (the slow jam "Partners for Life"), and Pussycat Dolls front woman Nicole Scherzinger (the electro-pop lead single "Come to Me"). Although the 19-track disc is too long, from the sped-up, Mario Winans-helmed "Thought You Said," featuring Brandy, to the Timbaland-concocted, synth-laden "After Love," featuring promising newcomer Keri, Press Play is definitely worth a spin. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

Diddy spent the five years since the release of his previous solo album making (and shelving) a gospel album, dabbling (or flailing) in dance music, running in the New York City Marathon, developing a perfume called (almost unbelievably) Unforgivable, and undoubtedly doing many other important things. His Bad Boy empire settled into a severe lull until the summer of 2006, when Yung Joc's "It's Going Down," Cassie's "Me&U," and the Danity Kane album revived the label. Press Play is well timed, and it's also well endowed: the roster of collaborators and guests is both extensive and impressive enough to entice the severely Diddy-resistant. Peculiarly enough, Diddy's practically the opening act on his own album. During the first several tracks, he's the dominant voice, dishing out the expected variations on his wildly hubristic boasts of old, and that includes a baffling gritted-teeth threat like "America, fall back, you can't stop me/Got a thing for pigeon-toed chicks who walk knock-kneed." On his own, he does not deliver. Around track six, the guests begin to take over the 80-minute program, and the album morphs into a theatrical examination of love and romance that is partly randomized but mostly tremendous. Apparently inspired by his relationships with ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez and his wife, Diddy and his shifting cast of fellow songwriters/producers pen a series of songs -- you could almost call it a suite -- emboldened by a round of knockout performances from several women. Multi-threat up-and-comer Keri Hilson (watch for her), Brandy, Keyshia Cole, and Mary J. Blige all take lead roles and make up the heart of the album. This last half-hour of the album, with the exception of a couple instances where Diddy could've left everything in the hands of the vocalists, teeters on the edge of brilliance. Timbaland (with partner Nathanial "Danja" Hill) and Mario Winans (with Diddy) deliver robust, imaginative productions that lay the majority of modern-day R&B tracks to waste (glints of left-field dance music and the new wave that inspired it are incorporated to great effect), while Rich Harrison expectedly and thrillingly blends the blaring with the lush behind Blige. The rest of the album is worth talking about, as it involves noteworthy appearances from Christina Aguilera, Ciara, Nas, Big Boi, Cee-Lo, and several others, but it's less risky and not nearly as remarkable as the closing stretch. All told, the number of memorable hooks on display here is surprising. Andy Kellman

New York Times

The best songs surround Diddy's clumsy verses with inventive beats. Kelefa Sanneh

Billboard

A solid and often appealing party jam. Jeff Vrabel

Washington Post

He may be, as he says on his new album, "hard to love," yet Diddy has a certain genius -- and it's clearly on display in "Press Play." He knows what rocks the dance floor. Dan Charnas