No Way Out
Originally, producer/bad boy CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs intended for the debut album from his Puff Daddy persona to feature nothing but non-stop party jams. Unfortunately, the murder of The Notorious B.I.G. (credited here as Executive Producer) threw an ugly spin on the album, resulting in a mixed bag of fun fluffandgangsta posturing. Puffy's delivery is thin and nasal, and his raps uninspired, but help from pals like Lil' Kim, Busta Rhymes, and protégé Mase partially make up for his deficiencies. With his unrivalled knack from nicking hooks--he pilfers from Sting ("I'll Be Missing You"), Grandmaster Flash ("Can't Nobody Hold Me Down") or classical composer Samuel Barber ("No Way Out (Intro)") with equal aplomb--Puff Daddy epitomized homogenized hip-hop.--Kurt B. Reighley