Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits [PA]

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Includes a DVD containing videos & interviews. A career-spanning compilation from Bad Boy could have come at a worse time -- like when Diddy was singing the praises of G. Dep, the man who ended up releasing the lowest-selling Bad Boy record ever -- but 2004 doesn't find a lot of love being thrown toward Diddy's music. Eminem passed on a guest spot on the newly recorded "Victory 2004," sending 50 Cent in his place, Puffy's Sean Jean clothing label had been outselling Bad Boy for a while, and the most exciting thing the label had done in some time is announce the signing of a reunited New Edition. Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits ignores G. Dep (and unfortunately Faith Evans) and all of the other problems the label had suffered past the untimely death of the Notorious B.I.G. Of course all the drama doesn't matter as much as the music, and for that the collection works here and there. All of Biggie's cuts are still classics, Craig Mack and 112 still sound great, and Diddy's own "All About the Benjamins" will forever be the benchmark for crossover rap that saves face. Too bad the tracks are ordered haphazardly with too many bangers in a row and no interludes to tie it all together. Past criticisms of Puffy's oversampling are now proven when some productions come off as clever rather than inspired (in hindsight We Invented the Remix could have been We Invented the Mash-up). It might be callous to point how heavily the collection relies on Biggie, but the swiftly evolving world of rap demands that you move on. This collection never does, and only a couple differing tracks separate it from 1998's Bad Boy's Greatest Hits. If the collection had taken its name from Biggie's "Mo' Money Mo' Problems" it would have been more endearing and honest. Most of the reasons for the demise of Bad Boy were beyond Puffy's control, so a warts and all collection could have been enlightening. We like Puffy more than archenemy Suge Knight, so we want to know what happened. But not when he boasts and brags, ignores what we really want to know, and gives us nearly the same collection he did six years ago. ~ David Jeffries A career-spanning compilation from Bad Boy could have come at a worse time -- like when Diddy was singing the praises of G. Dep, the man who ended up releasing the lowest-selling Bad Boy record ever -- but 2004 doesn't find a lot of love being thrown toward Diddy's music. Eminem passed on a guest spot on the newly recorded "Victory 2004," sending 50 Cent in his place, Puffy's Sean Jean clothing label had been outselling Bad Boy for a while, and the most exciting thing the label had done in some time is announce the signing of a reunited New Edition. Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits ignores G. Dep (and unfortunately Faith Evans) and all of the other problems the label had suffered past the untimely death of the Notorious B.I.G. Of course all the drama doesn't matter as much as the music, and for that the collection works here and there. All of Biggie's cuts are still classics, Craig Mack and 112 still sound great, and Diddy's own "All About the Benjamins" will forever be the benchmark for crossover rap that saves face. Too bad the tracks are ordered haphazardly with too many bangers in a row and no interludes to tie it all together. Past criticisms of Puffy's oversampling are now proven when some productions come off as clever rather than inspired (in hindsight We Invented the Remix could have been We Invented the Mash-up). It might be callous to point how heavily the collection relies on Biggie, but the swiftly evolving world of rap demands that you move on. This collection never does, and only a couple differing tracks separate it from 1998's Bad Boy's Greatest Hits. If the collection had taken its name from Biggie's "Mo' Money Mo' Problems" it would have been more endearing and honest. Most of the reasons for the demise of Bad Boy were beyond Puffy's control, so a warts and all collection could have been enlightening. We like Puffy more than archenemy Suge Knight, so we want to know what happened. But not when he boasts and brags, ignores what we really want to know, and gives us nearly the same collection he did six years ago. [Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits was also released in a limited edition CD and DVD set with 11 Bad Boy videos.] ~ David Jeffries Indefatigable hip-hop entrepeneur Sean "Puffy" Combs started Bad Boy records in 1994, long before he rose to pop-culture-icon status, initially signing EPMD roadie Craig Mack and a sleepy-voiced rapper born Christopher Wallace and better known as Biggie Smalls. Mack scored a top-ten crossover hit "Flava In Ya Ear" before slipping into the background, and the Notorious B.I.G.'s role as '90s hip-hop heavyweight and tragic figure is well-known. It wasn't long before Combs/Puff Daddy/P. Diddy started making platinum records under his own name, and the legend of the aptly named Bad Boy records was established. BAD BOY'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY is a cross-section of the label's hits, with a heaping portion of P. Diddy and Notorious B.I.G. Biggie's represented on eight of the 13 tracks, including defining hits "Hypnotize" and "Big Poppa" and the iconic "Mo' Money, Mo Problems." He's also eulogized on the chart-topping "I'll Be Missing You." Rounding things out, there's Mase's hit "Feel So Good" and the unforgettable remix of "Flava In Ya Ear" (recorded while the song was a hit) featuring LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, and Biggie. The collection also includes a darkly powerful new single, "Victory 2000" featuring 50 Cent, which samples (of course) the Notorious B.I.G.

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