Diddy: Artist?

There is a thin line between artistry and integrity and Diddy walks it.

The artist formerly known as Puff Daddy and head of Bad Boy Records has always been a better businessman than performer, but does he even deserve credit as an artist? He’s never denied that other producers have done much of his work and that other rappers have ghostwritten his songs, but it has never been as blatant as it is on his new album, Press Play. Several songs from this album can be heard on his MySpace page.

It had been rumored that artists like Common, Talib Kweli and Black Thought of The Roots would be ghostwriting songs for Diddy, but those have yet to be confirmed. Yet, a peek into Press Play’s liner notes reveals some of the album’s ghostwriters.

Underground rapper Pharoahe Monch (visit his MySpace page) wrote “The Future” and “Hold Up,” and Diddy does little to hide this fact by rapping in Monch’s VERY distinctive flow. Diddy similarly steals the rapping style of ghostwriters Nas and T.I., on “Everything I Love” and “Wanna Move,” respectively.

But how much credit does Diddy deserve for this album, when he neither wrote nor produced any song on his album? True, Diddy made a relatively strong album with Press Play, but is that so difficult to do when you have the best producers and writers in hip-hop music doing almost all of your work?