The Neptunes made the album I always wished P. Diddy would've made. Rather than being the focal point of the album, they're making the beats (most of them), producing the music, and simply adding their touches to the album. I always thought rather than rapping all over an album, Diddy would be better served simply executively producing an album of all star MC's. He seems to think that he makes all the hits, why not make an album full of them? But, he'd rather rap about J. Lo. Puffy the business man? The man. Puffy the rapper? Wack.  
 
This album has nothing to do with Diddy, but the Neptunes, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo have made a smart move here. Since they make music for everyone anyway, rather than putting those songs on other people's albums, put them all on one album, on Star Trak (their label), and reap the benefits.  
 
The two singles that were released received a ton of radio airplay. Frontin' by Pharrell and featuring Jay-Z is everywhere. You turn on the radio, Pharrell shrieks. You watch MTV, Pharrell is crooning. Go to a music related website, they're talking about how the song is on top of the charts. All this song does is give Pharrell the power to release a solo album. I've talked to a few people and most of them like this song. I will listen to it if it's on, but in my opinion, he sounds like he's playing singer. He sounds like an excellent karaoke singer. The song does have it's quality production and Jay-Z lends his stamp to it as well. The second single is Light Your Ass On Fire by Busta Rhymes. When I heard the title of the song, I didn't know that they were singing about literally lighting someone's rear end on fire. Actually, the song is more about Busta's fascination of watching a female shake her huge rear end. It's no where near as clever as Sir Mix-a-lot's Baby Got Back. Pitiful song for someone like Rhymes who is an energetic force and lately had picked up his word play, but this is just bad.  
 
Of course, this CD is also an attempt to showcase some of their own talent. The Clipse are featured on two songs. Blaze of Glory is a decent track. It's one of those tracks I mentioned in the title that I'd love to have the instrumental rather than the actual song, but if you dig the Clipse, it's ok. Hot Damn which is nice, but again I'd love listening to the instrumentals. The beats are so intuitive and while it is all similar lending one to believe the Neptunes are stuck in their own formula, it still has charm. I'm not sure what to make of Roscoe P. Coldchain, other than the fact that I think his rap name is hilarious. On Hot he sounds very monotone. Musically, the beat is very plain, giving Coldchain a chance to show off his skills. But I didn't hear much out of his mouth that made me think he's going to be anything special.  
 
The Neptunes did get some big stars as well. Other than Busta Bus and Jay-Z, they also got Nelly, Ludacris, N.O.R.E., Snoop, Old Dirty Bastard, and the duo of Nas and Kelis. For the most part, if you like Nelly and Luda, you'll like these songs. They're simply what you'd expect. Snoop comes strong with It Blows My Mind in what's simply another solid track from him after what I thought was a successful last album. Old Dirty is joined by Pharrell on Pop Sh*t, but with his new moniker, Dirt McGirt. It's a fun track with Dirty's usual crazy antics. Not to say I completely understand what Dirt is rapping about since he sounds like a child learning to speak with new braces, but what would you expect from Dirt and the Neptunes? N.O.R.E., who scored several summers back with Superthug which was one of the songs which put the Neptunes on another level, stars on Put 'Em Up. N.O.R.E. has always been mildly entertaining but I lost respect for him when he freestyled on "The Wake Up Show" and simply couldn't finish his verse. They kept restarting him and he couldn't ride the beat at all. This track is nothing special, save for a catchy chorus, but that's about it. The most interesting track for me on the entire album is the last track, Popular Thug with Nas and his bride to be, Kelis. Nas doesn't bag in his performance and brings his A game to balance Kelis' awesome vocals.  
 
The Neptunes do supply one track for themselves in their N.E.R.D. alter ego. It an interesting track called Losers that should've been the theme song for Revenge of the Nerds. The chorus goes, "We will not be the losers, we will not leave until the job is done." Very odd track with not only the lyrical content, but also just the style. It's not what you'd expect.  
 
It was a good idea, with decent execution, but in the end, it's simply not my cup of tea. The production is flawless at times, but the way the Neptunes make beats sort of limits what MC's can do. That's why much of what they do sounds so similar.  
 
The CD did come with a DVD which included videos for Frontin', Hot Damn, and Rock N' Roll by Fam-Lay.  
 
Great Music to Play While: Experimenting with your keyboard  
