Twenty years ago today, on October 17, 2006, Diddy released Press Play in the U.S., his fourth studio album and his only one with Atlantic Records, through its joint venture with Bad Boy. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 170,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Wikipedia’s album history.
What It Was
Press Play was a loose concept album about the ups and downs of a relationship, and it leaned hard into the club, R&B and dance-pop sound that ruled 2006 radio. Diddy did what Diddy always did best: he assembled a roster. Production came from Kanye West, Timbaland, Danja, Just Blaze, will.i.am, The Neptunes, Rich Harrison, Havoc and The Hitmen. The guest list read like a mid-2000s BET countdown: Nas, Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, Keyshia Cole, Brandy, Ciara, Jamie Foxx, Big Boi, CeeLo Green, Keri Hilson, Avant, Mario Winans, Fergie and Nicole Scherzinger.
Before it hit stores, the album streamed a week early on MTV’s The Leak, back when that was how the whole country heard an album first.
Standout Tracks
The lead single “Come to Me” with Nicole Scherzinger climbed to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking in its eighth week on the chart. It was followed by “Tell Me,” “Last Night” and “Through the Pain (She Told Me).” For a lot of fans, “Last Night” with Keyshia Cole is the one that stuck: a late-night heartbreak record that still shows up on throwback R&B playlists.
Charts, Sales and Reviews
Press Play was Combs’ second Billboard 200 chart-topper, after 1997’s No Way Out, and it also hit No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts. The RIAA certified it Gold on November 21, 2006, and it had sold 703,000 copies by September 2007, per Nielsen SoundScan. Critics were split. The album holds a 62 on Metacritic. AllMusic praised the “extensive and impressive” guest list, while The New York Times called it “a garish, puzzling album.” Most reviewers loved the beats and were harder on the rapping.
The IAHHM Take: A Complicated Legacy
Musically, Press Play is a time capsule of the last big era of the major-label superstar album, when one rich phone book could put Kanye, Timbaland and The Neptunes on the same tracklist. It’s impossible to revisit it in 2026 without acknowledging the man behind it, though. In 2025, Combs was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, but convicted on two Mann Act prostitution-related counts and sentenced to 50 months in federal prison. Many fans can’t separate the music from that anymore, and that’s a fair choice.
What does Press Play mean to you 20 years later: a guilty-pleasure throwback, or an album you’ve shelved for good?
Want more anniversaries? Revisit our look at Masta Ace’s Disposable Arts at 25.
Sources: Wikipedia: Press Play | Wikipedia: 2006 in hip-hop | Wikipedia: Come to Me | KPEL 96.5
