The Most '90s Moments On Diddy's "MMM"

There's a certain part of Sean "Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy" Combs that will always live in the '90s. Everyone relives their glory days, and few had days more glorious than the Bad Boy architect's were from the time Notorious B.I.G.'s first album dropped until he shortened his name in 2001. His musical career, both solo and in his roster of signees, has never really topped its "All About The Benjamins" peak, but thanks to his entrepreneurial expertise and continued monitoring of hip hop's trends, he's never truly fallen off like many his '90s contemporaries. He may not top charts, and he may lose out to Drake when trying to secure hot beats from top-tier producers, but he's still able to assemble all-star casts for posse cuts any day. 

Diddy's new tape, MMM, does an excellent job of merging influences, guests and references that span his entire career. Nowhere else will you hear Future and Lil Kim on consecutive tracks, or samples of hip electronic acts like Chromatics and Darkside appear alongside nostalgic drum breaks, and for that, you've got to praise Puff. He may forever exist in the futuristic shiny suit world inside his head, but he never fails to update it every few years to take account of new sounds and styles. Here are the unmistakably '90s moments that slip in amid trap beats and French Montana verses.

Opening skit "Facts" begins with some classic Diddy shit talk and closes out with the simulated voice of a pilot, who delivers the typical "preparing to make our final descent" announcement with a little more panache than usual. Other a Biggie name-drop, nothing seems particularly '90s about this, unless you're an OutKast fan. 

Their 1994 debut contains an interlude entitled "Welcome To Atlanta" that's almost identical to the second half of "Facts." The "If you look to your far right, you'll see..." language remains intact, acting as a scene-setting device. Could this be a mere coincidence? Maybe, until you remember that Diddy directed the video for Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik single "Player's Ball." 

MMM's second track, Harlem, features two references to the Bulls and Lakers basketball dynasties, a pair of three-peats that spanned 1996-98 and 2000-02, respectively. Puff first raps, "No rings, actin' like the Bulls and the Lakers with ya," and then Gizzle closes out the track with the line "Forever is what it feels like, Kobe playing with Mike." The two future hall-of-famers first met on the court in '96, and it's a much-referenced moment in hip hop (see the artwork for Jay Z's "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" remix).

"I'm talkin ten years before Dre put Eminem on
Before Roc and G-Unit we had Kiss and them on
I'm talkin more Styles than P before Biggie was gone
And almost twenty years later still Biggie we mourn"

How much more '90s can you get?

Few things are more synonymous with Puff in the '90s than puffy jackets, also known as "bubble coats." Even after that previously referenced line setting us in that '90s scene, "Help Me" persists as the most retro-themed track on MMM with nods to the decade's fashion ("Air Force Ones, polos, to bubble coats") and dance moves ("Gon' head and Diddy bop"). Just don't call it the "Shmurda dance" in front of Puff. 

To this day, rappers name-drop Biggie and 2pac almost as frequently as they mention their own neighborhoods, but no one keeps the legend alive like Diddy. MMM contains at least ten references to Big, including lines like "Nobody ever had it this juicy since Biggie” and "Playing '10 Crack Commandments,' it's never a lack of hammers." Find me a full-length project that contains more reverence for Notorious in 2015. 

Based on my research, the last reputable rapper to put Lil Kim on their track was Fred The Godson in 2012, which shows you how in-demand her mic skills are these days. Diddy keeps it all the way '90s by putting her alongside King Los and Styles P on "Auction," although she's only there for a few bars. 

In addition to the Jordan vs. Kobe talk on "Help Me," Puff and his guests keep the references to '90s sports stars going in the tape's second half. Styles P claims that he's "Acting like [Mike] Tyson when he was twenty something" on "Auction," which, when you consider his legal issues and reputation in the ring at the time, is a pretty ferocious boast. Then French Montana name-drops University of Michigan's legendary early-'90s team, known as the "fab five," on "Blow A Check": "My niggas ballin' like Fab Five final four." Their last appearance in the Final Four came in 1993, when French was nine years old. 

Slap bass is one of the most retro sounds out there, at once reminiscent of Bootsy Collins-era funk and Seinfeld bumper music. The lick that the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted "You Could Be My Lover" rides is particularly old-school, conjuring up memories of the days when Zapp and Roger Troutman were the biggest influences on modern hip hop. Those days have passed, but the glory of the slap bass never will.

"Uptown" is another brief interlude that appears towards the end of the album, featuring the world famous DJ Brucie B ad-libbing over a drum beat that should be familiar to any hip hop fan. It's best-known as the fuel for Eric B & Rakim's "Paid In Full," but the break (sampled from a song called "Ashley's Roachclip" by The Soul Searchers) has been sampled over 250 times, including '90s tracks by P.M. Dawn, 2pac, Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane and Public Enemy. 

For the most part, MMM's beats are pretty modern-sounding, but the Harry Fraud-produced "Money Ain't A Problem" is an exception. It heavily samples a 1996 gem by the perpetually underrated Lost Boyz, taking the chiming bells from their track "Renee" into the 21st century with more aggressive drums. Great work by Mr. Fraud on this one.