The Magic's Draggin', Puff
The Ed Sullivan of hip hop puts on a really bad shew
e doesn't sing. He rarely dances. And he raps about as well as Vanilla Ice after a double tooth extraction.
But that didn't stop Puff Daddy from headlining the biggest hip-hop/R&B event in years at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
During his mystifying two-hour performance, Puff Daddy (ne Sean Combs) employed a sprawling posse of guest rappers, dancers and explosion experts to help flesh out the show.
Meanwhile, the man himself spent most of the night yelling things like "Come on, New York!" . . . "Make some noise!" . . . and the ever-popular "Is Brooklyn in the house?"
For Puffy to claim star billing based on such cheerleading is the rough equivalent of Linda McCartney's taking key credit for the music of Wings. Or Andrew Ridgeley heralding himself as the true voice of Wham!
True, Puffy earned his role as hip hop's richest star less as a performer than as a behind-the-scenes producer. But the myriad hits he has overseen ó each of which he delivered here with the help of tapes and a deejay ó seldom merit star treatment.
The worst of them reduce the creative art of sampling practically to acts of theft. He often lifts hooks whole from songs by The Police, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Phil Collins, Lisa Stansfield and more. Essentially, it's Hammer-time all over again.
Most of the stars who front those hits turned up here, including Mase, The Lox, 112, Junior M.a.f.i.a. and Lil' Kim (who showed the most rapping authority, not to mention the most toosh).
Unfortunately, the evening's most talented and alluded-to star couldn't show up, Biggie Smalls. So Puffy played tapes of his music, letting the audience rap along, creating the world's largest karaoke bar.
Warning: Slick Surface
That's probably not what Puffy had in mind. He meant this tour to lift hip hop to the next theatrical level, adding six Vegas-y dancers and a high-tech stage that looked like something out of "Gattaca."
Puffy also packed the bill with other hip-hop/R&B hit makers, ballooning the event to 4 1/2 hours. Call it Puffy-palooza.
Only half the featured stars delivered. The teen dream Usher impressed mostly by taking off his pants. Foxy Brown kept rapping behind the beat.
But Jay-Z showed some verbal skills and Busta Rhymes provided the inverse of Puffy. He redefined the basic cadences of rap with an exhilaratingly panicked delivery, finally giving the night a hint of hip hop at its height.