No Way Out is the autobiographical sonic movie produced, directed by, and starring Bad Boy Entertainment CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs. Co-stars include the late Notorious B.I.G., Faith, Mase, Lil' Kim, Jay-Z, and Busta Rhymes... The best selling maxi-single of the year and one of the biggest selling singles of the decade, "I'll Be Missing You" is only one of the hot songs on No Way Out. But not long ago it looked as if the album might never be heard. As a teenager growing up in Mount Vernon, NY, Sean "Puffy" Combs dreamed of making an album. "Everybody has a dream when they're watching Run-D.M.C. or LL Cool J," Puff says with a laugh. "They think, 'I wish I was that.' And I was always somebody who closed my eyes and dreamed but then opened my eyes and saw what I had to." ... After proving himself [at Andre Harrell's Uptown] he's promoted to A&R. He architects a pair of hip hop-soul skyscrapers: Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. In 1991 he becomes the CEO of Bad Boy Ent. He introduces the world to the Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Faith, Total, 112, Mase, and the L.O.X. He sells more than 12 million albums in three years, including five platinum and ten gold albums... Meanwhile, off-stage, Puff grows into a mature man and a powerfully, socially-conscious executive... And through it all Bad Boy becomes more than a label selling music. It sells a lifestyle and launches a movement... Finally, after years of hard work and planning... he begins his solo album. Cont'd below...
"Victory," a frenetic, rah-rah joint featuring B.I.G. and Busta that represents how close he and the Notorious B.I.G. were. "Why Do They Hate Us," a slam-dunk certain smash featuring Puff and Mase... "Pain," on which Puff sings the chorus, and talks about," all the things that hurt me in my life." "Is This The End" where Puff rhymes Bone, Thugs-style. "Senorita" a sexy ode to the hot Latina Mamis. An extended remix of "It's All About the Benjamins" adding rhymes from Lil' Kim and B.I.G. And "Friend," a funky make-you-dance track with a rhyme from Foxy Brown, where Puff tells how he deals with fickle audiences... Though he rhymes on all tracks Puffy refuses to call himself a rapper or an MC. "I would never disrespect the art of rapping and MCing," Puffy says. "I'm an entertainer. I don't write all my rhymes myself - I co-write with Jay-Z, Sauce Money, Lil' Kim, Mase, Jay from the L.O.X. I'm not a MC, I'm a vibe-giver." But as a producer, Puff knows he's among the hiphop elite... "I don't make a record like it may be a hit. It is a hit." Puff adds, "I was just having fun, makin' hot records. The concept was to have 15 hits on it," - when he and B.I.G. took time out for a trip to the Soul Train Awards in LA. Only one of them returned. "When everything happened," Puff says, meaning B.I.G.'s passing, "I just wanted to give up. I didn't wanna work, I didn't wanna make music no more." Then, one night after the funeral, Puff had a dream. "In the dream I was screaming at somebody, saying, 'There's no way out for me!' ... At times I feel like I'm trapped inside of a movie starring me, but I'm not the director, and I don't know what the next scene is, nothing. So I was screaming to somebody, 'What am I gonna do now?! There's no way out for me!' ... When I woke up I knew I had to do this album." - Press Kit, 1997. Listen above, and the full 2-page press kit is below...
