| The Saga Continues... | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | P. Diddy & the Bad Boy Family |
| Cover: | BBF - Saga Continues.jpg |
| Released: | July 10, 2001 |
| Recorded: | 2000–2001 |
| Length: | 77:16 |
| Prev Title: | Forever |
| Prev Year: | 1999 |
| Next Title: | We Invented the Remix |
| Next Year: | 2002 |
The Saga Continues... is the third studio album by American rapper P. Diddy, released on July 10, 2001 by Arista and Bad Boy Records. Similarly to his debut album No Way Out (1997), it is credited to "P. Diddy and the Bad Boy Family"; the latter act refers to his signees at Bad Boy Records. It was the first studio album released by Combs under the P. Diddy name, and the final release under Bad Boy Records' joint venture with Arista Records (his We Invented the Remix album was the last overall project with Arista).
The album garnered mixed to negative reviews from music critics. The Saga Continues... debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, spawning three singles: "Let's Get It", "Bad Boy for Life" and "Diddy".
Soren Baker of the Los Angeles Times called the album "a quality hip-hop collection with plenty of swagger, grit, sure-shot singles and a decidedly upbeat outlook." A staff writer for HipHopDX praised the record for having a diverse roster of new artists and label alumni on "solid cuts" ("Can't Believe", "Let's Get It", "Bad Boy For Life") and "hidden gems" ("So Complete", "Blast Off"), but criticized P. Diddy's "lyrical flow and tempo" for being poorly showcased ("Lonely", "If You Want This Money") and highlighted G. Dep's "Child of the Ghetto" and 8Ball & MJG's "Roll with Me" as "regrettable displays" concluding that, "With the platform of platinum and pop success, The Saga Continues will be a surefire collection that has the following of P.Diddy's string of commercial hits. Forecasting his true signature talent, by seizing his rosterwith diverse talent that accompanies his background arrangements."
Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews gave praise to "Bad Boy For Life" and "Where's Sean?" for being "surprisingly dope cuts", P. Diddy's contributions on "Roll with Me" and "I Need a Girl", and G. Dep's "Child of the Ghetto". He criticized "Diddy" for having "one of the weakest ever Neptunes beats", the overabundance of interludes throughout the album and questioned the sampling choices on "Can't Believe" and the title track. AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier praised the record for giving Black Rob and G. Dep the spotlight to "showcase their talent commendably" along with the other roster members and the in-house approach to the production for giving a "cohesive feel", but criticized P. Diddy's "rhetorical swagger" throughout the track listing for "teetering on the fine line between self-assurance and unintentional farce."
Robert Christgau cited "That's Crazy" as a "choice cut", indicating a good song on "an album that isn't worth your time or money."[1] The Guardians Alexis Petridis criticized P. Diddy for still being "a terrible rapper, cursed with a stilted and flat delivery" that's overshadowed by his obscure label members' "shouty contributions" and for lacking the "self-pitying repugnance" from Forever, concluding that: "Puzzling over the album's confused morality and logic is more rewarding than actually listening to its familiar litany of misogyny and violence. It's all been done before and by more talented rappers than Combs and pals."
| Title | Length | Featured artists | Producer(s) | Samples | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Saga Continues (Intro)" | 3:52 | G. Dep, Loon and Black Rob | Yago, P. Diddy and Mario Winans for The Hitmen | ||
| 2 | "Bad Boy for Life" | 4:13 | Black Rob and Mark Curry | Megahertz | ||
| 3 | "Toe Game (Interlude)" | 1:06 | Black Rob | |||
| 4 | "That's Crazy" | 4:07 | G. Dep and Black Rob | Aydine, Mario Winans and P. Diddy for The Hitmen |
| |
| 5 | "Let's Get It" | 4:16 | G. Dep and Black Rob | Yogi and Mario Winans | ||
| 6 | "Shiny Suit Man (Interlude)" | 1:06 | ||||
| 7 | "Diddy" | 3:55 | The Neptunes | The Neptunes |
| |
| 8 | "Blast Off" | 3:41 | G. Dep, Mark Curry and Loon | Mike "Punch" Harper | ||
| 9 | "Airport (Interlude)" | 0:28 | ||||
| 10 | "Roll with Me" | 4:53 | 8Ball & MJG and Faith Evans | Spike and Jamal |
| |
| 11 | "On Top" | 3:58 | Loon & Marsha Morrison | Mario Winans, P. Diddy and Steven "Loss Spirits" Dorsain | ||
| 12 | "Where's Sean?" | 5:06 | Big Azz Ko, Black Rob, Kain, Loon, Mark Curry and Bristal | Mario Winans, P. Diddy and "The Natural" |
| |
| 13 | "Child of the Ghetto" | 3:43 | G. Dep | Coptic & D. Trotman | ||
| 14 | "Incomplete (Interlude)" | 0:58 | ||||
| 15 | "So Complete" | 3:37 | Cheri Dennis | Buckwild, P. Diddy and Mario Winans for The Hitmen |
| |
| 16 | "Smoke (Interlude)" | 0:16 | ||||
| 17 | "Lonely" | 3:59 | Mark Curry, Kain and Kokane | Mario Winans and P. Diddy for The Hitmen | ||
| 18 | "I Need a Girl (To Bella)" | 4:12 | Loon, Lo & Jack and Mario Winans | Coptic |
| |
| 19 | "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now (Interlude)" | 2:24 | Faith Evans and Mario Winans |
| ||
| 20 | "If You Want This Money" | 3:59 | G. Dep and The HoodFellaz | Yogi |
| |
| 21 | "I Don't Like That (Interlude)" | 1:04 | Bristal & Mark Curry | |||
| 22 | "Back for Good Now" | 4:26 | Cheri Dennis, Black Rob and Loon | The Natural |
| |
| 23 | "Can't Believe" | 3:49 | Faith Evans and Carl Thomas | Mario Winans and P. Diddy for The Hitmen | ||
| 24 | "The Last Song" | 3:50 | Mark Curry, Big Azz Ko and Loon | Bink | ||
| 25 | "Thank You (Outro)" | 0:34 |
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Saga Continues....[2]
| Chart (2001) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[3] | 103 | |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[4] | 45 |