Forever is the second studio album of American rapper Sean Combs, under the name Puff Daddy. Released on August 24, 1999, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and sold 205,343 units in its first week. Despite this, Forever was met with mixed to negative reviews and failed to match the success of his previous album, No Way Out (1997).
Forever was Combs' only album to be released solely under the name of "Puff Daddy"; his debut album, No Way Out was billed under "Puff Daddy & the Bad Boy Family". As with previous Bad Boy releases, much of the criticism was directed towards the over-commercialization of the hip hop genre and its incorporation of dance-pop, lower production quality and lackluster lyrics compared to its predecessor, many of which caused controversy at the time.
Forever was released two years following the release of his first album, No Way Out, which debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and won a Grammy Award. After its release, he collaborated with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin to release the 1998 single "Come with Me," for the 1998 film Godzilla. The song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. During that summer, the recording for Forever began, and continued into the following year.
Forever received mixed reviews from critics. Keith Farley of Allmusic called the album "a solid production, not quite as exciting as it should be" but praised Diddy for an improved rapping style from his previous album. For Sonicnet, Kembrew McLeod commented that the sampling "choices are a bit more subtle" than No Way Out. However, Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly described the album as "brimming with megalomania, paranoia, and a comically solipsistic worldview" and Diddy's rapping style as a "curiously dead monotone".
In 2006, Q magazine included Forever in their list of the 50 worst albums of all time.
Forever debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 205,343 copies behind Christina Aguilera's self-titled album with first week sales of 252,800 copies. The album opened at the top spot of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at number nine on the UK Albums Chart.
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Sample credits