Maps of Music

Forever (1999)

Where the lyrics of Forever take you, and where it was really made.

Puff Daddy's second album followed a No Way Out that topped the Billboard 200, and Forever debuted at number two but failed to match that predecessor's success.

Key places

Recorded at Silent Sound Studios (1999)

Recording site DARP Studios (Atlanta) — Discogs credits list Silent Sound Studios as a recording location for Forever. The point sits at the city centre of Atlanta, not at the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Compass Point Studios (1999)

Recording site Compass Point Studios — Discogs credits list Compass Point Studios in Nassau as a recording location for Forever. The point marks the studio's building-level location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Chicago Trax (1999)

Recording site Chicago Recording Company — Discogs credits list Chicago Trax Recording Studio as a recording location for Forever. The point sits at the city centre of Chicago, not at the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Record Plant, Los Angeles (1999)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — Discogs credits list Record Plant in Los Angeles as a recording location for Forever. The point marks the studio's building-level location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Quad Recording Studios (1999)

Recording site MSR Studios — Discogs credits list Quad Recording Studios in New York City as a recording location for Forever. The point is placed in midtown Manhattan and may not match the studio building exactly. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Forever: second studio album by American rapper Sean Combs, released under the name Puff Daddy
• Released 24 August 1999 by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records
• Debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 205,343 units in its first week
• Only album Combs released solely under the name Puff Daddy
• Received mixed to negative reviews and did not match No Way Out (1997)

Background

• Released two years after No Way Out, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy
• Combs collaborated with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin on the 1998 single "Come with Me" for the film Godzilla
• That single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100
• Recording began during summer 1998 and continued into 1999
• Criticism targeted over-commercialization of hip hop, the mix with dance-pop, lower production quality and weaker lyrics than the predecessor

Recording

• Combs produced much of the album; The Notorious B.I.G., shot in 1997, served as executive producer
• Other beats came from Mario Winans, Carlos Broady, Nashiem Myrick, D-Dot, Ron Lawrence, Zach White, Daven Vanderpool, J Dub, Harve Pierre and Dent
• Nearly every track uses samples from different genres
• Studios credited in the release notes include The Hit Factory, Silent Sound Studios, Daddy's House Recording Studio, Compass Point Studios, Chicago Trax Recording Studio, DARP Studios, Record Plant in Los Angeles, Skip Saylor Recording and Quad Recording Studios

Cover

• Black-and-white cover showing Puff Daddy dressed entirely in white, seated on a white beanbag
• No lettering visible on the cover

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born Sean John Combs in Harlem, New York City, on November 4, 1969.
• Worked as a talent director at Uptown Records, helping develop Jodeci and Mary J. Blige.
• Founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 after leaving Uptown.
• Debut album No Way Out (1997) topped the Billboard 200 and was certified septuple platinum.
• "I'll Be Missing You" was the first rap song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Changed his stage name several times: Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, and later Love.
• Founded Sean John clothing in 1998, winning CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year in 2004.
• Co-founded the Revolt television network in 2013.
• Received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2008, the first male rapper to be honored.
• Convicted in 2025 of transportation to engage in prostitution; sentenced to 50 months in prison.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic (Keith Farley): called it a solid production that is not as exciting as it should be, while praising Puff Daddy's improved rapping compared with the previous album
• SonicNet (Kembrew McLeod): said the sampling choices are more subtle than on No Way Out
• Entertainment Weekly (Tom Sinclair): described the album as full of megalomania, paranoia and a comically self-centred worldview, and called the rapping a curiously dead monotone

Reappraisal

• Q magazine (2006): included Forever in its list of the 50 worst albums of all time
• laut.de (Daniela Meixner): gave two out of five points, writing that the productions lose innovation and sound like the Notorious B.I.G. era

Records

• Billboard 200: debuted at number two, behind Christina Aguilera's self-titled album, which had 252,800 first-week sales
• Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: opened at number one
• UK Albums Chart: peaked at number nine
• UK R&B Chart: debuted at number one
• Canada: opened at number four, Combs' highest-charting album in the country
• Germany: entered the chart at number 56 on 30 August 1999 and peaked at number four a week later, spending 30 weeks in the top 100
• United States: RIAA platinum, certified as of 24 September 1999 for one million copies
• United Kingdom: gold for over 100,000 sales

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• "Real Niggas" samples "Real Niggaz", written by Christopher Wallace and performed by The Notorious B.I.G.
• The single "Satisfy You", based on a sample of The Luniz's "I Got 5 on It", was successful and reached number two in Germany and the United States
• The Satisfy You single earned gold in Germany for over 250,000 units and gold in the United States for over 500,000 units
• Combs' rapper name on the album was used alone, unlike his debut, which credited the Bad Boy Family
• Three songs from the album were released as singles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org

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