(Bad Boy Records)

For going on a decade now, Puff Daddy has been one of hip-hop’s most prominent entrepreneurs (and something of a stupid-looking wanker, I might add). Nonetheless, it goes without saying that Puff Daddy isn’t exactly renowned by the general public as a cutting-edge dance producer. Well all that is about to change: Puff Daddy’s new single Let’s Get Ill and his forthcoming album have been consistently hailed as a revolutionary meeting of hip-hop and house. Believe it or not, the upcoming album from the ol’ P Diddy has been hailed as the release that will finally break European dance culture into the US mainstream. Do I hear a little cynicism being expressed by fellow ITM readers?

Named as the cut of choice at the all-important annual Miami Winter Music Conference, the hype surrounding the release of Let’s Get Ill has been overwhelming (and bordering on total stupidity from an outsider’s perspective). Puff Daddy has been hailed as the man who will save dance music, and one of the collaborators on the new album Timo Maas had his own two-cents to add to the issue in a recent interview. “It’s very interesting,” Maas claimed, “it’s hip hop and dance. I said this three years ago, that it’s gonna fuse at some moment, and we are right there. Thank God I’m involved.” So perhaps there is some basis in the hype: after all, with the legendary Nellee Hooper on board for production duties and a remix from Deep Dish included on the single, how could Puff Daddy go wrong? Let’s Get Ill now finally sees the light of day in Australia – so is there actually any truth to the staggeringly overblown claims?

As a straight-up dance tune, Let’s Get Ill is sharp enough, though hardly revolutionary. Featuring stylish vocals from Kelis, the song starts with a beautifully tense build-up that really had my hopes up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really go anywhere after that… Let’s Get Ill is, I’m afraid, a bit of a storm in a teacup. While it may be stating the bleeding obvious, Puff Daddy definitely represents the more mainstream side of urban culture. While Nellee Hooper’s production is as good as you would expect, Puff Daddy’s rap is a little weak – in fact it’s hardly even there. While I’m far from a hip-hop connoisseur, I’ve developed a growing appreciation of the urban poetry of the form over the last few years. While listening to the single, I kept expecting Puff Daddy to break into a killer rap; unfortunately, all that is included is a slightly annoying refrain of “Let’s get up and lets get ill / your dreams have now been fulfilled,” repeated over and over again…

Fortunately, the remix is quality; not surprising considering the talent that Puff Daddy has enlisted to boost his credibility. Fast joining the ranks of the world’s leading DJ-producers, Ali and Sharam from Deep Dish just seem to get bigger with every passing day. Progressive house maestros who have remixed acts as big as Madonna and N-Sync in the past and even scored a Grammy for their take on Dido’s Thank You, Deep Dish now seem like the big boys to bring onboard when a little extra street-cred is needed. Showing that they know very well how to straddle the bridge between the underground and the mainstream, their mix is progressive yet accessible. Filled with the hypnotic rhythms that Deep Dish have become known for, their mix is solid percussive house that pumps along nicely, with a great progressive breakdown in the middle. Featuring a very effective use of the track’s vocals, they succeed in covering up the fact that Puff Daddy has a severe lack of ‘skillz.’

While Lets Get Ill is far from bad (it’s actually quite enjoyable), there have been many other such meetings of hip-hop and dance in the past that have been a lot more effective. If you want a groundbreaking fusion, take a look at Aphrodite’s Urban Takeover mix of the Jungle Brother’s Jungle Brother, a track that came out 5 years ago. But Puff Daddy’s contribution to hip-hop has never been to break new ground, but instead to forge some connection between the underground and the mainstream. And if a big name like Puff Daddy can bring a little more exposure to dance culture, can that really be a bad thing? With Let’s Get Ill already reaching the top of the US dance charts, it almost pains me to say it, but Puff Daddy just might be ripping up dance floors across the globe shortly. Well, the Deep Dish mix maybe…