Last Train to Paris | Part I | The Torree Diary
Diddy-Dirty Money consists of Making the Band’s Dawn Richard, Kaleena Harper & Diddy. In an interview with Billboard, Dawn let it be known that even though the trio was on to something “brilliant and iconic” the world still saw and treated her and Kaleena like “background singers”. After much research, I gather that the energy about the group’s ignition and dismantlement varies amongst the former members. During an interview with VladTV, Kaleena explained how she came to be a part of the trio originally. She had an eight-month-old baby when the group joined forces circa 2008 and she was a budding recording artist trying to land her big break. Dawn Richard, on the other hand, was recovering from the blow of her girl group, Dainty Kane [created by Diddy per the “Making the Band” reality tv-show], breaking up when Diddy asked her to write, produce and star in Diddy-Dirty Money. After essentially four years of touring, following the success of the trio’s only album Last Train to Paris, Diddy went to act and produce again, Dawn began focusing on her now wildly successful solo career and per her interview with VladTV in 2015, Kaleena focused on family life while using the gems dropped by Diddy and the whole experience of DDM to create a lane for herself in the songwriting game.
All in all, Diddy showed his genius-level alignment skills when it comes to music and all it encompasses when he came up with the concept for the group/album and who would accompany him on the journey that was DDM. They produced a cult classic of an album and here we will dive deep and analyze the nuances of Last Train to Paris and what it meant and did for the culture of hip hop and R&B forever.
Intro: Our preface into this futuristic cosmo, the album’s introduction track is sporadic and laced with what sounds like alien noises that transition into a rhythmic hip hop beat. You can also hear women’s voices dancing in the background. Getting into the lyrics of the track, our narrator is beginning to express “Sometimes you can meet somebody and they could just take your soul”. He seems scorned yet accepting, saying “That’s just the way it is sometimes”.
The track is written and produced by Guy Gerber, an Israeli disc jockey. He [..blends the worlds of melancholy and euphoria so effortless], which perfectly coincides with the subject matter of this first track. This lays the groundwork for more romantic-centered contradictions and the alluring sounds that accompany them.
Ass On The Floor (feat Swizz Beatz): The jarring, drumline-esque percussion is the base in the layering of the Ass On The Floor beast. It is built up with a combination of hi-hat and snare which gives this 15-sec crescendo that is reminiscent of techno. Without warning or transition, the beat suddenly switches over to a synthesizer sound that is melo in comparison to its predecessor. Coupled with the lyrics, the beat helps tell a very clear story.
Have you ever been at the club, clearly heartbroken, but you’re determined to drink and dance your sorrows away? This is track 2 summed up into one sentence. The lyrics of “When you in the club get your ass on the floor”, “And you’re drunker than a motherfucker”, “Try to find your way back to the love, you motherfucker” and “I would’ve gave my last breath, Now you can’t breathe without me” are very much telling of the subject matter. The narrators are clearly experiencing a tough breakup and are struggling to overcome the emotions that come with that trauma. The way the beat slows down and speeds up over certain lyrics jogs memories in my mind of when I’ve been out enjoying myself and all of a sudden everything slows down in my mind and I have that thought I had been trying to avoid and then whoosh, I’m brought back to reality. Our narrators are definitely setting the tone of the album to be a decade-defying breakup joint
Dubbed a legendary producer in the game, Swizz Beatz is known for his ear-catching sound. At this point, you should be able to identify his beats off sound alone. Outside of his distinct drum patterns, Swizz is also known for not being afraid to take collaboration to the next level. Here, he lends his voice as an instrument and can be heard on the chorus and hook.
Yeah Yeah You Would (feat Grace Jones): Track 3 is furthering the newfound theme of Last Train to Paris. It is giving us more of the “star-crossed lovers whose stars are not aligned after all” vibes. The title is repeated 18 times, with the single word “would” being used upwards of 20 times and the word “could” thrown in the mix for nuance. All of that is a clear directive of the narrator being lovesick and reminiscing on what would’ve or could’ve been. The beat almost pump fakes at the beginning with this melodramatic slow vibe used to allow Swizz Beatz to make the song’s introduction. Then it transports you back to the album’s setting of the club. It has high energy and uses instruments in ways I have never heard before. I can only describe it as brain-melting hardcore neo-hip hop.
Floyd “Danja” Hills produced this electrifying track. His style calls to mind the likes of production powerhouse, Timbaland. It comes to no surprise that the Virginia Beach native’s career breakout moments come from being under the hand of Timbo. After jumpstarting his profession in such a major way, he went on to produce mega tracks like “Gimme More” by Britney Spears, “We Taking Over” and later “Shining” by DJ Khaled, and “My Love” by Justin Timberlake. Danja is not shy about putting everything he has into a beat and it shows proof again with Yeah Yeah You Would.
Hate You Now: Skipping ahead to the sixth track in the lineup we have Hate You Now. In verse one we hear Kaleena’s voice loud and clear for the first time on the album. Her sound, while extremely similar to Dawn’s, has a rich and deep tone that allows her to bring a grit to this track that suits it well. The track stays with the contradictory love spell theme with lyrics like “Don’t go, don’t go Don’t want you, I hate you”. In verse two Dawn comes in subtle but with just as much power towards the end to give this very serious vibe not just with the lyrics but with the volume of her voice too. Nestled in between the verses there’s Diddy with this smooth four-bar rap that basically sums up the reason for all the back and forth with the theme of loving and not knowing how to let go. “My mama told never cry, She never told me to say bye, I cannot let you go I tried, I hate you girl, you know I lie”.
I wanted to include this song in particular because it’s the first time on the album where each member of Dirty Money gets to shine. Free of distracting background music and/or vocals, Kaleena, Dawn, and Diddy sound like a unit here. It is refreshing and it eloquently transitions us into the second half of Last Train to Paris. This is where the fun really begins.
Honorable mentions go to Rico Love, a 2x Grammy Award-winning songwriter, who co-wrote this Yeah Yeah You Would along with Aasim aka Leroy Watson. Watson has been signed to Bad Boy for almost 20 years and has written and currently music for hit Starz show Power Book III: Raising Kanan and ABC’s Queens. Additional vocals were supplied by none other than James Fauntleroy, 2x Grammy winner, and Rocnation signee.
R&B frontrunner, Victoria Monet, co-wrote I Hate That You Love Me along with Darkchild, the late Lashawn Daniels, Diddy, and Latoya Duggan.
|tiffanytorree|
Stay tuned for Part II. Be sure to follow me on all social platforms for up-to-date insights and alerts as to when I’ll be posting again @TiffanyTorree on everything















