My sister got me The Notorius B.I.G. – Duets, The Final Chapter for Christmas, which was nice of her. Of course, it would have been nicer if she has not opened it and downloaded it onto her iPod before she gave it to me, but that’s neither here nor there I suppose. I was mildly excited about it. I wasn’t planning on buying the album, but I got excited when I received it. Opening the album, it’s easy to get excited, despite the ad inserts. The artwork is cool, especially the pictures of him walking around in shorts and a polo shirt. The picture of Biggie and Puffy all dressed up is cool as well. Too many thank yous, but what can you do. Let’s get it into it, taking a look at each track individually, with a grade for each one just for extra. I was looking for a couple things – well done songs/concepts, real duets, Biggie lyrics I haven’t heard before, etc.
1. B.I.G. live in Jamaica INTRO
Cool intro, I had never heard it, so bonus points for that. I always like getting live stuff, especially from someone who has died, as I don’t have the opportunity to see them live anymore. Grade: A
2. it has been said f/ Diddy, Eminem, and Obie Trice
Good transition from the intro, but this isn’t Eminem at his best – lyrically or musically. When listening to it on headphones the beat is a bit much. Obie Trice is good, but Puffy is full of shit saying that he made Biggie what he was. I also have a tough time believing that he has played a significant role in T-yanna’s upbringing, but I suppose it’s possible. However, this song DOESN’T HAVE BIGGIE ON IT. How can it be a Biggie song if he’s not on it? I mean, if he’s not on it, why do I care? Grade: Automatic F
3. spit your game f/ Twista and Bone Thugs N Harmony
A good beat here by Swizz Beats. It’s interesting how they cut off Biggie’s verse before he says “bone and BIG” even though Bone is on this song. I always like Twista and Bone Thugs, but Bone is sub par here and there are other people I’d like to see rap on a Biggie track than these guys. Grade: C+
4. whatchu want – The Commission – Jay-Z and Notorius B.I.G.
Love the beat here, very original, and it fits Biggie well. I’ve never heard these Biggie verses, very nice stuff. It’s interesting that they list it as The Commission – I’ve never seen that before, and The Commission was supposed to have way more people in it…This is the first real duet, and a good verse by Jay-Z. Grade: A+
5. get your grind on f/ Big Pun, Fat Joe, and Freeway
This beat sucks, it doesn’t fit Biggie’s verses here at all. Freeway is a worthless and illogical choice, and Fat Joe has been better. This should have just been Big Pun and Biggie, the other two water down the track. Grade: C- (and only cause of Pun, otherwise this is a D)
6. living the life f/ Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Faith Evans, Cheri Dennis, and Bobby Valentino
I love his lyrics here, I always forget they were on Born Again. I love having faith evans here, and while I hate in Ludacris general, he turns in a good verse (for him). Snoop does well here too, but in the end it seems like too much for one song. The other two seem pointless, hardly notice them. Grade: B-
7. the greatest rapper INTERLUDE
This is Biggie’s son CJ. I love it, great touch. Grade: A+
8. 1970 Somethin’ f/ The Game and Faith Evans
This is one of my favorite tracks – The Game is a good choice here. He’s an up and comer with legitimate chops, he’s not just some clown. Faith again on the track, I love that. This one also has a duet feel to it. Grade: A-
9. Nasty Girl f/ Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge and Avery Storm
This one has one demerit – why Jagged Edge? This should be 112 here. Nelly is good here, Diddy fits on songs like this, and he copied a lot of the old lyrics which meant you didn’t have to suffer through too much of his crap rapping. The beat and concept was very well done by Jazze Pha. And I always thought that Nasty Boy was underrated, girls liked the lyrics, but didn’t like the other stuff in the song. The wife gave this one her stamp of approval. Grade: B+ (would be A- with 112)
10. living in pain f/ 2Pac, Mary J. Blige, and Nas
Biggie and 2Pac’s lyrics are actually an unreleased Biggie and 2Pac song called House of Pain. There’s a new beat (decent), a verse from Nas (good) and a hook by Mary J Blije (very good). Would have expected a little better from Just Blaze, but the beat doesn’t take away from the song. Grade: B
11. I’m with whateva f/ Lil’
This is the kind of song that drags the album down. Lil’
12. beef f/ Mobb Deep
Awesome. Biggie and the Mobb, this is the true essence of a Duets album. The original beat was tight, but you can’t screw with a Havoc beat, he does it justice. Lyrically, they keep the cadence right. Proper. Grade: A- (would be an A if it was an unreleased Biggie/Mobb song, there has to be at least one, no?)
13. my dad INTERLUDE
Again, nice touch with his kids here, this one his daughter T-yanna. Grade: A+
14. hustler’s story f/ Scarface, Akon, and Big Gee of Boyz N Da Hood
Ok, here’s the deal. If you need to list your group next to your name, like “Big Gee of Boyz N Da Hood”, then you’re not big enough to be on the Biggie Duets album. Take this verse out and you’ve got a winner. So why is he on the track? Well, coincidentally, he’s signed to a new Diddy venture called Bad Boy South. Never heard of the producer, but the beat is good. ‘Face is always on his game, and Akon is an up and comer, his voice is kind of contagious. He could have a Nate Dogg-like run of success if he plays his cards right and knows his role. Grade: B-
15. breakin’ old habits f/ T.I. and Slim Thug
Really? T.I. and Slim Thug? This track is completely unnecessary. I guess T.I. has a good rep, and from what I’ve heard, Slim Thug is pretty decent. But again, who are these guys compared to Biggie? They’re doormen, bellhops. It’s insulting. And I like Biggie’s verse here, it’s tremendous, one of the hidden gems from No Way Out. That saves it from being an F. Grade: D-
16. ultimate rush f/ Missy Elliot
I love Missy. She does a good job here, as does Scott Storch - the song is well done. But isn’t this Lil’ Kim’s song? The chorus is taken from Lil’ Kim’s album - she should be on the track. Why do I, the user, have to suffer because Puffy and Kim had a falling out? Bull. This is one big example of Puffy exerting too much control over the project. Biggie’s verse though is hard to place, I think I’ve heard part of it, but I don’t know on what. Bonus points for that. Grade: A- (upgrade for originality, beat, being an actual duet with someone worthy, but downgrade for it not being Lil’ Kim)
17. mi casa f/ R. Kelly and Charlie Wilson
DJ Green Lantern! Love that guy. Although I guess there were three other producers on the track, so how much credit does he get? I don’t understand why there are two hook singers on this track. Was R Kelly too busy to record the rest of the song? It’s overkill. Biggie and R Kelly on Life After Death was a classic, there is no need to mess with that formula. Plus, Charlie Wilson wasn’t that good. I mean, if you’re putting someone else on here, make it Nate Dogg or a real singer like Babyface or something. Grade: C+
18. little homie INTERLUDE
Good stuff from Lil’ Caese. But again, you have to wonder how he didn’t get on an actual track. How is he less qualified than a Slim Thug or a Jim Jones? Grade: A-
19. hold ya head f/ Bob Marley
Awesome stuff, this song was produced by
20. just a memory f/ The Clipse
Clipse is a good choice here. You’re Nobody Till Somebody Kills You was underrated, so that was a good choice here if another song had to be recycled. Like the chorus too – it’s produced by Scram Jones, but has kind of a DJ Premier feel to it. Well done overall. Grade: A
21. wake up f/ Korn
This is a throwaway track. Yes, we know Biggie sounds well over a rock beat, we learned on the All About the Benjamins Rock Remix. This was always a good track by Biggie though, glad this was included. Unfortunately, Korn is a little too dark here for my tastes, and the overall tone of the song is kind of lost as a result. Lastly, I’d rather just have another rap song here. I mean, this is the last original release for Biggie, did they need to pander to alternative kids with a rock jam? I don’t think this song is necessary. Grade: D+
22. love is everlasting OUTRO
A fitting capper to the album to put his mom Voletta. I don’t know if that is an original poem she wrote, or something she lifted from somewhere, but I don’t think that matters one bit. It was a nice poem, and a nice touch to end his “last album” with his mom. Grade: A+
This album has its highlights. Songs like Whachu Want, 1970’ Somethin’, Nasty Girl, Beef, and Just A Memory. Living in Pain, Ultimate Rush and Hold Ya Head are notable as well. But there is too much garbage here. Throwaway artists like Korn, Charlie Wilson, Slim Thug, Freeway, etc. should never be involved in a project like this. Some of this is overkill, some of it is wanting to pander to every person, like teenagers who probably don’t know Biggie at all and will be looking at the guest artists to determine if they purchase the CD. This CD is likely to be a cash cow no matter who is on it, so why waste time with chumps? To pander to the kiddies that’s why. Not only are there other rappers that would have been dream songs who were left out - guys like Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip, Wu-Tang, Beastie Boys, DMX, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Cormega, Guru, just to name a few. Then there are all the old players from the old Bad Boy camp that are conspicuously absent – Ma$e, The Lox, Lil’ Kim, Junior MAFIA, 112, Craig Mack, Black Rob, etc. How are artists like this passed over for artists like Korn or Freeway? That’s unfathomable. It’s not just the rappers either. Where’s DJ Premier? Dr. Dre? DJ Clue? Funkmaster Flex? Yes, Swizz Beatz, Eminem, Jazze Pha, Just Blaze, Havoc, Stevie J, Clinton Sparks, and Scott Storch produced songs for the album. That’s all good. Some of the guys I’ve never heard of, like Danja and Reefa did well, but I could care less about producers like Sean C, Coptic, or Chink Santana. I’d rather have one of those other guys, or an Alchemist, Ali Shaheed, Q-Tip, or a D-Dot track. The only thing I can think of as a reason here is saving money, not wanting to pay for premium beats.
Then there is the fact that a lot of these songs are essentially remixes of old Biggie songs. Hold Ya Head is an awesome track, but it really should be called Suicidal Thoughts Remix. Same with Mi Casa, Get Your Grind On, 1970 Somethin’, Nasty Girl, and Beef. At least with Nasty Girl and Beef the names are at least similar, and any big Biggie fan would realize that 1970 Somethin’ was an old lyric right away. But looking at some of my underground Biggie stuff I know there are verses they could have used but chose to use old songs instead. Perhaps this was the producers and guest artist’s decision, but I have a hard time believing that. Diddy exerts so much control over things that the blame has to rest with him.
Overall, this is an average album. There are some great tracks here, but there is a lot of filler. There are some great guests, but a lot of crappy ones. There are some great producers, but a few unknown ones (at least to me). Lastly, there is too much recycled Biggie material. You’re telling me there aren’t more unreleased Biggie lyrics in the vault they couldn’t have used for this project? I refuse to believe that. This album has been rumored for a long time. I expect nothing but perfection because perfect is what it would have been had Biggie been alive for it. Every song should be at LEAST a B+, but that's not the case. In the end, Diddy watered it down too much to keep production costs low and add guests not worthy of the album to pander to a younger or different market than true hip-hop fans. I suppose I should expect that after Born Again, but I had hoped for better. In the end though, it’s Biggie, and I’ll take him anyway I can get him.
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