Duets: The Final Chapter

12/20/2005 | Bad Boy 

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All Music Guide Review

The weight of Notorious B.I.G.'s legacy is so profound that most major rap MCs and R&B singers alive -- and some who are dead -- are willing to be attached to it in whatever form possible. It could also be argued that anyone with the means is more than willing to profit from it in a monetary way. Here's Duets: The Final Chapter, released just before Christmas Day 2005, following 1999's Born Again, which was released just before Christmas Day 1999. Like Born Again, Duets takes bits of unused material from the late legend, and that can entail full-blown verses, looped declarations, or punctuative interjections. On some tracks, Biggie's presence is no more prominent than a handclap or a snare hit. Check the lead track "It Has Been Said," where he's limited to "what," "ungh," "yeah," "ha-ha," "uh-huh." If you can get past the fact that a lot of tracks barely feature the headliner, or listen without imagining the original contexts of the patched-together scraps, Duets can be sporadically riveting. The list of guests is overwhelming, with Jay-Z, Nas, Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, R. Kelly, T.I., Slim Thug, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, the Clipse, Snoop Dogg, and Freeway representing roughly half of the involved. Only a few tracks contain significant Biggie contributions, and it's not as if they provide any further insight or add to his long-established legend. Many of his vocals are not pulled from professional studio-quality recordings, which only makes them sound more displaced. Perhaps Korn's Jonathan Davis put it best when he told Billboard about the project: "It's f*ckin' weird to be doing a song with someone who is deceased!" His description applies to what it's like to listen to the disc. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

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THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. DUETS:THE FINAL CHAPTER

Brooklyn’s Finest and according to many the greatest MC’s of all time. The Notorious Big was Bad Boy’s flagship artist. From the beginning of his early verses on the "Flava In Ya Ear Remix" by Craig Mack and "Real Love" by Mary J. Blige, it was clear to the Hip Hop world that a new king had been crowned. Biggie solidified his position with his classic 1994 debut Ready To Die.

• Through the combination of Sean Comb’s powerful production and B.I.G's vivid rhymes, the disc brought Bad Boy Records to the forefront of east coast hip-hop, and went on to sell over four million copies.

• Tragically, this superstar's life was cut short in 1997 when he fell victim to a shooting. Soon after, his classic second LP, a double album entitled Life After Death was released featuring the smash hits "Hypnotized", and "Mo' Money Mo' Problems" and is considered by many to be the greatest Hip Hop album of all time. The album is a master piece as Frank White crafted an unforgettable track list from start to finish and went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.

• Since his passing BIG has lived on through his posthumous releases, Born Again and the highly anticipated album, The Notorious BIG, Duets: The Final Chapter

• The album is duets with Biggie and some of today’s greatest mc’s and vocalists - including Bob Marley, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Nas and Ludacris, among others.



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