The Notorious B.I.G. | ||
| Allmusic Biography : In just a few short years, the Notorious B.I.G. went from a Brooklyn street hustler to the savior of East Coast hip-hop to a tragic victim of the culture of violence he depicted so realistically on his records. His all-too-brief odyssey almost immediately took on mythic proportions, especially since his murder followed the shooting of rival Tupac Shakur by only six months. In death, the man also known as Biggie Smalls became a symbol of the senseless violence that plagued inner-city America in the waning years of the 20th century. Whether or not his death was really the result of a much-publicized feud between the East and West Coast hip-hop scenes, it did mark the point where both sides stepped back from a rivalry that had gone too far. Hip-hops self-image would never be quite the same, and neither would public perception. The aura of martyrdom that surrounds the Notorious B.I.G. sometimes threatens to overshadow his musical legacy, which was actually quite significant. Helped by Sean "Puffy" Combs radio-friendly sensibility, Biggie reestablished East Coast raps viability by leading it into the post-Dr. Dre gangsta age. Where fellow East Coasters the Wu-Tang Clan slowly built an underground following, Biggie crashed onto the charts and became a star right out of the box. In the process, he helped Combs Bad Boy label supplant Death Row as the biggest hip-hop imprint in America, and also paved the way to popular success for other East Coast talents like Jay-Z and Nas. Biggie was a gifted storyteller with a sense of humor and an eye for detail, and his narratives about the often violent life of the streets were rarely romanticized; instead, they were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. The general consensus in the rap community was that when his life was cut short, sadly, Biggie was just getting started. The Notorious B.I.G. was born Christopher Wallace on May 21, 1972, and grew up in Brooklyns Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. He was interested in rap from a young age, performing with local groups like the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques, the latter of whom brought the teenaged Wallace his first trip to a recording studio. He had already adopted the name Biggie Smalls at this point, a reference to his ample frame, which would grow to be over six feet tall and nearly 400 pounds. Although he was a good student, he dropped out of high school at age 17 to live his life on the streets. Attracted by the money and flashy style of local drug dealers, he started selling crack for a living. He got busted on a trip to North Carolina and spent nine months in jail, and upon his release, he made some demo recordings on a friends four-track. The resulting tape fell into the hands of Mister Cee, a DJ working with Big Daddy Kane; Cee in turn passed the tape on to hip-hop magazine The Source, which gave Biggie a positive write-up in a regular feature on unsigned artists. Thanks to the publicity, Biggie caught the attention of Uptown Records producer Sean "Puffy" Combs, who signed him immediately. With his new daughter in need of immediate financial support, Biggie kept dealing drugs for a short time until Combs found out and laid down the law. Not long after Biggies signing, Combs split from Uptown to form his own label, Bad Boy, and took Biggie with him. Changing his primary stage name from Biggie Smalls to the Notorious B.I.G., the newly committed rapper made his recording debut on a 1993 remix of Mary J. Bliges single "Real Love." He soon guested on another Blige remix, "Whats the 411?," and contributed his first solo cut, "Party and Bullshit," to the soundtrack of the film Whos the Man? Now with a considerable underground buzz behind him, the Notorious B.I.G. delivered his debut album, Ready to Die, in September 1994. Its lead single, "Juicy," went gold, and the follow-up smash, "Big Poppa," achieved platinum sales and went Top Ten on the pop and R&B; charts. Biggies third single, "One More Chance," tied Michael Jacksons "Scream" for the highest debut ever on the pop charts; it entered at number five en route to an eventual peak at number two, and went all the way to number one on the R&B; side. By the time the dust settled, Ready to Die had sold over four million copies and turned the Notorious B.I.G. into a hip-hop sensation -- the first major star the East Coast had produced since the rise of Dr. Dres West Coast G-funk. Not long after Ready to Die was released, Biggie married R&B; singer and Bad Boy labelmate Faith Evans. In November 1994, West Coast gangsta star Tupac Shakur was shot several times in the lobby of a New York recording studio and robbed of thousands of dollars in jewelry. Shakur survived and accused Combs and his onetime friend Biggie of planning the attack, a charge both of them fervently denied. The ill will gradually snowballed into a heated rivalry between West and East Coast camps, with upstart Bad Boy now challenging Suge Knights Death Row empire for hip-hop supremacy. Meanwhile, Biggie turned his energies elsewhere. He shepherded the career of Junior M.A.F.I.A., a group consisting of some of his childhood rap partners, and guested on their singles "Players Anthem" and "Get Money." He also boosted several singles by his labelmates, such as Totals "Cant You See" and 112s "Only You," and worked with superstars like Michael Jackson (HIStory) and R. Kelly ("[You to Be] Happy," from R. Kelly). With the singles from Ready to Die still burning up the airwaves as well, Biggie ended 1995 as not only the top-selling rap artist, but also the biggest solo male act on both the pop and R&B; charts. He also ran into trouble with the law on more than one occasion. A concert promoter accused Biggie and members of his entourage of assaulting him when he refused to pay the promised fee after a concert cancellation. Later in the year, Biggie pled guilty to criminal mischief after attacking two harassing autograph seekers with a baseball bat. The year 1996 was even more tumultuous. More legal problems ensued after police found marijuana and weapons in a raid on Biggies home in Teaneck, New Jersey. Meanwhile, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil Kim released her first solo album under Biggies direction, and the two made little effort to disguise their concurrent love affair. 2Pac, still nursing a grudge against Biggie and Combs, recorded a vicious slam on the East Coast scene called "Hit Em Up," in which he taunted Biggie about having slept with Faith Evans (who was by now estranged from her husband). What was more, during the recording sessions for Biggies second album, he suffered rather serious injuries in a car accident and was confined to a wheelchair for a time. Finally, in September 1996, Tupac Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas strip. Given their very public feud, it didnt take long for rumors of Biggies involvement to start swirling, although none were substantiated. Biggie was also criticized for not attending an anti-violence hip-hop summit held in Harlem in the wake of Shakurs death. Observers hoped that Shakurs murder would serve as a wake-up call for gangsta rap in general, that on-record boasting had gotten out of hand and spilled into reality. Sadly, it would take another tragedy to drive that point home. In the early morning hours of March 9, 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was leaving a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, thrown by Vibe magazine in celebration of the Soul Train Music Awards. He sat in the passenger side of his SUV, with his bodyguard in the drivers seat and Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil Cease in the back. According to most witnesses, another vehicle pulled up on the right side of the SUV while it was stopped at a red light, and six to ten shots were fired. Biggies bodyguard rushed him to the nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but it was already too late. As much as Shakur was mourned, Biggies death was perhaps even more shocking; it meant that Shakurs death was not an isolated incident, and that hip-hops highest-profile talents might be caught in the middle of an escalating war. Naturally, speculation ran rampant that Biggies killers were retaliating for Shakurs death, and since the case remains unsolved, the world may never know for sure. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the release of the Notorious B.I.G.s second album went ahead as planned at the end of March. The eerily titled Life After Death was a sprawling, guest-laden double-disc set that seemed designed to compete with 2Pacs All Eyez on Me in terms of ambition and epic scope. Unsurprisingly, it entered the charts at number one, selling nearly 700,000 copies in its first week of release and spending a total of four weeks on top. The first single, "Hypnotize," went platinum and hit number one on the pop chart, and its follow-up, "Mo Money Mo Problems," duplicated both feats, making the Notorious B.I.G. the first artist ever to score two posthumous number one hits. A third single, "Skys the Limit," went gold, and Life After Death was certified ten times platinum approximately two years after its release. Plus, Combs -- now rechristened Puff Daddy -- and Faith Evans scored one of 1997s biggest singles with their tribute, "Ill Be Missing You." In 1999, an album of previously unreleased B.I.G. material, Born Again, was released and entered the charts at number one. It eventually went double platinum. Six years later, Duets: The Final Chapter (studio scraps paired with new verses from several MCs and vocalists) surfaced and reached number three on the album chart. In the years following Christopher Wallaces death, little official progress was made in the LAPDs murder investigation, and it began to look as if the responsible parties would never be brought to justice. The 2Pac retaliation theory still holds sway in many quarters, and it has also been speculated that members of the Crips gang murdered Wallace in a dispute over money owed for security services. In an article for Rolling Stone, and later a full book titled Labyrinth, journalist Randall Sullivan argued that Suge Knight hired onetime LAPD officer David Mack -- a convicted bank robber with ties to the Bloods -- to arrange a hit on Wallace, and that the gunman was a hitman and mortgage broker named Amir Muhammad. Sullivan further argued that when it became clear how many corrupt LAPD officers were involved with Death Row Records, the department hushed up as much as it could and all but abandoned detective Russell Pooles investigation recommendations. Documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield used Labyrinth as a basis for 2002s Biggie and Tupac, which featured interviews with Poole and Knight, among others. In April 2002, Faith Evans and Voletta Wallace (Biggies mother) filed a civil suit against the LAPD alleging wrongful death, among other charges. In September of that year, the Los Angeles Times published a report alleging that the Notorious B.I.G. had paid members of the Crips one million dollars to murder 2Pac, and even supplied the gun used. Several of Biggies relatives and friends stepped forward to say that the rapper had been recording in New Jersey, not masterminding a hit in Las Vegas; the report was also roundly criticized in the hip-hop community, which was anxious to avoid reopening old wounds. Outside legal matters, the B.I.G. legacy continued to be burnished with the 2007 compilation Greatest Hits, the 2009 biopic Notorious, and 2017s The King & I. The third posthumous duets album, The King & I was co-credited to Evans, whose new vocals were combined with a mix of familiar and previously unreleased verses from Biggie. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 12 Title: Party and Bullshit Released: 1993 Tracks: 5 Duration: 17:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Party and Bullshit (radio) (03:35) 2 Party and Bullshit (album) (03:38) 3 Party and Bullshit (instrumental) (03:34) 4 Party and Bullshit (club dirty) (03:38) 5 Party and Bullshit (dirty instrumental) (03:31) |
 | Album: 2 of 12 Title: Ready to Die Released: 1994-09-13 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:16:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Intro (03:23) 2 Things Done Changed (03:57) 3 Gimme the Loot (04:45) 4 Machine Gun Funk (04:15) 5 Warning (03:40) 6 Ready to Die (04:24) 7 One More Chance (04:43) 8 Fuck Me (interlude) (01:31) 9 The What (03:57) 10 Juicy (05:02) 11 Everyday Struggle (05:19) 12 Me & My Bitch (04:00) 13 Big Poppa (04:11) 14 Respect (05:21) 15 Friend of Mine (03:28) 16 Unbelievable (03:43) 17 Suicidal Thoughts (02:50) 18 Who Shot Ya (05:19) 19 Just Playing (Dreams) (02:43) |
| Ready to Die : Allmusic album Review : The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star, and vaulted Sean "Puffy" Combs Bad Boy label into the spotlight as well. Today its recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded, and thats mostly due to Biggies skill as a storyteller. His raps are easy to understand, but his skills are hardly lacking -- he has a loose, easy flow and a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession. Hes blessed with a flair for the dramatic, and slips in and out of different contradictory characters with ease. Yet, no matter how much he heightens things for effect, its always easy to see elements of Biggie in his narrators and of his own experience in the details; everything is firmly rooted in reality, but plays like scenes from a movie. A sense of doom pervades his most involved stories: fierce bandits ("Gimme the Loot"), a hustlers beloved girlfriend ("Me & My Bitch"), and robbers out for Biggies newfound riches ("Warning") all die in hails of gunfire. The album is also sprinkled with reflections on the soul-draining bleakness of the streets -- "Things Done Changed," "Ready to Die," and "Everyday Struggle" are powerfully affecting in their confusion and despair. Not everything is so dark, though; Combs production collaborations result in some upbeat, commercial moments, and typically cop from recognizable hits: the Jackson 5s "I Want You Back" on the graphic sex rap "One More Chance," Mtumes "Juicy Fruit" on the rags-to-riches chronicle "Juicy," and the Isley Brothers "Between the Sheets" on the overweight-lover anthem "Big Poppa." Producer Easy Mo Bees deliberate beats do get a little samey, but it hardly matters: this is Biggies show, and by the time "Suicidal Thoughts" closes the album on a heartbreaking note, its clear why he was so revered even prior to his death. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 12 Title: Who Shot Ya? / Warning Released: 1995-02-20 Tracks: 4 Duration: 19:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Who Shot Ya? (club mix) (05:20) 2 Who Shot Ya? (instrumental) (05:10) 3 Who Shot Ya? (radio edit) (05:20) 4 Warning (club mix) (03:40) |
 | Album: 4 of 12 Title: Life After Death Released: 1997-03-25 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:49:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Life After Death (intro) (01:39) 2 Somebody’s Gotta Die (04:26) 3 Hypnotize (03:50) 4 Kick In the Door (04:46) 5 Fuck You Tonight (05:45) 6 Last Day (04:19) 7 I Love the Dough (05:11) 8 What’s Beef? (05:15) 9 B.I.G. (interlude) (00:48) 10 Mo Money Mo Problems (04:17) 11 Niggas Bleed (04:51) 12 I Got a Story to Tell (04:41) 1 Notorious Thugs (06:07) 2 Miss U (04:59) 3 Another (04:15) 4 Going Back to Cali (05:07) 5 Ten Crack Commandments (03:24) 6 Playa Hater (03:57) 7 Nasty Boy (05:33) 8 Sky’s the Limit (05:29) 9 The World Is Filled… (04:54) 10 My Downfall (05:26) 11 Long Kiss Goodnight (05:18) 12 You’re Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You) (04:56) |
| Life After Death : Allmusic album Review : It may have taken the Notorious B.I.G. a few years to follow up his milestone debut, Ready to Die (1994), with another album, but when he did return with Life After Death in 1997, he did so in a huge way. The ambitious album, intended as somewhat of a sequel to Ready to Die, picking up where its predecessor left off, sprawled across the span of two discs, each filled with music, 24 songs in all. Youd expect any album this sprawling to include some lackluster filler. Thats not really the case with Life After Death, however. Like 2Pacs All Eyez on Me from a year before, an obvious influence, Biggies album made extensive use of various producers -- DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Clark Kent, RZA, and more of New Yorks finest -- resulting in a diverse, eclectic array of songs. Plus, Biggie similarly brought in various guest rappers -- Jay-Z, Lil Kim, Bone Thugs, Too $hort, L.O.X., Mase -- a few vocalists -- R. Kelly, Angela Winbush, 112 -- and, of course, Puff Daddy, who is much more omnipresent here than on Ready to Die, where he mostly remained on the sidelines. Its perhaps Puffy himself to thank for this albums biggest hits: "Mo Money Mo Problems," "Hypnotize," "Skys the Limit," three songs that definitely owe much to his pop touch. Theres still plenty of the gangsta tales on Life After Death that won Biggie so much admiration on the streets, but its the pop-laced songs that stand out as highlights. In hindsight, Biggie couldnt have ended his career with a more fitting album than Life After Death. Over the course of only two albums, he achieved every success imaginable, perhaps none greater than this unabashedly over-reaching success. Ready to Die is a milestone album, for sure, but its nowhere near as extravagant or epic as Life After Death. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 12 Title: Stop the Gunfight Released: 1997-04-22 Tracks: 14 Duration: 52:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Stop the Gunfight (03:46) 2 Can I Get Your Number (04:31) 3 Standtall (03:08) 4 5th Ward (03:52) 5 Dont Drink and Drive (04:35) 6 History (03:31) 7 Be the Realist (03:17) 8 Brick House (05:20) 9 Monkey See Monkey Do (04:30) 10 Swing That Axx (03:19) 11 When I Come Down (02:51) 12 Stop the Gunfight (R&B version) (02:52) 13 Recognize (03:51) 14 Stone Jam (03:00) |
 | Album: 6 of 12 Title: Born Again Released: 1999-12-07 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:15:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Born Again (intro) (01:28) 2 Notorious B.I.G. (03:11) 3 Dead Wrong (04:57) 4 Hope You Niggas Sleep (04:10) 5 Dangerous MC’s (05:15) 6 Biggie (05:22) 7 Niggas (03:48) 8 Big Booty Hoes (03:27) 9 Would You Die for Me (03:38) 10 Come On (04:35) 11 Rap Phenomenon (04:02) 12 Let Me Get Down (04:33) 13 Tonight (06:08) 14 If I Should Die Before I Wake (04:51) 15 Who Shot Ya (03:48) 16 Can I Get Witcha (03:33) 17 I Really Want to Show You (05:09) 18 Ms. Wallace (outro) (03:21) |
| Born Again : Allmusic album Review : Considering it was released almost three years after his death, itd be easy to dismiss the Notorious B.I.G.s third album as a cash-in or merely a tribute album, similar to Puff Daddys No Way Out. Fact is, Born Again includes a lot of previously unheard material from Biggie, and guest spots from Busta Rhymes, Redman and Method Man, Missy Elliott, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg work better than could be expected. Its difficult to say where all this material came from, but its probable that the productions were simply arranged around old rhymes from Biggie himself. On most tracks, he takes a spotlight and then the guest rapper comes in. Thanks to executive producer Puff Daddy, itd be easy to fool those not into hip-hop that Notorious B.I.G. was still alive. The outro, a spoken-word reminiscence by Voletta Wallace (his mother) is a bit touching but also a bit ghoulish. For B.I.G. fans, this is another must-have, but for anyone who thinks the rap industry routinely goes too far in pursuit of the almighty dollar, Born Again is yet further proof. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 12 Title: Duets: The Final Chapter Released: 2005-12-19 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:23:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 B.I.G. Live in Jamaica (intro) (01:23) 2 It Has Been Said (03:19) 3 Spit Your Game (04:10) 4 Whatchu Want (03:55) 5 Get Your Grind On (05:25) 6 Living the Life (04:29) 7 The Greatest Rapper (interlude) (00:08) 8 1970 Somethin (03:26) 9 Nasty Girl (04:46) 10 Living in Pain (04:02) 11 Im With Whateva (02:34) 12 Beef (04:58) 13 My Dad (interlude) (00:11) 14 Hustlers Story (05:48) 15 Breakin Old Habits (04:37) 16 Ultimate Rush (03:48) 17 Mi Casa (04:13) 18 Little Homie (interlude) (00:34) 19 Hold Ya Head (02:46) 20 Just a Memory (04:31) 21 Wake Up (03:36) 22 Love Is Everlasting (outro) (00:57) 1 Want That Old Thing Back (05:03) 2 Running Your Mouth (04:35) |
| Duets: The Final Chapter : Allmusic album 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. Heres Duets: The Final Chapter, released just before Christmas Day 2005, following 1999s 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, Biggies presence is no more prominent than a handclap or a snare hit. Check the lead track "It Has Been Said," where hes 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 its 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 Korns Jonathan Davis put it best when he told Billboard about the project: "Its f*ckin weird to be doing a song with someone who is deceased!" His description applies to what its like to listen to the disc. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 12 Title: Greatest Hits Released: 2007-03-05 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:16:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Juicy (05:02) 2 Big Poppa (04:11) 3 Hypnotize (03:50) 4 One More Chance / Stay With Me (remix) (04:28) 5 Get Money (04:34) 6 Warning (03:40) 7 Dead Wrong (04:57) 8 Who Shot Ya (05:19) 9 Ten Crack Commandments (03:24) 10 Notorious Thugs (06:07) 11 Notorious B.I.G. (03:11) 12 Nasty Girl (04:46) 13 Unbelievable (03:40) 14 Niggas Bleed (04:51) 15 Running Your Mouth (03:33) 16 Want That Old Thing Back (04:58) 17 Fuck You Tonight (05:45) |
| Greatest Hits : Allmusic album Review : Released to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Notorious B.I.G.s death, Greatest Hits places the two "collaborate with a dead legend" albums -- 1999s Born Again and 2005s Duets: The Final Chapter -- on equal ground with Ready to Die and Life After Death, the two landmark albums Biggie released while he was on the planet. Anthologizing one of the most compelling figures in hip-hop history seems like a right thing to do. Basing such a release around four albums that are greatly divided between essential and inessential, however, amounts to something of a mess. Two obscurities are used where it wouldve made much more sense to select "Mo Money, Mo Problems" and "Going Back to Cali," two of the biggest hits not included on this disc, and its really off-balance to include three tracks from Born Again when only one more is pulled directly from Ready to Die. Longtime fans need not go near this; the same goes for beginners, who should reach for Ready to Die. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 12 Title: Notorious Released: 2009-01-13 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:07:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Notorious Thugs (06:07) 2 Hypnotize (03:50) 3 Notorious B.I.G. (03:11) 4 Juicy (05:02) 5 Party and Bullshit (03:37) 6 Warning (03:40) 7 One More Chance / Stay With Me (remix) (04:28) 8 Brooklyn Go Hard (03:58) 9 Letter to B.I.G. (04:00) 10 Kick in the Door (03:34) 11 Whats Beef? (05:12) 12 The World Is Filled... (04:55) 13 One More Chance / The Legacy (remix) (04:30) 14 The Notorious Theme (02:07) 15 Microphone Murderer (demo) (02:04) 16 Guaranteed Raw (demo) (03:41) 17 Love No Ho (original demo version) (03:55) |
 | Album: 10 of 12 Title: Remixed Released: 2012-07-26 Tracks: 9 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Juicy (?) 2 Machine Gun Funk (?) 3 Going Back to Cali (?) 4 Big Poppa (?) 5 Niggas (?) 6 One More Chance (?) 7 The What (?) 8 Niggas Bleed (?) 9 Mo Money, Mo Problems (?) |
 | Album: 11 of 12 Title: Ready for Xmas Released: 2012-12-19 Tracks: 15 Duration: 33:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:38) 2 Naughty or Nice (02:03) 3 Freaky Santa (skit) (00:40) 4 Home for Xmas (Bricks) (04:20) 5 Thinking Gifts (02:20) 6 Keep the Change (skit) (00:50) 7 Macaulay Flow (Niggaz) (02:47) 8 What Did I Want (02:04) 9 BIG Santa (03:29) 10 In the Ghetto (skit) (00:24) 11 Come On! (04:03) 12 Juicy Xmas (03:35) 13 Snow Dreams (02:34) 14 Dear Santa (skit) (00:33) 15 Thoughts Under the Xmas Tree (02:50) |
 | Album: 12 of 12 Title: The King & I Released: 2017-05-19 Tracks: 27 Duration: 1:18:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 A Billion (00:59) 2 Legacy (04:11) 3 Beautiful (interlude) (00:30) 4 Cant Get Enough (03:53) 5 Dont Test Me (03:48) 6 Big / Faye (interlude) (01:28) 7 Tryna Get By (03:46) 8 The Reason (03:38) 9 I Dont Want It (03:29) 10 I Got Married (interlude) (02:26) 11 Ten Wife Commandments (03:47) 12 We Just Clicked (interlude) (01:05) 13 A Little Romance (03:04) 14 The Baddest (interlude) (00:43) 15 Fool for You (04:22) 16 Crazy (interlude) (01:13) 17 Got Me Twisted (02:54) 18 When We Party (03:27) 19 Somebody Knows (05:15) 20 Take Me There (04:01) 21 One in the Same (03:25) 22 I Wish (interlude) (01:27) 23 Lovin You for Life (03:49) 24 NYC (03:29) 25 It Was Worth It (01:58) 26 Body Language (03:19) 27 My B (03:15) |
| The King & I : Allmusic album Review : Its co-billing notwithstanding, The King & I is more a Faith Evans release that frequently samples the voice of the Notorious B.I.G. than it is the third posthumous B.I.G. album. Its a sprawling nostalgia trip of sorts through the duos relationship, one that even incorporates an interlude where Jamal Woolard reprises his lead Notorious role to re-create a lighthearted early moment in Evans and Biggies courtship. Elsewhere, Biggies mother Voletta, credited as co-executive producer with Evans and Biggies daughter and son, recalls interactions with her late son and daughter-in-law. The likes of old associates such as Lil Kim, Lil Cease, Sheek Louch, Jadakiss, and Busta Rhymes also contribute verses. Biggie is heard throughout, most frequently with lines so well-known that his presence ranges from baffling at best to confounding at worst. There are some clever applications, such as the use of a Biggie verse from an obscure Aaron Hall track, heard on the slick Just Blaze collaboration "The Reason." Some of these songs, however, would be much more effective without the late rappers voice. Take the otherwise fine "Somebody Knows," where Evans sings about the mystery regarding Biggies murder; Biggie himself punctuates a bunch of lines with "Who shot ya?," as if hes addressing his lifeless body. The recycling of parts from "Who Shot Ya?," a historic moment in hip-hop -- a track 2Pac believed was directed at him -- is bizarre enough, but the context into which theyre dropped here lacks sense. The constant recycling, along with the quantity and variety of other voices, detract from some of Evans best, most impassioned performances, which are matched with some solid work from a roster of co-producers that includes Salaam Remi, James Poyser, and DJ Premier. | ||