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The Notorious B.I.G. Album: “Duets: The Final Chapter [Clean]”
Album Information : |
Title: |
Duets: The Final Chapter [Clean] |
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Release Date:2005-12-19
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Type:Unknown
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Genre:Hip-Hop/Rap, East Coast Rap, Mainstream Rap
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Label:Bad Boy
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Explicit Lyrics:Yes
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UPC:075678388668
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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. [A clean version of the disc was also made available.] ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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