producers: dj premier, ron browz, ron g, pete rock, shomari, mike heron, ysae, lord finesse, show

guests: feat. tupac shakur, stan spit, a.g. & miss jones, fat joe, kool g rap, big daddy kane, sadat x & guru, o.c., remy martin

There has been a quiet movement of heartfelt events, that showed the world how sorely missed Big L is. While others got the glitter and gold attention, he got R.I.P. mentionings, that were much more honest, than all the pages that were done in 'on the way to be forgotten' respect, but ever so prominently with the knowledge that it will help to sell one's product. The cries were quiet, but they rang truer than anything else. And all those that did care about what happened, without a shiny bandwagon passing by, knew that every small piece of the puzzle was leading the way to make Big L a legend. Keeping the legacy alive. That's why Gang Starr did "Full Clip". That's why DJ Premier collaged the intro. Why Lord Finesse is asking the people to put the 'L' up. These are friends that mourn.

However, as touching the voice samples at the beginning of "The Big Picture (Intro)" are, it's Big that takes this Premo beat over the top, with his distinctive rhyme style, that's saturated with punchlines. Still, there's a feeling of overkill, when L's most famous track "Ebonics" is following next. This track does not need any introduction, as it's well known, and featured on several other records. Maybe too known and featured on too many other records for it's own good though. Another known track comes in next: "Size 'Em Up". And L does, what L does best, when he laces us with hard hitting lines like "and if a bitch don't like me she must like women / every time I come around you see your wife grinning / don't be mad 'cause your career's in the ninth inning" and he continues "niggas wanna be L, ladies wanna see L / if I go to jail you'll wear a shirt saying: free L".

Finally there's an all new track, going by the name of "Deadly Combination", and surprisingly enough, Tupac is also lending his voice to this track. Ron G hooked up a solid beat for these two deceased MC's, and the track seems to be quite proper, as 'Pac even mentions the title, and so probably on the 'answering message cough' level, like too much other stuff that always suddenly surfaces, when an MC's gone. Next up is "'98 Freestyle" from the Stretch Armstrong Show. While L starts slow, he suddenly gets into the vibe, rhyming: "fucking punk, you ain't a leader. What? nobody followed you / you was never shit, your mother shoulda swallowed you". He continues with "I'm far from broke, got enough bread / and mad hoes, ask Beavis I get nothing but head / my game is, vicious and cool / fucking chicks is a rule / if my girl think I'm loyal then that bitch is a fool / how come, you can listen to my first album / and tell where a lot of niggas got they whole style from?". Unfortunately L also spits some rhymes heard on other tracks, what again gives us the feeling of overkill.

You also wonder why exactly Miss Jones had to be on the weakly Pete Rock produced "Holdin' It Down", as she gives a rather annoying feel to the track, featuring the rugged voiced Stan Spit and A.G. While the first seems to be a mixture between L and another Harlem dude: Mase, A.G. does also not match up to his usual tightness, only going "I see the haters sweating shorty, but I dug that / she put my nut sack back where her lungs at". And so it's L that takes away the crown with "L is rap's most livest cat / I'm getting stacks while you asking people: Do you want fries with that?". The Ron Brown produced "The Heist" also surfaced on a 12", as did the L and Fat Joe collaboration "The Enemy". While "The Heist" grabs your attention with a storyline, on "The Enemy", it has to be Premo's dope beat, along with the po-po watching rhymes.

Kool G Rap is teamed up with L on "Fall Back". This Queens legend is spitting his usual violent Mafia wordplay, while L does some brand name mentioning, what is a rather waste of his talent. The Shomari beat is unusually uptempo, and works in a strange way. But "Flamboyant", with a Mike Heron beat, and Switzerland's transplant DJ Sebb scratches, again gets our props with the beat being dope, and L having the chance to let his wildness go free, with his usual violent and braggadocios rhymes. Showing his story telling skills again, "Casualties Of A Dice Game", is a tale of what can happen, when you 'gamble with snakes'. Being teamed with another legend (Big Daddy Kane) and another Premo beat, "Platinum Plus" promises to be off the snowman, but is not even remotely, as the beat is a left over offering, and the MC's don't find much to talk about. The clubs are submitted to with "Who You Slidin' Wit", a strange Pete Rock offering, with now nice Stan Spit on the track too. The collaboration are kept coming, with Sadat X and Guru lending their verses to "Games", that fails to even be remotely appealing with such a desperately trying to be clubby beat.

Now the D.I.T.C. is taking over with Lord Finesse doing the beat for "The Heist Revisited" and Show doing the beat for "The Triboro", that features O.C., Fat Joe and affiliate Remy Martin. This is also the last cut on here, and again takes up the energy with a hard beat. Still, there's too much wrong with this album, while there's still enough right. Big L, without a doubt and no R.I.P. bonus was very nice behind the mic. He had a monstrously dope talent for punchlines. Unfortunately, he was misguided with spitting about violent happenings, that didn't mirror his real life, as he didn't even have a police file. Still, this album was done with him in mind, and with what he'd most likely would have done and approved. As such it's a solid record, that holds more weight than many of the other posthumous records out there. It does not live up to L's talent, but that's understandable, considering that only few of these albums ever reached a finished status while L was still able to give his input.