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Duets: The Final Chapter by
The Notorious B.I.G.!
Critic's Review
Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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.
Critic Blurbs
"...we didn’t need an album for those songs. It would be nice if the supposed best friend of one of hip-hop’s greatest would pay the respect that his legacy deserves…leaving it alone."
- J-23 | Jan 25, 2006
"As Ms. Wallace does the press rounds for Duets, the album that will mark the official end of Biggie's recording career, it's clear that the mother-son bond is as strong as ever."
- Matt Semansky | Jan 12, 2006
Unpredictable stays on top despite a 34 percent sales drop.
Jan 11, 2006
"While heavyweights Eminem and Missy Elliott pay reverent respect, the late Christopher Wallace makes hard-hitting rhymes seem easy. And even though the guests are mostly outclassed by Biggie, the likes of Ludacris and Snoop Dogg bring their A game to the proceeding..."
Jan 5, 2006
"This record has no rhythm or personality-- and truthfully, no reason to exist."
- Sean Fennessey | Jan 4, 2006
"...the 22-track collection offers sensible collaborations worthy of B.I.G.'s legacy."
Jan 3, 2006
"Unintentionally, the album succeeds in showing how ahead of his time B.I.G. was, as the majority of the guests on the album fail to hold a torch to the Brooklyn legend."
- Bill Heinzelman | Jan 3, 2006
"Check out Biggie's new album "Duets" on MTV's The Leak."
Dec 16, 2005