Albums Big L - Harlem’s Finest: RISE OF THE FORGOTTEN KING (Discussion Thread)

[Tetris v2.0]

I like this project

The tracklist worried me a bit but I'm surprised with the production and the overall effort seems to have been made with care

A few question marks, I'm not sure who Errol Holden is and how he got on here - maybe there's a connection I'm unaware of

I also think they kinda botched the beat for the classic freestyle with Jay but that's more of a nitpick

The Mac Miller joint makes sense and hopefully will help with the reach of this project

Big Picture still feels like more of a completed album than this but I like it

 

[AMcV'88]

putting this on after listening to Alc/HitBoy, Ransom x Premo and Gunn's albums was like a breath of fresh air.
rappers on sings with actual charisma. L and Gruff sounded lovely and it continued for the next couple songs

then after track 5 this went to the dogs

dull beats that sound like white boys made them, modern hook singers that don't sound right next to L's vocals
clowns like Joe Buddens sound bites being used, just a lot of needless stuff.

them putting Errol and Fergy Baby on here is a good look at least.
Big L was Mac's favorite rapper and him going to the Big L mural his how him and Cam ended up friends. so thats a cute touch.

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Funny seeing the reactions to the Jay freestyle from folks that never heard it

Jay came out strong but sounded out of gas and was actually freestyling the bars towards the end. It's cool to see him like that but Big L was like a marathon runner on there and had a stronger rap skillset at that time

 

[L $ C]

That Mac miller song is beautiful

 

[L $ C]

Loved first 4 tracks

 

[L $ C]

I think it’s dope they put the Joe meth and Mac talking into it. That’s part of hai legacy

 

[dubsmith_nz]

Like some have said, this feels like a really well put together blend mixtape, which in essence is exactly what it is.

This is great for his legacy and to preserve a number of these verses a lot of people wouldn't have heard.

I'm glad this didn't go the Biggie Duets direction in reaching for hits and being too polished.

This is a cool listen and I'll keep it in rotation for sure.

 

[THE 101]

A few question marks, I'm not sure who Errol Holden is and how he got on here - maybe there's a connection I'm unaware of

Albums - Errol Holden – Mulberry Silk Road (executive prod. Roc Marciano) (Discussion Thread)

01. Visvim Vandal 02. Rod Lavers With The Stussy Hoodie 03. Perhaps In The Next 04. Jerry Buss 05. Brazilian Butt Lifts N Puff Lips 06. Live From FCI 07. Allahs Perfection 08. Comanche War Paint 09. Caviar On The Bone Marrow 10. Dip Dip Diver 11. Eugenics

www.thecoli.com

Don't sleep

 

[Ziggiy]

what's with the Joe Budden hate? if he would've spit a verse he'd def be one of the stand out features, mfs love to hate on Joe cuz it's the "popular thing" to do smh, i more than anything would've loved to hear something from him being that it's been 9 years since he laid down anything

No hate it just would’ve been kind of…weird as Joe hasn’t rapped professionally in awhile and he doesn’t have a link to L so him appearing on a freestyle from 99 came off a little bizarre

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

Listened to this once and will never again.

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Albums - Errol Holden – Mulberry Silk Road (executive prod. Roc Marciano) (Discussion Thread)

01. Visvim Vandal 02. Rod Lavers With The Stussy Hoodie 03. Perhaps In The Next 04. Jerry Buss 05. Brazilian Butt Lifts N Puff Lips 06. Live From FCI 07. Allahs Perfection 08. Comanche War Paint 09. Caviar On The Bone Marrow 10. Dip Dip Diver 11. Eugenics

www.thecoli.com

Don't sleep

Dope I'll check it out tonight

 

[DaveyDave]

Yeah just as I thought...there's no shyt you haven't heard before if youre a Big L fan

They never pretended it was all unheard stuff or anything like that. The majority of people aren’t super Big L stans so a lot of this will be new. I like L a lot but I never really dove right into his unreleased material and all the bootlegs and all that

 

[QBN]

Big L's verses from 95-99 absolutely stand the test of time. Dude was sharp, funny, technically precise and had amazing mic presence.

The fact this is more of a mixtape with previously used verses means he really didn't have much unreleased material before he was killed. It is what it is.

My only issue is with the curation and song selection. The last 4 songs on the lp should've been cut, especially the one from 1992.

'92 style of rap is way too dated to release on a 2025 project. The flows were slower, punchlines more predictable etc.

I'll enjoy it for what it is...a mixtape style tribute to one of the nicest emcees outta NY.

Btw, I forgot how often rappers used to say "fakkit" in the '90's

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Btw, I forgot how often rappers used to say "fakkit" in the '90's

Big L in particular seemed to use the word often. Every other verse on here has it somewhere lol

 

[ArchStanton]

Just saw a post on Facebook with like 2000 likes talking about how Nas did this project for the money. The internet was a mistake.