Duets: The Final Chapter

Duets: The Final Chapter
Studio album with remixed tracks by The Notorious B.I.G.
Released December 2, 2005
Recorded 1992-1997
(Notorious B.I.G.'s vocals & 2Pac's guest vocals)
2004-2005
(Production, guest vocals, and mixing)
Genre Hip hop
Length 73:30
Label Bad Boy
Producer Eminem, Faith Evans, Swizz Beatz, Jazze Pha, Scott Storch, among others
The Notorious B.I.G. chronology

Born Again
(1999)		 Duets: The Final Chapter
(2005)		 Greatest Hits
(2007)
Singles from Duets: The Final Chapter
  1. "Nasty Girl"
    Released: October 11, 2005
  2. "Spit Your Game"
    Released: February 24, 2006

Duets: The Final Chapter (sometimes referred as The Biggie Duets) is the final posthumous remix/studio album featuring hip hop icon The Notorious B.I.G.. The album was released by Bad Boy Records on December 20, 2005 and charted at #3 selling 438,000 copies, beaten by the extremely high sales of Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable and Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough.[1] In the UK it climbed as high as #13 after the release of the album's first single "Nasty Girl". It is his third posthumous album that went Double-platinum and is said to be his last album of mainly new material.

The album featured orchestrated duets between Biggie and a number of popular rappers and singers, much like the previous LP Born Again (1999). Biggie's lyrics come from studio pieces of some of the songs he created during his life (his verse from "Notorious Thugs" in "Spit Your Game"), along with some less common lyrics (a freestyle from a promotional tape on "Hustler's Story"), & unreleased material (Biggie's verse in "Living in Pain" comes from an unreleased song from Ready to Die called "House of Pain") all remixed into duets. The package also included a DVD featuring previously unreleased performance footage and several of Biggie's music videos.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllHipHop [2]
Allmusic [3]
Entertainment Weekly B+[4]
IGN (7/10)[5]
Jam! [6]
PopMatters [7]
Rolling Stone [8]
Slant Magazine [9]
Stylus Magazine B−[10]
Virgin Media [11]

The album has received mixed to negative reviews by critics; Peter Relic of Rolling Stone gave the album only 2 stars out of 5 and commented that the title was wrong because of the major presence of other artists, not The Notorious B.I.G. Relic also pointed out the appearances by artists who he believed not to contribute much substance.[8] Andy Kellman of Allmusic rated the album 2.5 out of 5.[3] Soren Baker of Los Angeles Times gave it two stars out of four.[12] However, Steve Jones of USA Today gave it all four stars.[13] Method Man in particular was a huge critic of the album, who stated "They got niggas on that album Big would have never rocked with, for real.[14] " He also brought up the fact that he was the only other rapper that Biggie chose to have on his debut album Ready to Die. Eminem, Obie Trice, Faith Evans, Snoop Dogg, Akon, R. Kelly, Fat Joe, Nas, Mary J. Blige, P Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Charlie Wilson, Cheri Dennis, Bobby Valentino, Big Pun, Lil Wayne, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Bob Marley, Scarface, Jay-Z, Clipse, Korn, Krayzie Bone, Ludacris, The Game, Mobb Deep, Slim Thug, T.I., Big Gee, 2Pac and Missy Elliott appear on the album.

Singles

The album's first single was "Nasty Girl", featuring P Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Avery Storm, Jazze Pha and Fat Joe. It took Biggie's vocal samples from his song "Nasty Boy". The single climbed to #1 in the UK in its second week of release, where it stayed for 2 weeks and became his first and only #1 single there. The single also helped the album climb to #13 and therefore, Duets: The Final Chapter became his highest charting album to date there, out peaking the #23 position of Life After Death. In the US, "Nasty Girl" made #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the single also made the top 20 in Australia.

The second single from the album is "Spit Your Game", featuring Twista and Krayzie Bone, a double A-side single with "Hold Ya Head", a duet with Bob Marley, which was originally the b-side to "Nasty Girl" in the UK and Australia. "Spit Your Game" is a remake of the Biggie song "Notorious Thugs". "Hold Ya Head" was produced by Clinton Sparks, and features a sample from the Marley song "Johnny Was". It features Biggie's vocal samples from "Suicidal Thoughts".

Track listing

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "B.I.G. Live in Jamaica (Intro)"  Jeffery "J-Dub" Walker for The Hitmen 1:22
2. "It Has Been Said" (featuring Diddy, Eminem and Obie Trice)Eminem 3:18
3. "Spit Your Game" (featuring Twista, Krayzie Bone and 8Ball & MJG)Swizz Beatz 4:09
4. "Whatchu Want" (The Commission featuring Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G.)Danja 3:54
5. "Get Your Grind On" (featuring Big Pun, Fat Joe and Freeway)Sean Cane and LV for The Hitmen 5:24
6. "Living the Life" (featuring Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Faith Evans, Cheri Dennis and Bobby Valentino)Coptic Sounds 4:28
7. "The Greatest Rapper (Interlude)"    0:08
8. "1970 Somethin'" (featuring The Game and Faith Evans)Dre & Vidal, Static Major 3:25
9. "Nasty Girl" (featuring Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge and Avery Storm)Jazze Pha  
10. "Living in Pain" (featuring 2Pac, Mary J. Blige and Nas)Just Blaze 4:01
11. "I'm With Whateva" (featuring Lil Wayne, Juelz Santana and Jim Jones)Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen 2:33
12. "Beef" (featuring Mobb Deep)Havoc 4:57
13. "My Dad (Interlude)"    0:10
14. "Hustler's Story" (featuring Scarface, Akon and Big Gee of Boyz n da Hood)Jeffrey "J Dub" Walker and Mario Winans for The Hitmen, Reefa, Suga Mike 5:47
15. "Breakin' Old Habits" (featuring T.I. and Slim Thug)Chink Santana 4:36
16. "Ultimate Rush" (featuring Missy Elliott)Scott Storch 3:48
17. "Mi Casa" (featuring R. Kelly and Charlie Wilson)Jeffrey "J Dub" Walker and Mario Winans for The Hitmen, DJ Green Lantern 4:12
18. "Little Homie (Interlude)"    0:34
19. "Hold Ya Head" (featuring Bob Marley)Clinton Sparks 2:45
20. "Just a Memory" (featuring Clipse)Scram Jones 4:30
21. "Wake Up" (featuring Korn)Jonathan Davis, Atticus Ross 3:35
22. "Love Is Everlasting (Outro)"    0:57
Notes/Vocal sample sources
Credited samples

"It Has Been Said"

"Spit Your Game"

"Living the Life"

"Living in Pain"

"I'm With Whateva"

"Ultimate Rush"

"Beef"

"Hold Ya Head"

Songs that did not make the final cut

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] 81
French Albums (SNEP)[18] 35
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 55
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20] 30

[21]

Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[22] 43
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 8
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 13
US Billboard 200[26] 3
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[27] 3

References

  1. ↑ "Blige's 'Breakthrough' Bows At No. 1". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  2. ↑ Heinzelman, Bill "Low-Key" (2006-01-02). "Duets: The Final Chapter". AllHipHop. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kellman, Andy (2005-12-20). "Duets: The Final Chapter - The Notorious B.I.G.". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  4. ↑ Michael Endelman (2005-12-23). "Duets: The Final Chapter Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  5. ↑ Spence D. (2005-12-23). "The Notorious B.I.G. - Duets: The Final Chapter". IGN. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  6. ↑ Mike Bell (2006-01-06). "Album Review: DUETS: THE FINAL CHAPTER". Jam!. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  7. ↑ O'Neil, Tim (2006-01-20). "The Notorious B.I.G.: Duets: The Final Chapter". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Relic, Peter (2006-01-12). "The Notorious B.I.G. - Duets: The Final Chapter". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-05-14. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  9. ↑ Henderson, Eric (2005-12-20). "The Notorious B.I.G.: Duets: The Final Chapter". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  10. ↑ Inskeep, Thomas (2006-02-08). "The Notorious B.I.G. - Duets: The Final Chapter - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  11. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. - DUETS The Final Chapter review". Virgin Media. 2005-12-19. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  12. ↑ Baker, Soren (2005-12-20). "Biggie's gone but not forgotten". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  13. ↑ Jones, Steve (2005-12-20). "The Notorious B.I.G., Duets: The Final Chapter". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  14. ↑ Method Man Artict Biography
  15. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. – Duets: The Final Chapter". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. – Duets: The Final Chapter" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. – Duets: The Final Chapter" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  18. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. – Duets: The Final Chapter". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: {{{date}}}" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  21. ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/121836/products/release/
  22. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. – Duets: The Final Chapter" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  23. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. – Duets: The Final Chapter". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  24. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Notorious B.I.G. | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  26. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for The Notorious B.I.G.. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  27. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for The Notorious B.I.G.. Retrieved October 11, 2013.

External links