Review Summary: Big L leaves a formidable legacy in his last album The Big Picture.
2000's
The Big Picture was reproduced and released the following year of Harlem's emcee Big L's death. Heavyweight emcees Fat Joe, 2Pac, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane among others are featured in Big L's second and last record, and was produced from several producers including DJ Premier, Lord Finesse and Pete Rock.
The Big Picture fails to disappoint fans of Big L's acclaimed debut
Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous with Big L's last and excellent performance.
Big L comes harder than ever in
The Big Picture, providing you with the wittiest and most brilliant tracks and freestyles of his career. His flow can be quick, but never inaudible. He always finds ways to connect his lines with clarity, flow, catchiness, and a vacancy of filler or awkward lines. Big L has a distinct voice that supplements his unique lines which makes Big L stand out even more in the rap scene, especially in contrast with some of his guest emcees who for the most part have very diverse vocal pitches. He preserves his 90's rap style but never lets his performance become stale, boring, or obsolete.
The metaphors and analogies that Big L has made in his work are highly regarded, and
The Big Picture is no exception. You'll be hearing his ingenious comparisons like this throughout the album:
I asked honey her name and she told me Celeste
She had big breasts, honey had me harder than a Spanish test
The originality and diversity doesn't stop at his analogies. Most rappers make their entire album about one subject, using one formula and hardly switching up their style at all. Big L is not like most rappers. From "Ebonics" which is solely composed of Big L explaining a host of slang terms, to the story-like tracks "Casualties of a Dice Game" and "Games", and to "'98 Freestyle",
The Big Picture lacks no variety, keeping this album fresh for long times to come.
The production has been stepped up from "Lifestylez", but it is overdone at some points. It seems like the producers added too much flare when trying to make the tracks stand out, when Big L already succeeded at making every track feel bold and unique. The beats weaved into this album are definitely more interesting than "Lifestylez" and for the most part fit the song, creating a more enjoyable track, but again, sometimes the producers go a little too far when trying to make the beats diverse, resulting in a couple quirky-sounding rhythms. Despite the seldom awkward beats, the production is still strong and can really assist
The Big Picture in sucking you in to it.
Big L does not fail to impress in
The Big Picture, it is only disheartening that we will not be seeing anymore work from one of Harlem's finest emcees. The only thing holding this back from being phenomenal is the minor setbacks of over-production. If you like rap, there is no excuse not to have this.
