Big L returns to the spotlight this Friday with Harlem’s Finest: Return of the King, a posthumous album featuring JAY-Z, Nas, Mac Miller, Method Man, Joe Budden and Joey Bada$$, a lineup that spans generations of Hip-Hop.
The fifth studio release from the late Harlem MC, who was killed in 1999, arrives Friday (October 31) through Mass Appeal Records. The album combines unreleased verses with new production and guest appearances from both longtime collaborators and younger voices in the genre. This marks the fourth posthumous release from the “Put It On” lyricist, whose influence remains deeply rooted in Hip-Hop circles.
The tracklist comes two weeks after Big L’s estate and Mass Appeal shared the first single from the album, “u aint gotta chance” featuring Nas. His first posthumous album, The Big Picture, dropped over a year after the artist was gunned down during a drive-by shooting in Harlem. In the years after his death, Big L’s estate handled the release of his two other posthumous albums, 139 & Lenox (2010) and The Danger Zone (2011).
Big L’s album is the fifth installment of Mass Appeal’s ‘Legend Has It’ series. It follows other albums from Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Slick Rick, and Mobb Deep. There are two more albums that are still on the way. De La Soul’s 10th studio album Cabin In The Sky, which is a tribute to their fallen member Trugoy The Dove, is set to arrive in November. Meanwhile, Nas & DJ PREMIER will close out the series with their long-awaited joint album in December.
“Harlem’s Finest: Return of the King” will be available on all major streaming platforms starting Friday, October 31.
