Big L’s Brilliance Versus the Pitfalls of Posthumous Assembly

Released: October 31, 2025

Rest In Peace to Big L🕊️

If anyone read my Mobb Deep – Infamous review, you already know I’m hesitant and reserve hype for posthumous albums. Harlem’s Finest: Return Of The King made me even more worried than the Mobb Deep release, and not because of Big L’s rhymes by any means, but rather because of how well it was going to be assembled and in what way it would be presented in general. Even though I do like this album, it occasionally falls into the issues I have with posthumous albums.

Let’s get some of my annoyances out of the way. I think most can agree a posthumous album that features old, previously heard verses will always feel a bit disappointing. While it’s understandable this far since his death, it sometimes makes you wonder why the album was made. There are a lot of songs with only one verse and a guest, old freestyles, and stuff that can make moments feel like filler, which isn’t what you want. Let alone the Mac feature, which is a song using two posthumous verses from two artists who never met. It just feels odd, and it’s a song I don’t love anyway.

Moving past that and into what’s important: the music we are presented with. Big L is, of course, a legend, and everything on wax here is proof of that. L can’t spit a wack verse, and the beats here are mostly great. “Harlem Universal,” “RHN,” “Fred Samuel Playground,” and “Doo Wop Freestyle” all had the best beats. However, there are a few moments where I wonder if Big L would have picked these beats, though it’s certainly possible. I’m mainly referring to “Forever” and “Giants Tomb.”

It’s great to hear Big L and see him get some shine in 2025. I hope this album helps his family and isn’t just another Mass Appeal Legends Series piece. It already felt weird that they put both Mobb Deep and Big L in one month instead of spacing them out. As much as I like this, there’s a kind of cap on how highly I can hold it up due to the way it was assembled. By no means is this a slight to Big L, and if you’ve never heard him, this is a solid chance to catch some of his work. But even then, I’d push listeners to check these freestyles in their original form.

Standout Tracks: Harlem Universal, U Ain’t Gotta Chance, RHN, & Fred Samuel Playground

Album Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑 (7.5/10)