Biggie was gone. The king of New York had been dead for over two years when Born Again hit the shelves in December 1999. It was a weird time for hip-hop. The shiny suit era was in full swing, but the shadow of Christopher Wallace loomed over everything.
People wanted more Biggie Smalls.
But there was a problem. Unlike 2Pac, who seemingly recorded ten songs a day and left behind a vault deeper than a gold mine, Biggie was meticulous. He didn't just "leave" hundreds of finished tracks. He was a perfectionist who wrote in his head.
So, when Puff Daddy (now Diddy) and Bad Boy Records announced the Biggie Smalls Born Again album, the excitement was mixed with a healthy dose of skepticism. Was this a genuine tribute or a high-level cash grab?
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Honestly, it depends on who you ask and which track you’re playing.
The Franken-Album Formula
To make this record happen, the producers had to get creative. They took early, often rare verses from Biggie's pre-fame days—think "Party and Bullshit" era or demo tapes—and stripped them of their original beats. Then, they dropped those vocals onto shiny, late-90s production.
Then came the guests.
It felt like everyone who was anyone in 1999 wanted a piece. You had Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and even the Cash Money Millionaires. On one hand, hearing Biggie trade bars with a prime Marshall Mathers on "Dead Wrong" was a dream come true. On the other, hearing him alongside artists he never met sometimes felt... off.
It was a sonic collage.
What Actually Worked (and What Didn't)
"Dead Wrong" is the undisputed heavyweight champion of this album. That beat? Mean. The Eminem verse? Absolute peak Slim Shady. It’s one of the few moments where the "new" production actually matched the intensity of Biggie’s raw lyricism.
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Then you have "Rap Phenomenon." DJ Premier on the beat. Method Man and Redman on the features. This felt authentic. It felt like something Biggie would have actually wanted to do.
But then there are tracks like "Hope You Niggas Sleep."
Don't get me wrong, it's a banger. Hearing the Big Tymers and the Hot Boys with Biggie is a trip. But it’s also the moment where you realize you’re listening to a marketing strategy. Biggie was the ultimate New York storyteller; placing him in the middle of the "Bling Bling" movement felt like a forced marriage.
The Controversy of Posthumous Ethics
Fans are still split on the Biggie Smalls Born Again album today. Many critics at the time, including those at Rolling Stone and The Source, gave it mixed reviews. They called it "ghoulish."
Is it exploitation to take a dead man's voice and put it on a beat he never heard?
Lil' Cease actually mentioned in a 2013 interview with XXL that Biggie had the title "Born Again" in his head before he passed. He supposedly had a three-album plan: Ready to Die, Life After Death, and then Born Again. This gives the project some much-needed legitimacy, but it doesn't change the fact that the actual content was assembled by a committee.
Why the Sales Numbers Matter
Despite the internal debate among hip-hop purists, the public voted with their wallets.
- Chart Debut: It hit #1 on the Billboard 200.
- First Week Sales: Nearly 485,000 copies sold.
- Certification: It went Double Platinum (2x Platinum) by January 2000.
Those are massive numbers. It proved that the world wasn't ready to let go of The Notorious B.I.G. Even a "Frankenstein" version of Biggie was better than most rappers' best work.
Breaking Down the Production
The list of producers on this thing is a time capsule of the industry. You had Timbaland, Mannie Fresh, DJ Premier, and Clark Kent.
It’s an expensive-sounding record.
One of the weirdest highlights is "Big Booty Hoes" featuring Too $hort. It’s basically a remix of an old underground Biggie track, but with 1999's high-gloss finish. It's fun, sure, but it lacks the grit of the original 1993-1994 recordings.
And then there's the "Ms. Wallace" outro. Hearing Voletta Wallace talk about her son is heartbreaking. It grounds the album. It reminds you that underneath the platinum plaques and the star-studded features, there was a mother who lost her only child.
The Legacy of the Biggie Smalls Born Again Album
This album set the blueprint for how labels handle dead superstars. Without Born Again, we probably don't get the endless stream of posthumous 2Pac or Pop Smoke albums. It showed that you could take a handful of verses and turn them into a multi-platinum event.
Is it a "classic"?
Probably not in the way Ready to Die is a classic. It’s too inconsistent. It’s a compilation masquerading as a studio album. But it contains some of Biggie's most ferocious lyricism that might have otherwise stayed buried in some dusty basement tape.
If you’re a completionist, you have to own it. If you’re a casual fan, you probably only need three or four tracks on your playlist.
How to Revisit the Album Today
If you want to truly appreciate what happened here, don't just stream the hits. Do this instead:
- Listen to "Dead Wrong" followed by the original demo version. You’ll see how much the production changed the vibe of Biggie's flow.
- Check out the "Rap Phenomenon" video. It’s a masterclass in 90s visual aesthetics.
- Read the liner notes. See who was involved. It’s a "who's who" of the Golden Era.
- Compare it to "Duets: The Final Chapter". You’ll quickly realize that Born Again is actually much, much better than the later posthumous attempts.
Biggie’s voice was an instrument. Even when the "band" behind him was assembled long after he left the stage, that instrument still sounded better than almost anything else on the radio. Born Again isn't perfect, but it’s a fascinating look at a legend being kept alive by any means necessary.