Considering it was released almost three years after his death, it'd be easy to dismiss
the Notorious B.I.G.
's third album as a cash-in or merely a tribute album, similar to
Puff Daddy
's
No Way Out
. Fact is,
Born Again
includes a lot of previously unheard material from
Biggie
, and guest spots from
Busta Rhymes
,
Redman
and
Method Man
Missy Elliott
Ice Cube
, and
Snoop Dogg
work better than could be expected. It's difficult to say where all this material came from, but it's probable that the productions were simply arranged around old rhymes from
himself. On most tracks, he takes a spotlight and then the guest rapper comes in. Thanks to executive producer
, it'd be easy to fool those not into
hip-hop
that
Notorious B.I.G.
was still alive. The outro, a spoken-word reminiscence by
Voletta Wallace
(his mother) is a bit touching but also a bit ghoulish. For
B.I.G.
fans, this is another must-have, but for anyone who thinks the
rap
industry routinely goes too far in pursuit of the almighty dollar,
is yet further proof. ~ Keith Farley