Duets: The Final Chapter
Duets: The Final Chapter (sometimes referred as The Biggie Duets) is the second posthumous album by late American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., and is a collection of songs featuring appearances of other prominent rappers. The album was released by Bad Boy Records and Atlantic Records in the UK on December 19, 2005, and in the US on December 20 and charted at #3 selling 438,000 copies, beaten by the extremely high sales of Jamie Foxx's "Unpredictable" and Mary J. Blige's "The Breakthrough". In the UK it climbed as high as #13 after the release  of the album's first single "Nasty Girl". It is his second posthumous album that was certified platinum and is said to be his last album of mainly new material. The album featured orchestrated duets between Biggie and a number of popular rappers and singers, much like the previous LP "Born Again" (1999). Biggie's lyrics come from studio pieces of some of the songs he created during his life (his verse from "Notorious Thugs" in "Spit Your Game"), along with some less common lyrics (a freestyle from a promotional tape on "Hustler's Story"), & unreleased material (Biggie's verse  in "Living in Pain" comes from an unreleased song from "Ready to Die" called "House of Pain") all remixed into duets. The package also included a DVD featuring previously unreleased performance footage and several of Biggie's music videos. Critical reception. The album received mixed reviews by critics; Peter Relic of "Rolling Stone" gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, commenting that the title was inaccurate because the major presence of other artists overshadowed The Notorious B.I.G.'s presence. Relic believed that the guest appearances don't add much substance. Andy Kellman of Allmusic rated the album 2.5 out  of 5. Soren Baker of "Los Angeles Times" gave it two stars out of four. However, Steve Jones of "USA Today" gave it all four stars. Method Man, in particular, was a huge critic of the album, stating that "they got niggas on that album Big would have never rocked with, for real. " He also brought up the fact that he was the only other rapper that Biggie chose to have on his debut album Ready to Die. Singles. The album's first single was "Nasty Girl", featuring P Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Avery Storm, Jazze Pha, and Fat Joe . It took Biggie's vocal samples from his song "Nasty Boy". The single climbed to #1 in the UK in its second week of release, where it stayed for 2 weeks and became his first and only #1 single there. The single also helped the album climb to #13 and therefore, "Duets: The Final Chapter" became his highest-charting album to date there, out peaking the #23 position of "Life After Death". In the US, "Nasty Girl" made #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the single also made the top 20 in Australia. The second single from the album  is "Spit Your Game", featuring Twista and Krayzie Bone, a double A-side single with "Hold Ya Head", a duet with Bob Marley, which was originally the b-side to "Nasty Girl" in the UK and Australia. "Spit Your Game" is a remake of the Biggie song "Notorious Thugs". "Hold Ya Head" was produced by Clinton Sparks, and features a sample from the Marley song "Johnny Was". It features Biggie's vocal samples from "Suicidal Thoughts". Track listing. Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Notes "It Has Been Said" "Spit Your Game" "Living the Life" "Living in Pain  I'm With Whateva" "Ultimate Rush" "Beef" "Hold Ya Head"