B.I.G. Mixtape

stolen review from thehiphopost.com..

"Cookin Soul is a trio of Spanish (Yes, "Spanish" like from Spain) producers that you might remember from Ojaysis, a Jay Z/Oasis mash up released earlier this year. This time Cookin Soul took a few Biggie a cappellas and put them over some halloween-theme beats with features from artists like Eminem, Prodigy, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, and more.

The mixtape opens (After the intro of course), with "Holloween", the Big verse off of "Young G's", an old P Diddy song featuring both him and Jay Z. The beat samples the theme from the movie Halloween which goes well with Biggie's vocal tone. Big had that kind of voice though, you sample the beat from "YMCA" by The Village People and make him sound decent. Nice opener overall, if you listen to this you can pretty much determine the overall sound of the mixtape.

Next is "Lost Boys" ƒ. Lil Wayne which is the "mass appeal track". It's got a big banging organ beat with some various gunshot samples that come in basically whenever the lyrics talk about any kind of violence. Biggie's verse from "Dead Wrong" murders Wayne's shit but that was expected. If you like both artists put it on your car mix.

Then comes "Orphanage" with a feature from 50 Cent. It's got a Big verse off the track "Dangerous MC's". Not one of my favorites of the mixtape, probably just a scheme to be able to say 50 Cent was featured on the mixtape, I don't know. Either way, skip track.

The following track "Sleepwalkers" is ok, nothing great. The production is pretty good and Jay drops a solid verse but it's worth no more than a couple listens at most. The Big verse is off "Niggas" from the Born Again album.

"Exorcist" follows with an Eminem feature and a verse from Big off of "Hold Ya Head". This is a pretty decent track and another one that I think defines or sums up the mixtape as a whole.

Then there is "Gremlins" which stands out from the rest of the tracks of the mixtape. I don't really think it belongs on here. It has a sound and feel that is more upbeat than the rest of the tracks. Maybe it's ok if you are listening to just this one track but it doesn't flow with the theme of the mixtape. Big verse off of "Running Your Mouth".

The same thing goes for the next track"Deep Red" as the one before it. It starts out sounding like it will have the same Halloween sound as some of the tracks before it did but then it breaks into this beat I wouldn't be surprised to hear from any Biggie mash album. Verse off of "Come On".

The album's theme returns with the following track "Nightmare on Elm St". Big's verse from "Suicidal Thoughts" goes well with the beat and Scarface's verse ain't too bad either.

"Dawn of the dead" follows which is Biggie's verse off "The What" over a head-banging beat. Nothing too amazing, basically just a filler track.

"Ghost Of Lil Kim" is Biggie rapping a Lil Kim track called "Queen Bitch" which I am guessing completely or partly created. I like this track because they Cookin Soul turns down the beat a little so Big's voice is mad clear.

The next track on this mixtape is "Thriller" (Big's verse is off of "Nasty Girl"), it was actually an interesting track. What I don't like about it is that they put a slight auto tune effect on Biggie's voice, what is that about? Plus, after his verse, the song finishes as if it was the original Michael Jackson hit which makes it a bit of an awkward listen; I was left waiting for Big to come in with another verse, then the song was over...

Finally, the last track of the mixtape is "Night of the living dead" where Cookin Soul brings together Big L, Pun, and Biggie verses over a slow erie beat. Big's verse is from "Real Niggas", L's verse is from "Flamboyant", and Pun's is from "Leather Face". I liked this track but still am a little confused because Jamie Foxx is listed as a feature on it but I don't hear a peep from him throughout the whole song. Are they predicting Jamie Foxx's death?

Final Words:

This is a good mixtape overall. I like the concept, there was some nice features, and Cookin Soul did a great job with production. It's also a free download so there is no reason not to pick it up."

..my own thoughts - its always good to have a nice B.I.G. mixtape drop, since there are so many out and a majority of them are stupid 16 yr old kids making lame mixtapes and posting them on datpiff, but i gotta give my respect to Dj Whoo Kid on this one, i'm definitely feeling it. too bad i didn't find this before halloween :/ haha...


Notorious B.I.G. - Night Of The Living Dead