Big L ft: Nas - u aint gotta chance (Single)

Mass Appeal Records are proud to announce details of the forthcoming Big L album, Harlem’s Finest: Return Of The King.

Due out this Halloween, 31st October, the posthumous release celebrates Big L’s lyrical brilliance and features unreleased gems, rare freestyles, remastered classics and more.  New single, u aint gotta chance, featuring Nas has been released in tandem with the announcement.

Harlem’s Finest: Return Of The King is the fifth instalment in Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It… series of records by hip-hop trailblazers, following Slick Rick’s Victory, Raekwon’s The Emperor’s New Clothes, Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele 2 and Mobb Deep’s Infinite, and preceding anticipated new offerings from De La Soul and Nas & DJ Premier.

The album is intended to preserve and elevate Big L's legacy as one of hip-hop’s most gifted lyricists and is the result of Mass Appeal and Big L’s family and estate all working together to ensure its completion.  The artist’s family wrote: “Big L has a long history with Nas as they both signed to Columbia in 1992.  This is a full circle moment and we are excited for y’all to hear what we’ve been working on.  As some of you may have noticed, many Big L songs have been removed from streaming services over the past few years.  Those songs were unmixed/unmastered, samples were not cleared and many of the producers weren’t paid or credited properly.  Thanks to the team at Mass Appeal we will be re-releasing the best versions of these songs, rare freestyles and a few surprises...”

Cited as an influence by Jay-Z, Nas, Kendrick Lamar and many other top tier rappers, Big L, born Lamont Coleman, rose to prominence in the early 1990s and became known for his sharp wordplay, punchlines, humour and uncompromising tough talk.  His 1995 debut album Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous cemented his place among the New York elite but L’s life and career were tragically cut short when he was fatally shot in 1999 at the age of just 24.