Born Again

Released on 7 December 1999, Born Again marked the first posthumous compilation from The Notorious B.I.G., arriving just two years after his death. Curated by Bad Boy Records and Arista, it’s a patchwork of early recorded verses laid over new production, peppered with guest features from artists who never shared a booth with Biggie in his lifetime.

Despite its stitched-together nature, the album made a powerful commercial impact—debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with 485,000 copies sold in its first week. It went double Platinum within a month, underlining the scale of Biggie’s cultural resonance at the turn of the millennium.

But where the sales numbers boomed, the critical response faltered. Born Again sparked mixed feelings among reviewers. Some saw it as a tribute that showcased his lyrical finesse once more; others felt it diluted his legacy with forced pairings and beats that lacked the grit of his original work. Pitchfork summed it up at 6.0/10, while Rolling Stone noted the album “won’t damage his legacy… but won’t improve it much, either.” Harshest of all, Robert Christgau dismissed the project as “foul… not just ill shit but stupid ill shit.”

Still, even in this cut-and-paste form, Biggie’s presence cuts through. Tracks like “Dead Wrong” show flashes of the menace and charisma that made him legendary—proof that even in scraps, his voice carried more weight than most.

Born Again isn’t a classic. It’s a collage. But it’s also a reminder: Christopher Wallace’s voice, cadence and command were singular. No posthumous tinkering can take that away.