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Big L Album 'Harlem’s Finest: Return of the King' Set for Oct. 31 as Nas Joins Lead Single

The estate-led project repurposes 1990s freestyles into newly produced songs under Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It series.

Overview

  • Mass Appeal released the single “u aint gotta chance,” pairing Big L’s 1997 Tim Westwood bars with a new verse from Nas, now streaming.
  • Harlem’s Finest: Return Of The King is scheduled for Halloween with guests including Nas and Jay‑Z, and the estate with Royce Da 5’9” in executive roles.
  • Estate head Mike “Heron” Herard outlined a multi-step rebuild: DJ Critical Hype created the acapella, G Koop programmed drums, 2One2 added a sample, Al Hug and Zach Niess shaped the chorus, DJ Rob Swift crafted the hook, then Royce Da 5’9” fine-tuned before Nas recorded.
  • The rollout follows Herard’s stewardship since 2020 to resolve rights and accounting after prior disputes, including the 2021 streaming removal of Return of The Devil’s Son over licensing.
  • Big L’s brother Donald Phinazee says the album largely updates songs from the 2010 compilation with select freestyles reconstructed into full tracks.