Credit: Spotify

The long-awaited Big L posthumous album has received a release date. The project, titled Harlem’s Finest: Rise of the Forgotten King, will be released on Nas’ Mass Appeal Records.

The label took to social media this week to reveal that the album will be released on October 31st. It will be his first posthumous album since 2011’s The Danger Zone.

Following the album announcement in April, his family released a statement via the rapper’s official Instagram account.

“Big L has a long history with Nas as they both signed to Columbia in 1992,” they wrote earlier this year. “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.”

They continued, “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.”

Harlem’s Finest is part of a series of legends releasing albums on Mass Appeal in 2025, including Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, De La Soul, and a collaborative project between Nas and DJ Premier.

Big L was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in February 1999. He was hit nine times in Harlem, suffering injuries to his face and chest.

Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, released in 1995, was the only album to be released during his lifetime. The Big Picture was posthumously released in 2000 on Rawkus Records.