This is a revised and corrected edition of "Ready for Xmas (BIGGIE Remixes)", Biggie Smalls' remix tape, which Cookin Soul had released eight years earlier: features seven of the ten cuts inserted in the original tape, on a Christmas production, while Biggie Smalls drops some of his best stanzas.
For "Thinking Gifts", Cookin Soul samples "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", then picks up a Biggie verse from "Lets Get it on (Dirty Harry Blend)" — the same verse is present in the 1995 freestyle "Westwood Freestyle" and in the same year's track "Think Big (Dirty Version)" by rapper Pudgee tha Phat Bastard — and places him a slow hard pounding drum machine and a light jazzy sample. It follows is a nice sample of Nancy Wilson's "That's What I Want for Christmas": the producer runs Notorious BIG from "The What (Unreleased Version)" to a bright jazzy boom bap, with chopped Wilson samples and light horns and piano samples. A skit anticipates the James Brown sample, which introduces "Naughty or Nice": fast drum and honest samples, the rapper spits bars taken from "Big Booty Hoes".
There's a chipmunk soul sample for the most Christmas track of this edition of Cookin Soul, "Home for Xmas (Bricks)": on a graceful and velvety, beautiful, smoothness jazzy boom bap, Biggie brings out bars with velvety, flawless style alongside one of the best duo hip-hop history has ever given, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, from Shaolin Land. On the Chef's hook, Cookin Soul allows himself the luxury of letting the chipmunk sample breathe by creating a short bridge; then, he completely changes the rhythm for Raiqwon's attack, jazzy boom bap with magnificent sample, quick, energetic and powerful drum, fantastic rhythm that creates a second bridge, before the return of the original beat; the MC delivers smoothness with the his patented flow. There's a synth lines falling straight from the stars for Ghostface Killah's verse, tight, incisive, dope. Perfect cut.
Skit, then the producer faithfully reproduces Biggie's verses from the song "Come On", to a jazzy rhythm with sharp, lacerating and tight drum, good samples, straight-hardcore flow of Bed-Stuy's MC that devastates everything, it's brilliant even on the three-word hook. "Juicy Xmas" boasts a sample of "This Christmas" by Donny Hathaway, drum, jazzy samples, then Biggie from "Juicy", smooth, dope, great cut, with hook left to the Hathaway sample. The third skit precedes the last Christmas sample of this edition: Cookin Soul extrapolates a single line of Biggie from "Suicidal Thoughts", placing a lean edgy drum, loose strings and chopped soul sample in the background.
Album of 10 songs, 3 skits, about 21 minutes of listening: Cookin Soul combines a pleasant and Christmas jazzy production with Biggie's dope bars, excellent tape.
Highlights: "Thinking Gifts", "What did I want", "Home for Xmas (Bricks)", "Juicy Xmas", "Thoughts Under the Xmas Tree".
Rating: 8/10.
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