Lord Finesse

Lord Finesse built his name in the Bronx as one of the sharpest lyricists to come out of Wild Pitch Records, then spent the back half of the 90s becoming one of hip-hop's most respected producers, crafting Suicidal Thoughts for The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die among countless others. His real legacy runs even deeper than his own catalog: he discovered a teenage Harlem rapper freestyling in a record store, took him under his wing as a D.I.T.C. protégé, and helped produce his debut. That rapper was Big L. The Awakening, Finesse's own 1996 album, closed out a legendary run of D.I.T.C. releases and features Big L himself on the hook, alongside KRS-One, MC Lyte, Diamond D, and a hidden closing track pairing Large Professor, Sadat X, and Grand Puba.