With only two official solo albums -- Sweet James Jones Stories and
Pimpalation -- in the can before the rapper passed away, Rap-A-Lot didn't have much to choose from when they compiled
Pimp C's catalog. Their 2008 collection features no "R.I.P." dedication but it does display the usual Rap-A-Lot subpar packaging with the expected mistakes (for example, the
Tom Petty-sampling single "I'm Free" is listed as just "Free"). Besides that, eight of these 24 tracks are either skits or interludes so you have to shave off some points, seeing as how "
Greatest Hits" is on the cover. Still, the highlights are all here in one compact package and the pacing of the collection is near-perfect. Messages from
the Pimp's mother plus his UGK partner
Bun B lead into the now supremely poignant "I Miss You" for a heartbreaking finish. Whether or not that's enough for longtime fans to repurchase these tracks is up to them and their wallets, while newcomers thinking they might eventually want more should be warned that they'll encounter the same redundancy problem starting here and working their way backwards. [Asylum issued a Chopped & Screwed edition in 2008.] ~ David Jeffries