Big Shots is a studio album by American hip hop duo Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf.[1] Recorded between 1991 and 1993 for Hollywood BASIC, it was released on Stones Throw Records in 2003, 10 years after Charizma's death.[2] It peaked at number 2 on CMJ's Hip-Hop chart,[3] as well as number 27 on the CMJ Radio 200 chart.[4] The first single from the album, titled "My World Premiere", was originally released in 1996.[5]
Sam Samuelson of AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, calling it "a treasure that should be cherished by hip-hop fans the world over."[6] Todd Inoue of Metro Silicon Valley said, "Charizma sounds like MC Shan blessed with youthful lung capacity while PB Wolf makes like Marley Marl programming beats in DJ Premier's lab."[10] Ross Hogg of XLR8R said, "Charizma's voice brims with eagerness, enthusiasm and earnestness; Wolf's textured, jazzy beats epitomize boom bap and are a sign of great things to come."[13]
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said, "while Big Shots is one of those charmed debuts where nearly every song sounds like a terrific single, it wouldn't be without Wolf, whose gorgeously constructed tracks, flawless ear for melody, and extensive sonic quotations anticipate Madlib."[7] Rachel Swan of East Bay Express said, "had Charizma not been shot and killed in '93, he might've turned into another Pharoahe Monch or J-Live."[9]
In 2003, East Bay Express included it on the "Best Music of the East Bay" list.[14] In 2007, The A.V. Club included it on the "10 Unjustly Overlooked Hip-Hop Classics" list.[15]
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