It was supposed to be released in 2004 under Roc-A-Fella Records and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. However, due to Jay-Z's takeover of Roc-A-Fella and presidency of Def Jam,[citation needed] Sigel left the label to join Dame Dash Music Group, where the album was released on March 29, 2005. The B. Coming contains 15 songs, with special guests including Freeway, Redman, Snoop Dogg, Bun B, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, and others. The album was completed before Sigel served a federal prison sentence in mid-2004.
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 73 out of 100 based on 14 reviews.[1]
On AllMusic, reviewer David Jeffries stated: "One thing to know is that it's not a linear journal. Instead, it consists of fragments from here and there that deal very little with situations and more with mindsets. [...] Those looking for a direct story of how Beanie earned three years in the clink will be somewhat disappointed, but these chunks of insight into the man's turmoil -- and the couple party tunes that go with them -- add up to one hell of an album."[2] Ryan Dombal of Entertainment Weekly stated that the album "finds [Sigel] at his most vulnerable — and his best."[4]NME deemed the album as "defiant as ever".[5] Tom Breihan, writing for Pitchfork, commented: "Only two things matter here: the production, which is masterful, and Beanie himself, a virtuoso of lonely, bitter desperation."[6]Stylus Magazine gave the album a B+ rating with an additional comment: "One of the strongest albums of 2005, Beanie Sigel stands among the greatest of the Roc-A-Fella catalogue with technical ability and an emotional severity worth experiencing."[9] Toshitaka Kondo of Vibe said in a review, "At times, he overreaches."[8]Rolling Stone's Bill Werde thought that "The B. Coming starts strong... [and] eventually flattens out into dark, brooding territory."[7]The B. Coming ranked number 32 as Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2005 in the year end.[10]
The B. Coming debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 130,000 copies.[11] The album was two slots away from 50 Cent's The Massacre.[12]
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