Ready to Die | |||
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Studio album by | |||
Released | September 13, 1994 | ||
Recorded | 1993–94 | ||
Studio | The Hit Factory and D&D Studios, New York City | ||
Genre | |||
Length | 69:05 | ||
Label | |||
Producer |
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The Notorious B.I.G. chronology | |||
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Singles from Ready to Die | |||
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Ready to Die is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy and Arista Records. The album features production by Bad Boy founder Sean 'Puffy' Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier, and Lord Finesse, among others. It was recorded from late 1993 to 1994 at The Hit Factory and D&D Studios in New York City. The partly autobiographical album tells the story of the rapper's experiences as a young criminal, and was the only studio album released during his lifetime, as he was murdered sixteen days before the release of his second album Life After Death in 1997.
Ready to Die was released to critical acclaim and became a commercial success, achieving Gold certification. In 1995, it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[1] and has since reached a certified 6x platinum with sales. It was significant for revitalizing the East Coast hip hop scene, amid West Coast hip hop's commercial dominance.[2] The album's second single 'Big Poppa' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Ready to Die has been regarded by many critics as one of the greatest hip hop albums, as well as one of the best albums of all time.
The album was recorded in New York City (mainly at The Hit Factory) in two stages between 1993 and 1994. In 1994, Biggie was 21 years old going on 22 when he recorded the album. In 1993, Biggie was signed to the Uptown Records label by A&RSean 'Puffy' Combs. Biggie started recording his debut album in New York, after making numerous guest appearances among his label-mates' singles during the previous year. The first tracks recorded include the album's darker, less radio-friendly content (including 'Ready to Die,' 'Gimme the Loot' and 'Things Done Changed'). In these sessions, XXL magazine describe an 'inexperienced, higher-pitched' Biggie sounding 'hungry and paranoid'.[3]
When executive producer Sean 'Puffy' Combs was fired from Uptown, Biggie's career hung in limbo, as the album was only partially completed. After a brief period dealing drugs in North Carolina,[4] Biggie returned to the studio the following year on Combs' new Bad Boy Records label possessing 'a smoother, more confident vocal tone' and completed the album. In this stage, the more commercial-sounding tracks of the album were recorded, including the album's singles. Between the two stages, XXL writes that Biggie moved from writing his lyrics in notebooks to freestyling them from memory.[3]
The album was released with a cover depicting an infant resembling the artist, though sporting an afro, which pertains to the album's concept of the artist's life from birth to his death. It has been listed as among the best album covers in hip hop.[5]
On March 24, 2006, Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records won a federal lawsuit against Bad Boy Records for copyright infringement, with a jury deciding that Combs and Bad Boy had illegally used samples for the production of the songs 'Ready to Die', 'Machine Gun Funk', and 'Gimme the Loot'.[6][7] The jury awarded $4.2 million in punitive and direct damages to the two plaintiffs, and federal judge Todd Campbell enacted an immediate sales ban on the album and tracks in question.[7] On appeal, the Sixth Circuit found the damages unconstitutionally high and in violation of due process and remanded the case, at which point Campbell reduced them by $2.8 million; however, the verdict was upheld.[8][9] All versions of the album released since the lawsuit are without the disputed samples.[10]
Although a fair use issue, Combs and Bad Boy never raised the legal concept of the fair use doctrine in their defense.[8] This decision was questioned by some legal experts: Anthony Falzone of the Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School criticized Combs and Bad Boy for not defending the legality of sampling and suggested that they might have refused to raise such a defense because they feared it could later imperil their control over their own music.[11]
Full movies hd free watch online. On April 2, 2014, Lee Hutson of The Impressions filed a multimillion-dollar copyright infringement suit against Combs, Bad Boy Records, and the estate of the late Notorious B.I.G. for copyright infringement, alleging that his song 'Can't Say Enough About Mom' was illegally sampled in the production of the song 'The What'.[12] The estate countersued in turn, claiming the sample as used was short, adapted, and supplemented, and thus subject to fair use,[13] a legal tactic not pursued previously.[11]
The production on the album was mainly handled by Easy Mo Bee and The Hitmen. Cheo H. Coker of Rolling Stone depicted the beats as 'heavy bottomed and slick, but B.I.G.'s rhymes are the showstoppers. The tracks only enhance them, whether it's the live bass driving a menacing undercurrent or [the] use of bluesy guitar and wah-wah feedback' and that the production is used to 'push the rapper to new heights.'[14] The production is mainly sample-based with the samples varying from the percussion of funk tracks to the vocals of hip hop songs. Steve Huey presented some criticism over the beats, stating that the 'deliberate beats do get a little samey, but it hardly matters: this is Biggie's show'.[15]
The Notorious B.I.G.'s lyrics on the album were generally praised by critics. Many critics applauded his story-telling ability such as AllMusic writer Steve Huey, who stated 'His raps are easy to understand, but his skills are hardly lacking—he has a loose, easy flow and a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession'. He also went on to mention that his lyrics are 'firmly rooted in reality, but play like [a] scene from a movie'.[15]Touré, writing for The New York Times, referred to The Notorious B.I.G., proclaiming that he stood out from other rappers because 'his lyrics mix autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty, telling how he felt while making a living as a drug dealer'.[16] The album is also noted for its dark tone and sinister sense of depression.[15] In the original Rolling Stone review, Cheo H Coker declared that he 'maintains a consistent level of tension by juxtaposing emotional highs and lows'.[14] 'Things Done Changed' was also one of the few hip hop songs in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature.[17]
The lyrics on Ready to Die tend to deal with violence, drug dealing, women, alcohol and marijuana use, and other elements of Notorious B.I.G.'s environment. He rapped about these topics in 'clear, sparse terms, allowing the lyrics to hit the first time you hear them'.[14] The album contains a loose concept starting out with an intro that details his birth, his early childhood, his adolescence and his life at the point of the album's release.[16] Songs on the album range from homicide narratives ('Warning') to braggadocios battle raps ('The What,' 'Unbelievable'). The final song was 'Suicidal Thoughts', a song where The Notorious B.I.G. contemplates and finally commits suicide.
The album's lead single is a rags to riches narrative, with music that samplesMtume's 1982 song 'Juicy Fruit'.[18] | |
Problems playing this file? See media help. |
Three singles were released from the album: 'Juicy', 'Big Poppa', 'One More Chance' and a promotional track of Biggie: 'Warning'. According to XXL the more commercial sound of the singles compared to the rest of the album was a result of encouragement by Combs during the later recording sessions in which they were recorded.[3]
'Juicy' was released as the lead single on August 8, 1994. It peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 14 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and reached number 3 on the Hot Rap Singles.[19] It shipped 500,000 copies in the United States and the RIAA certified it Gold on November 16, 1994.[20] Produced by Combs, it features a prominent sample of 'Juicy Fruit' as performed by James Mtume. AllMusic's Steve Huey stated that, along with the other singles, it was an 'upbeat, commercial moment', calling it a 'rags-to-riches chronicle'.[15] Andrew Kameka, of HipHopDX.com, stated that the song was one of his 'greatest and most-revealing songs' and went on to say it was a 'Part-autobiography, part-declaration-of-success. It document[s] the star's transition from Brooklyn knucklehead to magazine cover story.'[21] Producer Pete Rock, who was commissioned to remix the track, alleged that Puffy stole the idea for the original song's beat after hearing it from him during a visit. Rock explained this in an interview with Wax Poetics:[22]
I did the original version, didn't get credit for it. They came to my house, heard the beat going on the drum machine, it's the same story. You come downstairs at my crib, you hear music. He heard that shit and the next thing you know it comes out. They had me do a remix, but I tell people, and I will fight it to the end, that I did the original version of that. I'm not mad at anybody, I just want the correct credit.
'Big Poppa' was released as the second single on December 24, 1994 and like the previous single, it was a hit on multiple charts. It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number one on Hot Rap Singles.[19] It sold over a million units and the RIAA certified it Platinum on May 23, 1995.[20] Featuring production by Combs and Chucky Thompson of The Hitmen, it samples 'Between the Sheets' by The Isley Brothers. The song was nominated at the 1996 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance, but lost to Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise'. Steve Huey named it an 'overweight-lover anthem'.[15]
'One More Chance' was released as the third single on June 9, 1995. The single was a remix of the album track. It was produced by Combs and featured a sample from DeBarge's 'Stay With Me'. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Rap Singles.[19] It sold over a million copies and the RIAA certified it Platinum on July 31, 1995.[20] Steve Huey labeled it a 'graphic sex rap'.[15]Rolling Stone writer Cheo H. Coker had a similar view of the song, noting that it was 'one of the bawdiest sex raps since Kool G Rap's classic, 'Talk Like Sex' and continued, stating it 'proves hilarious simply because of B.I.G.'s Dolemitelike vulgarity.'[14]
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [18] |
Blender | [23] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | A−[24] |
HipHopDX | 5/5[25] |
Pitchfork | 10/10[26] |
Q | [27] |
Rolling Stone | [14] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [28] |
The Source | 4.5/5[29] |
Uncut | [30] |
Ready to Die received critical acclaim from music critics. In his review for Rolling Stone, Cheo H. Coker stated 'Ready to Die is the strongest solo rap debut since Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted. From the breathtakingly visual moments of his birth to his Cobainesque end in 'Suicidal Thoughts,' B.I.G. proves a captivating listen. It's difficult to get him out of your head once you sample what he has to offer'.[14]Robert Christgau from The Village Voice commented 'His sex raps are erotic, his jokes are funny, and his music makes the thug life sound scary rather than luxuriously laid back. When he considers suicide, I not only take him at his word, I actively hope he finds another way'.[24]The New York Times wrote 'Though drug dealing carries tremendous heroic value with some young urban dwellers, he sacrifices the figure's romantic potential. His raps acknowledge both the excitement of drug dealing and the stress caused by the threat from other dealers, robbers, the police and parents, sometimes one's own. In presenting the downside of that life, Ready to Die offers perhaps the most balanced and honest portrait of the dealer's life of any in hip-hop'.[31]
Q magazine gave Ready to Die three out of five stars, and stated 'the natural rapping, clever use of sound effects and acted dialogue, and concept element (from a baby being born at the start to the fading heartbeat at the end) set this well apart from the average gangsta bragging'.[27] In their original review for Ready to Die, The Source gave it four-and-a-half out of five 'mics', stating 'Big weaves tales like a cinematographer, each song is like another scene in his lifestyle. Overall, this package is complete: ridiculous beats, harmonizing honeys, ill sound effects, criminal scenarios, and familiar hooks'.[29]
Ready to Die has been highly acclaimed. In 1998, The Source included it on their 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time list,[32] and in 2002, they re-rated it to the maximum five 'mics'.[33]Rolling Stone has also given acclaim to Ready to Die over the years. In 2003, they ranked it number 133 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list,[32] and one year later, they re-rated it to five stars.[28] In 2011, Rolling Stone also placed it at number eight on their 100 Best Albums of the Nineties list, and described it as 'mapping out the sound of 'Nineties cool'.[34] Kilian Murphy from Stylus Magazine wrote favorably of the album in a retrospective review, and concluded 'Sweet, hypocritical, sensitive, violent, depressed and jubilant; these words could all fittingly describe Big at various points on Ready to Die.'[35]
Steve Huey from AllMusic gave it five stars, stating 'The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star. Today it's recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded, and that's mostly due to Biggie's skill as a storyteller'.[18] In 2006, Time magazine included it on their 100 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and stated 'On Ready to Die, Wallace took his street corner experiences and filtered them through his considerable charm. The result was a record that mixed long stretches of menace with romance and lots of humor. No rapper ever made multi-syllabic rhymes sound as smooth'.[36] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[37]
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
About.com | United States | 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums[38] | 2008 | 2 |
Best Rap Albums of 1994[39] | 2008 | 2 | ||
10 Essential Hip-Hop Albums[40] | 2008 | 3 | ||
Blender | 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die | 2003 | * | |
Dance De Lux | Spain | The 25 Best Hip-Hop Records | 2001 | 21 |
Robert Dimery | United States | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | 2005 | * |
ego trip | Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980–98 | 1999 | 2 | |
Entertainment Weekly | The 100 Best Albums from 1983 to 2008 | 2008 | 40 | |
The Guardian | United Kingdom | 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die | 2007 | * |
Mojo | Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide | 2001 | * | |
The Mojo Collection, 3rd and/or 4th Edition | 2003 | * | ||
Tom Moon | United States | 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die | 2008 | * |
MTV | The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time[41] | 2005 | 4 | |
MUZIQ | France | 200 Records for a Dream Collection | 2007 | * |
The New Nation | United Kingdom | Top 100 Albums by Black Artists | 2005 | 8 |
Pause & Play | United States | Albums Inducted into a Time Capsule, One Album per Week | * | |
Pitchfork | Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s[42] | 2003 | 32 | |
Pure Pop | Mexico | Albums of the Year | 1994 | 18 |
Q | United Kingdom | The Ultimate Music Collection | 2005 | * |
Rolling Stone | United States | The Essential Recordings of the 90s[43] | 1999 | * |
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2003 | 133 | ||
100 Best Albums of the Nineties[34] | 2011 | 8 | ||
Sounds | United Kingdom | The 50 Best Albums of the 1990s | 2009 | 37 |
The Source | United States | The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time | 1998 | * |
The Critics Top 100 Black Music Albums of All Time[44] | 2006 | 8 | ||
Spin | Top 90 Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 27 | |
Top 100 (+5) Albums of the Last 20 Years | 2005 | 30 | ||
The 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years | 2010 | 43 | ||
Time | Top 100 Albums of All Time | 2006 | * | |
Vibe | 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century | 1999 | * | |
150 Albums That Define the Vibe Era (1992–2007) | 2007 | * | ||
Village Voice | Albums of the Year | 1994 | 38 | |
VPRO | Netherlands | 299 Nominations of the Best Album of All Time | 2006 | * |
The album shipped 57,000 units in its first week of release.[45] However, it was then certified Gold by the RIAA only two months after its release on November 16, 1994, and was certified double Platinum on October 16, 1995, only a year and one month after its release.[20] Ready to Die was then certified triple Platinum on August 26, 1998 and was later certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA on October 19, 1999.[20]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 'Intro' | Sean 'Puffy' Combs | 3:24 | |
2. | 'Things Done Changed' |
| Darnell Scott | 3:58 |
3. | 'Gimme the Loot' | Easy Mo Bee | 5:04 | |
4. | 'Machine Gun Funk' |
| Easy Mo Bee | 4:17 |
5. | 'Warning' | Easy Mo Bee | 3:40 | |
6. | 'Ready to Die' |
| Easy Mo Bee | 4:24 |
7. | 'One More Chance' |
| 4:43 | |
8. | 'Fuck Me (Interlude)' |
| Combs | 1:31 |
9. | 'The What' (featuring Method Man) | Easy Mo Bee | 3:57 | |
10. | 'Juicy' |
| 5:02 | |
11. | 'Everyday Struggle' |
| Bluez Brothers | 5:19 |
12. | 'Me & My Bitch' |
| 4:00 | |
13. | 'Big Poppa' |
| 4:13 | |
14. | 'Respect' |
| 5:21 | |
15. | 'Friend of Mine' |
| Easy Mo Bee | 3:28 |
16. | 'Unbelievable' | DJ Premier | 3:43 | |
17. | 'Suicidal Thoughts' |
| Lord Finesse | 2:50 |
Total length: | 69:05 |
Remaster bonus tracks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
18. | 'Who Shot Ya?' |
| 5:19 | |
19. | 'Just Playing (Dreams)' | Rashad Smith | 2:43 | |
Total length: | 77:03 |
Intro
Things Done Changed
Gimme the Loot
Machine Gun Funk
Warning
Ready to Die
One More Chance
| Fuck Me
The What
Juicy
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Big Poppa
Respect Last world cup winner team. How can the answer be improved?
Friend of Mine
Unbelievable
Suicidal Thoughts
Who Shot Ya?
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Weekly charts[edit]
Certifications[edit]
See also[edit]References[edit]
External links[edit]
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[Intro: Puff Daddy]
Yeah..
Yeah..
You ready motherfucker?
We gon' kill your ass.
As I grab the glock, put it to your headpiece
One in the chamber, the safety is off release
Straight at your dome homes, I wanna see cabbage
Biggie Smalls the savage, doin your brain cells much damage
Teflon is the material for the imperial
mic ripper girl stripper the Henny sipper
I drop lyrics off and on like a lightswitch
Quick to grab the right bitch and make her drive
the Q-45, glocks and tecs are expected when I wreck shit
Respect is collected, so check it
I got techniques drippin out my buttcheeks
Sleep on my stomach so I don't fuck up my sheets, huh
My shit is deep, deeper than my grave G
I'm ready to die and nobody can save me
Fuck the world, fuck my moms and my girl
My life is played out like a jheri curl, I'm ready to die!
[scratched:]
{Yes I'm ready} (X3)
{So die, mothafucka, die mothafucka, die!}
As I sit back and look when I used to be a crook
Doin whatever it took from snatchin chains to pocket books
A big BAD motherfucker on the wrong road
I got some drugs tried to get the avenue sold
I want it all from the Rolexes
to the Lexus gettin paid, is all I expected
My mother didn't give me what I want, what the fuck?
Now I got a glock, makin motherfuckers duck
Shit is real, and hungry's how I feel
I rob and steal because that money got that whip appeal
Kickin niggaz down the steps just for rep
Any repercussion lead to niggaz gettin wet
The infrared's at your head real steady
You better grab your guns cause I'm ready, ready.
[scratched:]
{Yes I'm ready} (X3)
{So die, mothafucka, die mothafucka, die!}
I'm ready to die!
(Nah we ain't gon' kill your ass yet)
(We gonna make you suffer)
In a sec I throw the tec to your fuckin neck
Everybody hit the deck, Biggie bout to get some wreck
Quick to leave you in a coffin, for slick talkin
You better act like CeCe, and keep on walkin
When I hit ya, I split ya to the white meat
You swung on like you slumber right you fell to the conrete
Your face, my feet, they meet, we're stompin
I'm rippin MC's from Tallahassee, to Compton
Biggie Smalls on a higher plane
Niggaz say I'm strange deranged because I put the 12 gauge to
your brain, make your shit splatter
Mix the blood like batter then my pocket gets fatter
after the hit, leave you on the street with your neck split
down your backbone to where your motherfuckin cheek drip
The shit I kick, rip it through the vest
Biggie Smalls passin any test, I'm ready to die!
[Outro: Notorious B.I.G. (Puff)]
I'm ready
(Time to go, we gonna put you out your misery motherfucker)
Niggaz definitely know what time it is
The Notorious one in full effect for '93!
Suicidal, I'm ready!
(Now I lay me down to sleep)
Yeah
(Pray the Lord my soul to keep)
(If I should die before I wake)
(I pray the Lord my soul to take)
(Cause I'm ready to die)
(All y'all motherfuckers come with me if you want to)
(Biggie Smalls the biggest man)
(Rockin on and on in '93, Easy Mo Bee)
(Third Eye, and the rest of the Bad Boy fam)
(I don't wanna see no cryin at my funeral).
The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star, and vaulted Sean 'Puffy' Combs' Bad Boy label into the spotlight as well. Today it's recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded, and that's mostly due to Biggie's skill as a storyteller. His raps are easy to understand, but his skills are hardly lacking -- he has a loose, easy flow and a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession. He's blessed with a flair for the dramatic, and slips in and out of different contradictory characters with ease. Yet, no matter how much he heightens things for effect, it's always easy to see elements of Biggie in his narrators and of his own experience in the details; everything is firmly rooted in reality, but plays like scenes from a movie. A sense of doom pervades his most involved stories: fierce bandits ('Gimme the Loot'), a hustler's beloved girlfriend ('Me & My Bitch'), and robbers out for Biggie's newfound riches ('Warning') all die in hails of gunfire. The album is also sprinkled with reflections on the soul-draining bleakness of the streets -- 'Things Done Changed,' 'Ready to Die,' and 'Everyday Struggle' are powerfully affecting in their confusion and despair. Not everything is so dark, though; Combs' production collaborations result in some upbeat, commercial moments, and typically cop from recognizable hits: the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back' on the graphic sex rap 'One More Chance,' Mtume's 'Juicy Fruit' on the rags-to-riches chronicle 'Juicy,' and the Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets' on the overweight-lover anthem 'Big Poppa.' Producer Easy Mo Bee's deliberate beats do get a little samey, but it hardly matters: this is Biggie's show, and by the time 'Suicidal Thoughts' closes the album on a heartbreaking note, it's clear why he was so revered even prior to his death.
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 3:24 | ||
2 | 3:57 | ||
3 | 5:04 | ||
4 | 4:16 | ||
5 | 3:40 | ||
6 | 4:24 | ||
7 | 4:43 | ||
8 | 1:31 | ||
9 | 3:57 | ||
10 | 5:03 | ||
11 | The Notorious B.I.G. / Larry Dobson | 5:19 | |
12 | 4:00 | ||
13 | Ernie Isley / Marvin Isley / O'Kelly Isley / Ronald Isley / Rudolph Isley / Chris Jasper / Christopher Wallace | 4:13 | |
14 | 5:22 | ||
15 | 3:28 | ||
16 | 3:43 | ||
17 | 2:54 |
Excuse Christopher Wallace -- aka the Notorious B.I.G. and aka Biggie Smalls -- for not sounding more enthused. While recording his debut album, Ready to Die -- released 20 years ago this week, on September 13, 1994 -- the 22-year old former drug dealer had a sick mom to care for and a baby girl to feed. Just because he had a record deal, there was no guarantee the Brooklyn rapper would make it through his 20s alive.
And yet Biggie was cool with that -- so cool, in fact, that he called the record Ready to Die. The title is as complex as the man himself. Depending on the track, it speaks to his fearlessness, his nihilism, and his unique brand of New York City pragmatism. Throughout these 17 songs, there's a sense Biggie could go at any moment, and on tunes like 'Everyday Struggle' and chilling closer 'Suicidal Thoughts,' he welcomes the bullet as a source of relief.
Death wishes aside, the Biggie heard on Ready to Die is a guy bellying up to life's buffet. He's a man of hardy appetites -- for money, food, women, blunts, booze, and the thrill of the hustle -- and he raps with the easy-does-it delivery of a guy who's just polished off a steak dinner or finished a round of lovemaking. His bellowing voice suggests lungs filled with cigar smoke and a throat coated with Welch's grape juice, his beverage of choice in the Top 10 single 'Big Poppa.' Whether he's spinning semi-autobiographical crime narratives or indulging in lover-man fantasies, he never lets the crippling stress wreck his flow.
In that way, Ready to Die -- which reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 -- is similar to Dr. Dre's The Chronic, a record Biggie admired enough to sample on track two, 'Things Done Changed.' Relative to Dre's West Coast game-changer, though, B.I.G.'s East Coast landmark is harder, darker and less song-oriented. It's funky, and thanks to executive producer Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs, there are plenty of pop hooks. It's the story of a young man succumbing to the pressures of his environment.
The bleak anti-pop moments serve the record well, giving B.I.G. plenty of room to throw his weight around, lyrically speaking. As a youngster, Wallace was a gifted student, and even though he went astray as a teenager -- getting into the drug game and eventually serving nine months in a North Carolina prison -- his rhyming and storytelling are testaments to his intelligence. His songs mix fantasy and reality, and unlike so many of his peers, he rarely, if ever, glorifies the gangsta lifestyle. Even when he's celebrating, he's looking over his shoulder.
His paranoia, it turns out, was justified. On March 9, 1997, just weeks before the release of his sophomore effort, Life After Death, Biggie was gunned down in Los Angeles. The case remains unsolved, and conspiracy theories abound, but one thing is for sure: Biggie was one of the all-time greats.
Read on to get our track-by-track take on Notorious B.I.G.'s classic debut.
'Intro': Every great rapper fancies himself a superhero, and every superhero needs an origin story. This is Biggie's, and make no mistake: It is a story. In 3:20 of cinematic embellishment, he takes us from his birth -- with 'Super Fly' playing in the delivery room -- to a daring subway robbery that lands him behind bars. Along the way, he discovers hip-hop, the source of his super powers.
'Things Done Changed': The key line of this dark, sample-driven tune comes at the end: 'Shit, my momma's got cancer in her breast / Don't asked me why I'm motherfucking stressed.' His mother's illness isn't the only reason he's bugging out, though. His Bed-Stuy ‘hood has turned into a Wild West of guns and crack, and where his neighbors used to hold barbecues, bodies are piling up.
'Gimme the Loot': There were originally six samples on this song, none of which distract from the brutal wordplay. Biggie plays two roles -- stickup kid 1 and stickup kid 2 -- and while the one he portrays with his usual voice seems more experienced, both are coldblooded, and neither comes across as the voice of reason. 'From the Beretta, putting holes in your sweater,' the higher-pitched one raps at 2:50. Not to be outdone, baritone B.I.G. rhymes 'doorknockers' with 'blakka, blakka, blakka'-- the sound of him blasting some poor woman for her earrings.
'Machine Gun Funk': 'So I guess you know the story / the rap side, crack side,' Biggie spits in the third verse, having spent the first two asserting his cred as both a gun-toting criminal and a mic-smoking MC. As he does throughout Ready to Die, he draws parallels between the two, and the shrill, repetitive chorus -- sampled from Lords of the Underground's 'Chief Rocka' -- underscores the sense of urgency one needs to succeed in either vocation.
'Warning': Over producer Easy Mo Bee's smooth Isaac Hayessample, Biggie once again plays two characters, himself and 'Pop,' a buddy from the barber shop who's just uncovered an 'intricate plot' involving some bad dudes looking to jack our hero. This time, Biggie rhymes 'Beretta' with 'cheddar,' and rather than let the gunmen come and snatch his cheese, he vows to get high and pack extra clips. 'Hold on,' Biggie says at the end. 'I hear someone coming.' It's all over bar the shooting.
'Ready to Die': The wah-wah guitar sample gives a dreamy feel to the album's most nihilistic cut. 'Fuck the world, my moms, and my girl,' Biggie raps, 'My life is played out like a Jheri curl / I'm ready to die.' To the extent he cares about anything, it's money, and he'll bust caps 'from Tallahassee to Compton' to get his hands on it. He pursues wealth almost compulsively, without joy, and that brings an air of tragedy to his criminality.
'One More Chance': Biggie doesn't just excel at slinging rock and busting rhymes. He's also a first-rate lover. Here, following a series of answering-machine messages from scorned women, he big-ups his bedroom game with the same menacing tone he brings to his shoot-'em-up fantasies. Apparently, sex with B.I.G. could mean damage to your internal organs, though the girl singing the modified Jackson 5 hook doesn't seem too concerned.
'Fuck Me (Interlude)': When it comes to bedroom talk, there's dirty and then there's flat-out nasty. On this skit, which takes place mid-coitus, Biggie's lady gets off on listing all the disgusting food -- pickle juice, chicken gristle, etc. -- the rotund rapper consumes on the regular. No strawberries and whipped cream for these two freaks.
'The What': The only rapper to guest on Ready to Die is Method Man, and the Wu-Tang Clan MC does Staten Island proud. Although 'The What' has a hook, the song is really just an excuse for two of NYC's finest to go back and forth, mixing brags, threats and pop-culture references. Biggie gets in a great line about Diff'rent Strokes; then Meth one-ups him with a colorful Charles Dickens name-check.
'Juicy': At last, Biggie lets his guard down and allows himself a few minutes of triumph. On this alternate version of the rapper's life story -- one where music, not crime, plays the central role -- there's only one reference to guns, and it's past tense: 'I never thought it could happen, this rapping stuff/ I was too used to packing gats and stuff.' Built around an instrumental mix of Mtume's 1983 funk tune, 'Juicy Fruit,' this Puffy-produced track presents Biggie at his most loveable. The man on the mic is no monster. He's just a guy who wants a Super Nintendo and a Sega Genesis -- a dream plenty of young men shared in the early ‘90s. Damn right he likes the life he lives.
'Everyday Struggle': Sadly, the good vibes of 'Juicy' dry up fast. With 'Everyday Struggle,' B.I.G. is back to rapping about the constant stress in his life. The first and last verse make reference to his daughter, and amid all the macho posturing, he lets on that he's a little ashamed of his criminal behavior: 'Baby on the way, mad bills to pay / that's why you drink Tanqueray, so you can reminisce / and wish you wasn't living so devilish.'
'Me & My Bitch': The sampled string sounds give this a soap opera feel, which makes sense, since 'Me & My Bitch' is a dramatic love story about Biggie falling for his female counterpart—a pistol-packin' mama who's not afraid to hide his car keys or chuck his clothes out the window. It quickly goes from Young & the Restless to Bonnie & Clyde, though, complete with unhappy ending.
'Big Poppa': The smoothest track on the album -- and the only one to challenge 'Juicy' for the title of most celebratory -- features a lush Isley Brothers sample and, amazingly enough, a plea to stop the violence. 'You got a gun up in your waist, please don't shoot up the place,' Biggie raps in the chorus, realizing that blood in the hot tub will only kill the mood. 'Big Poppa' marked the rapper's first Top 10 hit, solidifying his image as a sweet-talking G of wealth and taste.
'Respect': Dancehall singer Diana King owns this cut, which amounts to yet another Biggie Smalls creation narrative. In this version, Biggie is haunted by death from the very beginning and born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. He survives, but that's just the beginning of his troubles. Subsequent years bring guns, drugs and incarceration. 'Me holla respect,' King sings in the chorus, her barking patois repping Biggie's Jamaican roots. Her words signaling sympathy for his plight: 'Gun men alone, keep gun men friend.'
'Friend of Mine': Easy Mo Bee's backing track is the disc's most danceable, though Biggie's not chatting about cruising the club for 'honeys.' 'Friend of Mine' is his justification for loving and leaving 'em -- a practice that was evidently born of being cheated on. In the third verse, he fights infidelity with infidelity, only to discover that women get upset when you sleep with their sisters. 'You know that ain't right,' goes the hook -- an admonishment that applies to all involved parties.
'Unbelievable': The most memorable part of this last-minute addition is the beat, composed by DJ Premier and made all the better by the R. Kelly sample Biggie suggested for the chorus. Otherwise, 'Unbelievable' is more gangsta bravado, much of it delivered with enough creative spark to suggest it wasn't all darkness in Biggie's world. 'I got three hundred and fifty-seven ways/ to simmer sauté, I'm the winner all day,' he raps. He'll kill you with his wit and his .357.
'Suicidal Thoughts': All the sadness and self-loathing of the previous 16 tracks come to a head on 'Suicidal Thoughts,' one long verse presented as a late-night phone call from B.I.G. to Puffy. 'Crime after crime, from drugs to extortion/ I know my mother wished she got a fucking abortion,' he raps, resolving in the final bars to end the life that Voletta Wallace wouldn't. Ready to Die ends with a gunshot and the sound of Biggie's heart slowing to a halt. It's the inevitable conclusion, but it still knocks the wind out of you.