779. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die (1994)

Track Listing

1. Intro
2. Things Done Changed
3. Gimme The Loot
4. Machine Gun Funk
5. Warning
6. Ready To Die
7. One More Chance
8. Fuck Me
9. What
10. Juicy
11. Everyday Struggles
12. Me And My Bitch
13. Big Poppa
14. Respect
15. Friend Of Mine
16. Unbelievable
17. Suicidal Thoughts
18. Who Shot Ya
19. Just Playing (Dreams)

Review

This album fuses a lot of the elements of West Coast and East Coast rap but in the process something is lost. The very distinctive quality of East Coast rap gets diluted in this album, the lyrics are falling in line with West Coast lyrics as is the pristine production.

This actually leaves me a bit sad, I love East Coast rap for it's distinctive sound and this album signalises a homogenisation of Hip-Hop music which would become only more prevalent in later years.

This being said the album is quite good, alternatively funny, dirty and quite depressing, Notorious gives us a smorgasbord of music while still making the album very coherent, semi-autobiographical and polished. Still, it is too close to West Coast hip-hop to do much for me.

Track Highlights

1. Big Poppa
2. Gimme The Loot
3. Suicidal Thoughts
4. Machine Gun Funk

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Upon its release, Ready to Die received strong reviews, and unlike other acclaimed East Coast hip hop albums released at the time (including the Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Nas' Illmatic), such critical success was matched commercially, with sales driven by strong radio and MTV airplay for the singles "Juicy" and "Big Poppa". Rolling Stone praised Biggie's ability in "painting a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene". Q magazine wrote "...the natural rapping, clever use of sound effects and acted dialogue, and concept element... set this well apart from the average gangsta bragging". The album peaked at #3 and #13 on Billboard's (North America) Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and the Billboard 200 album charts and was eventually certified quadruple platinum.

Big Poppa: