Ready to Die is The
Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album. Born Christopher Wallace, Biggie Smalls (a pseudo name) rose to fame after releasing this album in 1992. The album would end up going quadrupedal platinum and then certified diamond in 2000.
The
Intro track of the album starts with a heart beat and Biggie being born, transitions into him growing up with abusive parents, and then winding up come'n out of jail after serving his sentence for robing a train in 1987. The intro ends with Biggie say'n "I got big plans nigga... big plans" as
Things Done Changed, track two, comes in. In the first two tracks you can hear a lot of samples of "classic" hip-hop. The whole premise and point of the first two songs is to tell the listener that the happy-go-lucky days of hip-hop that used to be, and Biggie used to listen to, is either over or never existed. You also get the very real sense that Christopher Wallace is a "bad bad..." man because of the situation he was placed.
"Motherfuckers was all friendly Loungin at the barbeques, drinkin brews with the neighborhood crews, hangin on the avenues. Turn your pagers, to nineteen ninety three Niggaz is gettin smoked G, believe me... all of this to me, is a mystery I hear you motherfuckers talk about it But I stay seein bodies with the motherfuckin chalk around it... Damn, what happened to the summertime cookouts? Everytime I turn around a nigga gettin took out... Either you're slingin crack rock or you got a wicked jump-shot Shit, it's hard being young from the slums eatin five cent gums not knowin where your meals comin from" - Things Done Changed, Notorious B.I.G.
On track three,
Gimme The Loot the listener starts to understand why his name is Notorious. Biggie talks about being a thief, stealing, and robbing for loot. I imagine that Biggie, as the name implies, was not only a lyrically imposing but physically as well. Standing at six foot three inches it is estimated Chris Wallace weighted over 300 lbs. This track was one of Biggie's more popular songs which is probably attributed to his crazy flow and hilarious antics.
So go get your man bitch he can get robbed too! Tell him Biggie took it, what the fuck he gonna do? - Gimme The Loot, Notorious B.I.G.
Gimmie The Loot ends with a shoot-out with the cops as it transitions into
Machine Gun Funk. Track five,
Warning talks about how "nigga's" from Biggie's neighborhood are after his "paper." Like Wu-Tang, it's clear that Biggie ain't nuttin' to fuck wit. "What'cha gonna do when Big Poppa comes for you? I'm not run'n, nigga I bust my gun in, hold'on I hear somebody come'n" is how Biggie ends his rap. However the song ends after Biggie kills two guys try'na 'run up' on his house.
In the kind of environment Biggie was involved with, (unfortunately) vigilante justice was the way many disputes were solved. So track six,
Ready to Die, informs the listener that Biggie will do whatever it takes to get his money. Track seven signifies a change in the album's focus. Between
One More Chance and
Fuck Me the listener starts to understand why girls call Chris, "B.I.G."
Track nine features
Method Man, one of only two features. Of course, everybody knows
Juicy, track 10. In
Everyday Struggle Biggie raps about why he doesn't want to live anymore. Then, Notorious expands on his gross and back-handed love-approach toward women in
Me & My Bitch (featuring Sybil Pennix). Track 13 is another classic with
Big Poppa.
Respect, track 14, is basically an autobiography of Biggie, again highlighting the environment he has been surrounded in.
Friend of Mine divulges why Notorious calls women bitches and hoes. (It's because they sleep around with his friends and they "know that ain't right.")
She's sayin' I dissed her 'cause I'm fuckin' her sister. A message to the fellas, that really gets'em pissed, uh. But she started that fuckin' family, She fucked my man Dee, so why she mad at me? - Friend of Mine, Notorious B.I.G.
By the time you get to track 16,
Unbelievable the listener will notice two things. First, Biggie doesn't like to do his own hooks... and what's unbelievable is Biggie's skill. The album ends with
Suicidal Thoughts, track 17 which explains why Chris is so eager to kill himself. He's never been anything to anyone but a 'fuck up;' he raps about his criminal record, and (in his own way) apologizes to his mother for everything he put her through.
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