The Greatest 50 Hip-hop Albums Ever - #14...

[Twentytwofifty]

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


    It might be redundant to even review the music on the record, as in today's hip-hop world it is an unscrutinized given to consider almost every track that Biggie ever touched great.  But it is important for us to examine what makes Ready To Die a brilliant record so that we can apply these lessons to other music, rather than blindly worshipping Biggie without learning anything from his work.  Sometimes newcomers to rap often question the validity of Christopher Wallace's huge following, pointing out that his lyrics weren't that "tight," and that other MCs have more complex rhymes.  But rap is not about how many syllables one can cram into a line or how many clever punchlines one can come up with.  It is about effectively communicating meaningful ideas, and Biggie just didn't need to use devices such as the punchline or the multi-syllable line in order to do that.  His personality and his incredible choice of words were all he needed to move people.  It didn't hurt that he had a rich, booming voice and a precise, straightforward flow either.  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.

     The first two songs on the album, "Things Done Changed" and "Gimme The Loot," very clearly display the "good" and "evil" sides of Biggie, and the music is so powerful that that the listener actually revels in both.  "Things Done Changed" features understated but banging production, over which Biggie takes a step back from the crime that he himself is involved in in order to reflect on the streets.  No sociologist could ever express the hopelessness of slum living the way Big did: "Because the streets is a short stop / Either you're slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot."  The very next track, "Gimme The Loot," is an undeniably fun, but nihilistic, celebration of the violent lifestyle that Biggie laments, to a degree, on "Things Done Changed."  Easy Mo Bee's production is appropriately psycho, and Biggie uses the opportunity to rhyme with two different voices, as two characters talking about heists. 

    Clearly, this is a remarkably raw album we're talking about.  As much as rappers today try and bite Biggie, they just can't come close to affecting fans the way Biggie did.Very few artists have the guts to pour out every little thing in their hearts and minds the way that Biggie did throughout Ready To Die.  He gets as deep as humanly possible on the tragic "Me And My Bitch," where the misogyny and cruelty that are the bad sides of Big's street culture can't overpower his loving nature.  And he gets just as deep on the single, "Juicy," which is easily one of the most inspirational songs in the history of hip-hop music.  Whatever the message of the song is, the honesty that Biggie can't help but exude is always what makes it work.  The remarkable songs though are the ones that aren't remembered for being top ten hits on a multi-platinum album, but the jeep bangers like DJ Premier's "Unbelievable" which made B.I.G. as big a hero to underground rap heads as he was to pop music:

Bandaging MC's, oxygen they can't breathe
Mad tricks up the sleeve, wear boxers so my dick can breathe
Breeze through in the Q-45 by my side, lyrical high
And those that rushes my cluthes get put on crutches
Get smoked like dutches from the master
Hate to blast ya, but I have ta, you see I smoke a lot
Your life is played out like Kwame, and them fuckin polka dots
Who rock the spot? Biggie!
You know how the weed go, unbelievable

    With only one unfortunate interlude which can be easily dismissed and fifteen powerful rap songs sandwiched together from the "Intro" right up to the powerful and eerie Lord Finesse produced "Suicidal Thoughts" at the end, this is an album which encapsulates the best of New York's hardcore hip-hop in one definining moment which also encapsulated the best of what Biggie had to offer the world.  Biggie was the quintessential master of wordplay who could either scare you like Edgar Allan Poe or charm you like Cyrano de Begerac.  Ofcourse most people wouldn't be impressed if you just read them the words of the Notorious B.I.G. out loud, with no beat, one after another - it's the deep timbre of Biggie's booming voice along with the impeccable timing of his authoritative delivery along with some of the best rap music beats of the 90's that all come together to make this one for the ages.


50. Dr. Dre - 2001 (1999)
49. Outkast - Southernplayalisticaddicmuzik (1994)
48. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (1996)
47. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Wanted: Dead Or Alive (1990)
46. Redman - Whut? Thee Album (1992)
45. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead (1991)
44. Fugees - The Score (1996)
43. The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better (1989)
42. Common Sense - Resurrection (1994)
41. Makaveli - The Don Kiluminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996)
40. Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet (1990)
39. Ice Cube - Death Certificate (1992)
38. Gza/Genius - Liquid Swords (1995)
37. N.W.A - Efil4zaggin (1991)
36. Main Source - Breaking Atoms (1991)
35. Geto Boys - Grip It! On That Other Level (1989)
34. Brand Nubian - One For All (1990)
33. Scarface - The Diary (1994)
32. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Road To The Riches (1989)
31. Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986)
30. Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown (1988)
29. LL Cool J - Radio (1985)
28. 2Pac - All Eyez On Me (1996)
27. Mobb Deep - The Infamous... (1995)
26. Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader (1988)
25. Big Daddy Kane - It's A Big Daddy (1989)
24. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca And The Soul Brother (1992)
23. Black Moon - Enta Da Stage (1993)
22. Outkast - Aquemini (1998)
21. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm (1990)
20. Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C. (1984)
19. Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary (1988)
18. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995)
17. De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising (1989)
16. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (1993)
15. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990)
14. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die (1994)

[eKardz]

thats a good spot for this album.

[Larrabee]

I love this album. I'm curious to see if "Life After Death" will make it on the list.

[Javier]

Not a chance^^

[eKardz]

Not a chance^^

at least i hope not

[big mat]

this is my favorite cd

[Wicked977]

thats a good spot for this album.

[Don Jacob]

should be higher

[Wicked977]

thinking about it what is so influencial about this album

[makaveli11]

^^^^ It only brought eastcoast rap back in the picture.

[ωεεźγ ғ]

thats a good spot for this album.

[Javier]

^^^^ It only brought eastcoast rap back in the picture.

lol yeah i was just about to point this out.

Also, aside from that huge feat, this is one of the most personal albums ive heard from a rapper.

[ImmortalOne]

Ranked way too high IMO, but then again im not too big on Biggie's music (no pun intended).

Its a classic but there are alot of albums that are better as I see it. I would have Cuban Linx, Doggystyle, both the Pac albums on the list, Aquemini, Death Certificate, Amerikkkaz Most Wanted, among others higher. This one would be somewhere in my top 25 perhaps, but definatly not top 15.

[ImmortalOne]

^^^^ It only brought eastcoast rap back in the picture.

Actually, id give that credit to 36 Chambers and Illmatic before I would this album. No doubt this album had a role in doing so, but I think the first two albums set the standard, especially Illmatic.

[ImmortalOne]

This should be higher only eastcoast albums thats better is illmatic.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx >> this album

another east coast album I like better than this, but didnt make the list:

Wu Tang Forever. To be honest, I prefer this album over 36 Chambers and is my second fav Wu album after Cuban Linx. It didnt have the impact of either of those albums, but lyrically and musically, it was light years ahead of them. Also, the second best double cd ever, behind only All Eyez On Me.