Classic Of The Day Ready To Die?
http://bp1.blogger.com/_yuGx2p_Kpck/Ri1zgR-VF1I/AAAAAAAAAJQ/YDYt_f0OAZE/s1600-h/Ready+to+Die.jpg
(Juicy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFB8UZjYJwk
(Warning) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwAzkJs7DaA
(One More Chance) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHDRkO_UmXY
(Big Poppa) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLAdMpk9BQo
"A ************* rap phenomenon"
- Notorious B.I.G.
Yup, Biggie sure saw it coming, didn't he? Well, in this case, I'm glad people acknowledged his skills. And believe me, when I say that Biggie has skills, HE HAS SKILLS!! It's real easy for everyone to say that Biggie was overrated just because he's dead and has millions of dickriders, but LISTEN TO THE MAN RAP!!! He has such a unique way of rapping. At his finest, Biggie had the compelling storytelling ability of Kool G Rap, the straightforward, but sharp-as-nails flow of Lord Finesse, and the charisma of Big Daddy Kane (that's especially impressive for a guy that weighed 300+ pounds). If there's ANYBODY that sounds like Biggie, they just bit him and failed miserably. To this day, there's no one that sounds like B.I.G. at his finest. There are as many hip-hop quotables here as on Paid In Full or Long Live the Kane. Believe that! You'll noticed that in at least half of the songs, Biggie sounds oddly high-pitched. That's because those were tracks that Biggie did when he was still signed to Uptown Records. You'll also notice that those are Big's nastiest and violent songs, since it was before Puffy's influence (I'd like to mention that Puff also soiled his draws during that club incident in '99). XXL stated that on the pre-Bad Boy songs, Biggie sounded "inexperienced and paranoid". I'd also like to mention that XXL still spents most of their time promoting G-Unit, so who cares what they think. I love that high-pitched Biggie even more than the "finessed" Biggie. He sounded so RAW and energetic. The man wanted to impress and saying that he did would be an understatement. Lyrically, there hasn't been an album with so much swearing, disrespect towards women, and over-the-top violence since Mr. Scarface Is Back. Hell, even that's deeper than Ready to Die. Biggie's teaching all the wrong morals here, but honestly who cares?! Picture Biggie telling you to respect your fellow sistas and to have safe sex. CORNY!!! There are plenty of more articulate albums of '94, like Illmatic and The Sun Rises In the East, so don't chastize Biggie for acting the fool here. As far as the beats go, the most prevalent producer here is Easy Mo Bee. Among him are others like DJ Premier, Lord Finesse, Puffy, and others. I wouldn't call the production equal to Biggie's rapping, but they get the job done. Believe me when I say that Ready to Die is a CLASSIC. Even if Biggie would've sold out post '97, at least he gave me an album that I enjoy even more than Jealous One's Envy, The Infamous..., Reasonable Doubt and even Illmatic. Anyone that loves hip-hop NEEDS THIS ALBUM!!! Non-fans will completely hate this. For anyone that's a fan of Biggie, Ready to Die should be the reason. This is Notorious B.I.G. at his absolute finest. If someone claims to be a huge fan of Big, but they ain't heard Ready to Die, they ain't a fan.
Song Quality: 10/10 ("Biggie Smalls is the illest")
Lyrics: 10/10 (to reiterate, "Biggie Smalls is the illest")
Beats: 8/10 (mehhh, doesn't hinder the album though)
Favorites songs:
Things Done Changed
Machine Gun Funk
Ready to Die
One More Chance (the remix is better though)
Everyday Struggle (storytelling GENIUS!)
Juicy
Me & My *****
Big Poppa
Suicidal Thoughts (eerie, but brilliant)
Unbelievable
Warning
Gimme the Loot (Biggie just doesn't give a damn)
Friend of Mine
The What (Big and Meth KILLED it!)
Least favorites:
none