#22 The Notorious B.I.G., 'Ready to Die' (1994)
Previously #134
‘Ready To Die’ is the debut record of The Notorious B.I.G., and the only one to be released within his lifetime. Biggie Smalls was signed by Sean “Puffy” Combs to Uptown Records after the latter heard his demo tape. Biggie would subsequently start recording the album in 1993 but when Combs was fired from the label, Biggie’s future was left in the balance. Combs would ultimately start Bad Boy Records, to which Biggie would be signed, but in the interim he made ends meet by selling drugs. By the time the recording was finish, Biggie was 22-years-old.
The record opens with the narrative of a woman giving birth. As the baby comes we hear the song ‘Pusherman’ by Curtis Mayfield playing. Brilliant subtlety as that single was released in 1972, the same year that Smalls aka Christopher Wallace was born. This gives an indication that the record is somewhat autobiographical. That song is about a drug dealer, foreshadowing Wallace’s brief stint later on. The track then cycles through ‘80s and early ‘90s Hip hop songs, ‘Rapper’s Delight,’ ‘Top Billin’ and ‘Tha Shiznit,’ a clever device to illustrate the passage of time. It ends with Biggie being released from jail, mirroring his real life as he was arrested in 1990 for dealing crack. Lead single starts off the lyrics, “Yeah, this album is dedicated/To all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothin'/To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin' in front of/Called the police on me when I was just tryin' to make some money to feed my daughter (it's all good)/And all the niggas in the struggle.” The song documents his struggles and rise, discussing how he had realised his dreams. Second single, ‘Big Poppa’ is one of the most recognisable Hip Hop songs of the ‘90s. Heavily sampling ‘Between The Sheets’ by The Isley Brothers, the title references on of his nicknames. Third single, ‘One More Chance’ held the record for highest debuting rap single on the charts at #5, until that record was smashed by Puff Daddy and the song, ‘I’ll Be Missing You,’ which was a tribute to Biggie himself. The song interpolates Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ in the chorus. The album is smooth and his voice is one of the most recognisable in Hip Hop. His flow was just so natural. Biggie Smalls would elevate East Coast Hip Hop and raise the bar. His ability to tell stories was second to none in Hip Hop. Wallace would be murdered 3 years later, 16 days before the release of the follow up, ‘Life After Death’ (#179). Never before have the titles of two albums had such a sense of dramatic irony.
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