Ready to Die (album)

## **Singles from *Ready to Die***

1. "Juicy"
Released: August 9, 1994
2. "Big Poppa" / "Warning"
Released: December 24, 1994
3. "One More Chance"
Released: June 6, 1995

***Ready to Die*** is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy and Arista Records. In a retrospective review, *Billboard* described the record as "a lot darker and more nihilistic than its slick singles may convey. Biggie's rhymes were fiercely personal, relaying the fatalistic worldview and "money over everything" ethos of a Brooklyn corner hustler. [...] remains a masterpiece."

## Synopsis

By the age of 22, Christopher Wallace had already lived quite the life. By naming his debut Ready to Die, the Brooklyn rapper bluntly encapsulated both his fearless, take-no-prisoners lyrical style and his perpetual sixth sense that death could come for him at any time. While hardly the first to rap about the pleasures and pitfalls of drug dealing, The Notorious B.I.G. elevated the form to a divine art of brutal honesty. "I remember when he was doing the title track, I was a little disturbed," Easy Mo Bee, who produced several of the album's standouts, tells Apple Music. "'You're saying you're ready to die? What's up, Big?' He told me, 'I'm going through a lot...I'm tired of being up there hustling, my mom is sick, I have a baby on the way.' He was going through a lot of pressure."

From the autobiographical "Things Done Changed" onwards, Biggie Smalls spoke directly, without distillation, about Brooklyn crime and culture, connecting instantly with those in the know while compelling others less attuned to catch up. The violence and costs of the hustle are laid bare on the stick-up-kid anthem "Gimme the Loot" and the closer "Suicidal Thoughts," which ends with the sound of him killing himself while on the phone with executive producer/mentor Sean "Diddy" Combs (then known as Puff Daddy), who pleads for him to reconsider.

But against the backdrop of violence and death, Big mixes in moments of aspiration and confidence. On the seminal breakthrough single "Juicy," he professes his love of hip-hop through a deeply personal come-up narrative so exemplary that few, if any, have come close to matching it since. The song, which samples Mtume's 1983 R&B classic "Juicy Fruit," is one of the first examples of Diddy turning extremely recognizable past hits into commercial hip-hop gold; the shiny, familiar production helped Big's gruff voice and tales of a "common thief" find radio and mainstream success in a year when the biggest rap hit on Billboard's Hot 100 was Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue's "Whatta Man." "In the early process [the album] was Biggie at his most purest, rawest form," Brooklyn DJ Mister Cee, associate executive producer and the man often credited with discovering Big, tells Apple Music. "Diddy stepped in and said, 'Hey, man, we gotta make some radio records...' Diddy had to convince Big."
"When he played 'Juicy' for Big, it was just like, 'What the fuck is this?'" Lil' Cease, Big's childhood friend and frequent collaborator, tells Apple Music. Obviously, Diddy won over Big, who, says Cease, "perfected" the formula—street-hustler rhymes softened by glossy, radio-ready production—sketching a blueprint that JAY-Z, 50 Cent, and rap stars of today still follow.

## Track listing

All tracks written by Christopher Wallace except "The What" written by Christopher Wallace and Clifford Smith.

* Combs

Notes
* "Intro," "Fuck Me (Interlude)," and "Friend of Mine" contain additional vocals from Lil' Kim.
* "One More Chance" and "Juicy" contain additional vocals from Total.
* "Respect" contains backing vocals from Diana King.
* "Me & My Bitch" contains additional vocals from Sybil Pennix.
* "Who Shot Ya?" was originally included as a bonus track on the original double vinyl issue in 1994.
* A single-disc condensed LP edition was originally available at the time of release, and has been sometimes repressed. Side A features "Juicy," "Gimme The Loot," "Machine Gun Funk" and "Warning;" Side B features "Unbelievable," "The What," "Respect," "One More Chance" and "Big Poppa."

### Sample credits

"Intro"
* "Superfly" by Curtis Mayfield
* "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang
* "Top Billin' by Audio Two
* "Tha Shiznit" by Snoop Dogg

"Things Done Changed"
* "California My Way" by The Main Ingredient
* "Summer Breeze" by The Main Ingredient
* "Vapors" by Biz Markie
* "Lil Ghetto Boy" by Dr. Dre

"Gimme the Loot"
* "Smokin' Cheeba-Cheeba" by Harlem Underground Band
* "Don't Change Your Love" by The Five Stairsteps
* "Coldblooded" by James Brown
* "Singing in the Morning" by The Ohio Players (Later removed following a lawsuit)
* "Throw Ya Gunz" by Onyx
* "What They Hittin' Foe?" by Ice Cube
* "Just to Get a Rep" by Gang Starr
* "Scenario (Remix)" by A Tribe Called Quest

"Machine Gun Funk"
* "Something Extra" by Black Heat
* "Up for the Down Stroke" by The Horny Horns (Later removed following a lawsuit)
* "Chief Rocka" by Lords of the Underground

"Warning"
* "Walk on By" by Isaac Hayes
* "Thinking" by The Meters
* "Freak of the Week" by Funkadelic

"Ready to Die"
* "Hospital Prelude of Love Theme" by Willie Hutch
* "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly and the Family Stone
* "Yes, I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason
* "Ain't No Half Steppin'" by Big Daddy Kane
* "Two to the Head" by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
* "Check It Out" by Grand Puba
* "Singing in the Morning" by Ohio Players (Later removed following a lawsuit)

"One More Chance"
* "Hydra" by Grover Washington, Jr.
* "Stay With Me" by DeBarge

"Fuck Me (Interlude)"
* "Feenin'" by Jodeci

"The What"
* "Can't Say Enough About Mom" by Leroy Hutson
* "Overnight Sensation" by Avalanche

"Juicy"
* "Juicy Fruit ('Fruity' Instrumental Mix)" by Mtume

"Everyday Struggle"
* "Either Way" by Dave Grusin
* "Don't Change Your Love" by The Five Stairsteps

"Big Poppa"
* "Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers
* "Dolly My Baby (Bad Boy Extended Remix)" by Super Cat

"Respect"
* "I Get Lifted" by KC & the Sunshine Band

"Friend of Mine"
* "The Jam" by Graham Central Station
* "Seventh Heaven" by Gwen Guthrie
* "Vicious" by Black Mamba

"Unbelievable"
* "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers
* "Kitty With the Bent Frame" by Quincy Jones
* "Your Body's Callin'" by R. Kelly

"Suicidal Thoughts"
* "Lonely Fire" by Miles Davis
* "Outside Love" by Brethren

"Who Shot Ya?"
* "I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over" by David Porter

"Just Playing (Dreams)"
* "Blues and Pants" by James Brown
* "Spinning Wheel" by Lonnie Smith

## References

1. ↑ Williams, Stereo (October 16, 2019). "Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Ready to Die' Forever Changed the Course of Hip-Hop 25 Years Ago". *Billboard*.
2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150405151731/http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Top100RapAlbums\_10.htm
3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150405182659/http://rap.about.com/od/top10albums/ss/90sBestRapMusic\_5.htm
4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150418142359/http://rap.about.com/od/top10albums/ss/EssentialAlbums\_8.htm
5. ↑ "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die: Hip-Hop". *Blender*. *Dennis Publishing Ltd*, pg. 90. April 2003, Vol. 2(3)
6. ↑ MacDonald, Bruno (2006). *1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die*. *Universe Publishing*. pg. 743
7. ↑ "Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists". 1994. *St. Martin's Press*. pg. 335
8. ↑ {https://web.archive.org/web/20080910040000/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076\_20207387\_20207337,00.html
9. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/nov/21/1000tohearbeforeyoudie1
10. ↑ Bulley, Jenny (2001). "Mojo 1000: The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide to Rock, Pop, Soul, Jazz, Soundtracks & More". pg. 76
11. ↑ Irvin, Jim (2009). *The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion*. *Canongate Books*.
12. ↑ Moon, Tom (2008). *1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die*. *Workman Publishing Company*. pg. 555–556
13. ↑ https://archive.today/20120905123001/http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip\_hop\_week/2005/greatest\_albums\_0505/index8.jhtml
14. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100305150130/http://www.pauseandplay.com/vaultalbums.htm
15. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170608094830/http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/?page=7
16. ↑ *Q* (2005). Issue 225
17. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110718180414/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html
18. ↑ *Rolling Stone 2020*
19. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170709053553/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-nineties-20110427/beck-odelay-20110517
20. ↑ *Sounds by Rolling Stone* (June 2009)
21. ↑ *The Source* (January 1998). Issue 100
22. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=bGjsvmNt8UgC&pg=PA132
23. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=p6-UYTO7l1MC&pg=PA80
24. ↑ *Spin* (February 15, 2012)
25. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070105191746/http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/
26. ↑ *Vibe* (December 1999). Vol. 7, No. 10
27. ↑ *Vibe* (March 2007)
28. ↑ https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres95.php

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