Mic Navarro's Corner: The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die THROWBACK ALBUM REVIEW

It was all a dream. Those are not just iconic words from a classic song. They are also words that perfectly describes the life and career of Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. From slinging drugs on the corner, to getting his record deal, to living a life of fame and luxury, to his untimely passing. It's a story so compelling that by now almost every one knows it. It's been told through his music, through books and now through film. 1994 was such a huge year for debuts in hip hop. Many of them were very anticipated. But none were more anticipated and more hyped leading up to the release more than Ready To Die. For you younger folks, think about the hype and anticipation leading up to 50 Cent's debut Get Rich Or Die Tryin. Same exact thing was the case for Biggie in '94. Many had no idea this album what remotely be what it became. This album was pretty much the total package as far as a the perfect hip hop album. The perfect combination of lyrics, production and originality. Also the perfect combination of radio songs, street songs and so on. Every song paints a vivid picture in your head of Big's life in a nutshell. His incredible lyricism and intricate word play just makes you feel like you're right there on the block in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn with him. The album just felt so theatrical. As if you were watching a film on the rise and fall of one of hip hop's greatest MC's, told through music. This album also played a significant role in revitalizing the east coast's mainstream sound. Which was quite absent due to the west coasts mainstream dominance at the time. I could go on with this beginning part of why this album is so triumphant but I want to get into breaking it down. So let's get to that. I have so many favorites on this album that it's impossible to place one above the other. I'll first start off with "Gimme The Loot". This track not only showed Big's true lyrical genius but it also showed impressive creativity. The whole thing with him portraying two different characters planning criminal acts and changing up his voice to play the other character was beyond dope. Nowadays that doesn't seem like a big deal to do but at that time, no one else was doing that with their music. Along with the creativity, it also showed Big's ability as an excellent story teller, which is put on display throughout this whole album. "Warning" is one of the singles and again we see his story telling wizardry come to play. The whole song is a phone conversation with a associate who's warning Big of the people that's coming after him and his wealth. The beat is so infectious. Well done by Easy Mo Bee. The video for this song (see below) tells the story more vividly as Diddy (or let's just say Puffy for this occasion) is the one on the phone with Big. It was a beat and concept that Big just straight up killed. Call the coroner. The lyricism on "The What" was absolutely thrilling. I repeated this song about three times when I first heard it. Again Easy Mo Bee comes through with another dope head nodder of a beat. This song features Method Man who is the lone guest feature. Man this is easily one of the best collaborations I have ever heard. Their chemistry, lyrically and flow wise, meshed so perfectly. I honestly believe this is a better collaboration than Big and Jay-Z on "Brooklyn's Finest". Sorry Jay fans. Then there's the main single "Juicy" and I don't even need to go into the full detail on this one. Even someone who has never heard a lot of Big's music knows very well about this classic record. This song is the ultimate rags to riches story told through one song. One notable thing about this album is the excellent sampling done on these beats and this song was no exception. Sampling the classic Mtume hit "Juicy Fruit". I mean this is a song full of so many quotables, so many memorable lines and brought the biggest feel good vibe of any track on the album. The other single "Big Poppa" features in my opinion one of the best sampling jobs ever in hip hop history. Big took The Isley Brothers timeless classic "Between The Sheets" and straight up made it his own. To the point where if someone real young heard the Isley Brothers version they would say "who are these old guys singing on Biggie's beat?". My major gripe with many, many rappers today is their lack of ability to make a good song for the ladies. Take notes rappers, this is how you make a song for the ladies. DJ Premier is one of my top five favorite producers of all time and it should be obvious why. Just look at "Unbelievable". That's exactly how I would describe this beat as it's probably my favorite on the album. The hook is so catchy with the singing and the sampling one of Big's lines from "The What". But things get real on the final track "Suicidal Thoughts". This song was just too powerful for words. Bringing his lyrical story telling to the table, he makes a call to Puffy where he seems to be breaking down. Fed up with all the drama, all the wrongs he has done, he tells him hows he's contemplating taking his own life. It's so powerful because it plays right into the belief many people for years have had about Big. That he knew his actual death was coming. Still, one of the most moving, emotional and powerful hip hop songs I've ever heard. Everything from the trigger happy "Machine Gun Funk", to the Bonnie & Clyde inspired "Me & My Bitch", to the reggae sounds of "Respect", there's pretty much nothing not to like on this album. I give this a final grade of a A+. So...the question still remains. Did Biggie see his own death coming? Look at his album titles, look at some of the content of the songs. You could make a case that he did. But who knows. Regardless, Ready To Die is a triumphant album. Changing the rap game not just for the east coast but for all of hip hop and maybe all of music. It is an album that to this day is still recognized by all involved with hip hop as one of the best album of all time. You can clearly see the influence this album has had on the rap game as so many lines and beats have been sampled from this album from countless artists. Biggie was certainly ahead of his time with his lyrics and his unique story telling ability. It's sad that he's no longer here to see the impact that he and this album has had on hip hop today. Classic just doesn't describe it. It's simply a masterpiece. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one king of New York. His name is Christopher Wallace....and if you don't know, now you know. End.

Final Grade: A+