Reviews (page 5 of 13)
I feel like I've been traumatized by proxy. There's all the violence and bravado and misogyny that freaked people out in the 90s, but there's also a lot of creativity and vulnerability and candor that makes you felt like the machismo is compensation.
On one hand, Biggie is one of the greatest storytellers in all of rap. His rhymes are deceptively complex, he’s easy to understand, and he paints vivid landscapes of the life of an east coast gangster. He changed the genre forever. On the other hand, I’ve always found the production pretty muddy and uninspired, and tiresome after an hour. RZA or Dre or any number of others would have been incredible. Or imagine some of those early Fugees or Nas songs with Biggie at the helm. Tupac’s works suffered from the same issues. It’s still a stone cold classic. I just wish it went a little harder. He deserved better.
Good ol' oldschool hiphop
Absolute amazing album. From the lyrics to the production to the stories that he tells. Yeah there's a few ridiculous interludes, but the rest of the album stands so strong
Maan if it wasnt for the random sex noises and questionsble lyrics… I really dont know if I should give it a 4 or 5. If I look at the Rap Albums i have at 5, I think of all of them as flawless. This, while having some of the best Hiphop songs ever recorded, is not flawless sadly. If I could cut the weird lines, noises, Puff out of the record it would be a 10/10
(89/100)
Another classic album this time by biggie!! So good and so many good songs!
Really dang good... but not quite a 5 for me. No real complaints with it, just that after looking through the tracklist, a few songs haven't made a huge impression after a few listens. 8/10
Skemmtileg og flott plata
Super Nintendo Sega Genesis
He had the cleanest, meanest penis. Some classic hip hop grooves on this, Juicy, Big Poppa, Me and My Bitch are iconic. A real blend of provocative outbursts and a reflective piece on a crazy chaotic life. Could have done without the annoying pager noises and the shagging
I'm not a fan of rap, but I suppose this is probably a very good rap album. I did not enjoy listening to it.
i mean come on. what, you're gonna deny this? christ. deserves to be one of the 1001? yes yes yes, it does it does!
Jättebra! Bra texter, otroliga rim, bra story, men låtarna var kanske liite lika varann ibland. Fett bra dock
Notorious creative talent paints a picture of struggles he faced during the time of the Album.
Gritty. Very good grooves
Really liked this. Aside from things here and there I’d never really listened to his music, but this was great. I’m no Hip Hop connoisseur by any means but I know what I like and this album had me nodding throughout. Like a lot of albums of its kind, it outstays its welcome. There’s some gumph on it, but it’s still a solid 4.
You can hear how influential this is
Interesting listen. Classic Biggy. This came out when I was 20. How did I miss it.
Great album
8/10
Great album, hearing Who Shot Ya? on the remaster is tough knowing what is to come for him and Tupac
It’s so good. Irresistible flow, excellent samples. Again, skits suck like they always do but it is what it is. Biggie’s a legend he can do what he wants.
Hood classic. I'm not a rap person but can appreciate it, especially given the lore around. Great beats on most tracks, too
классика жанра. маэстро у микрофона. но честно говоря, немного состарилось произведение. есть монотонные трэчки + отвратительные скиты про половую жизнь Бига. и ладно если бы такой скит был один....
Classic 👌
Really cool album that truthfully I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did. Love the storytelling here. 7.4/10
bangers/but not my type
Favourites: Things Done Changed, Machine Gun Funk, Ready to Die, One More Chance, Juicy, Me and My Bitch, Big Poppa, Friend of Mine, Suicidal Thoughts
Favorites: Juicy, Everyday Struggle, Big Poppa Even though I'm west side 'til I die, I gotta admit this is an amazing album. The elite production combined with Biggie's hypnotizing flow and elite lyricism results in an hour-long project full of classics. 8.5/10
beats yes rhymes yes hard yes misogyny yes (it was common at the time... but gawd, I hated it even then)
La fin de l'album est moins bon, mais c'est très bon dans l'ensemble. 4/5
#DÍA 27: 1001 Discos Que Hay Que Escuchar Antes De Morir (English Translation Below) Pues toca uno de los álbumes más míticos del Hip Hop, un clásico que ya había escuchado pero que ha sido todo un placer volver a disfrutarlo. Se trata del histórico debut de The Notorious B.I.G., una pieza fundamental en la historia del Hip Hop. Aunque caótico en su concepción —mostrando dos actitudes distintas en el rapero, una más relajada y otra más hardcore—, fue un éxito para Biggie que lo hizo posicionarse como una de las figuras más influyentes de la cultura. Algo que siempre me ha resultado impactante de este LP es la facilidad del rapero para, no sólo soltar piezas de su realidad de la forma más cruda y sin filtros posible, sino su capacidad para encajarlas en un flow que está lleno de ritmo, energía y que es reconocible al instante. Gimme the Loot es uno de los temas más reveladores del disco, una canción que a menudo se menciona como una de las mejores en pintar el crimen callejero. No solo eso, sino que es una perfecta muestra de las habilidades de Biggie como narrador, que dan un aspecto cinematográfico a todo el álbum, además de cómo usa su voz para diferenciar entre los dos personajes que ilustra. Por otro lado no le falta hablar acerca de su puesto dentro del Hip Hop, como en Juicy, donde revela que no le avergüenza haber podido alcanzar un buen nivel económico pese a ser algo que pudiese ser visto como negativo, considera que sufrió suficiente para llegar a ello. Es interesante dentro de la lista de canciones el contraste entre los temas más agresivos y punzantes, como Ready to Die, y los más relajados y con mayor accesibilidad, como la clásica Big Poppa. No obstante, el disco cierra en un momento realmente oscuro con los pensamientos más negativos del rapero, que terminan con su suicidio hipotético, un tema bastante extraño en comparación al resto del LP y difícil de olvidar. Un clásico en toda regla, la potencia en el flow de Biggie, la calidad de las instrumentales, la fuerza narrativa… Pienso que pierde algo de fuelle en los últimos minutos, con Friend of Mine, cuya misoginia no es ignorable, o Unbelievable, que parece una de las pistas menos trabajadas y es más olvidable. Eso sin contar los skits de sexo que son… Bastante incómodos. Favoritas: Things Done Changed, Gimme the Loot, Machine Gun Funk, Warning, Ready to Die, Juicy, Everyday Struggle, Me and My Bitch, Big Poppa, Suicidal Thoughts Menos favorita: Friend of Mine #DAY 27: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die Well, here we have one of the most legendary Hip Hop albums, a classic I had already listened to but that was an absolute pleasure to revisit. It’s the historic debut of The Notorious B.I.G., a fundamental piece in Hip Hop history. Although chaotic in its conception—showing two different sides of the rapper, one more laid-back and the other more hardcore—it was a success for Biggie that positioned him as one of the most influential figures in the culture. Something that has always struck me about this LP is the rapper’s ability not only to spit out pieces of his reality in the rawest, most unfiltered way possible, but also to fit them into a flow that’s full of rhythm, energy, and instantly recognizable. Gimme the Loot is one of the album’s most revealing tracks, a song often mentioned as one of the best at depicting street crime. Not only that, but it’s also a perfect showcase of Biggie’s storytelling skills, which give the whole album a cinematic feel, along with how he uses his voice to distinguish between the two characters he portrays. On the other hand, he doesn’t shy away from talking about his place in Hip Hop, as in Juicy, where he reveals he isn’t ashamed of having reached financial success—even if it might be seen as a negative—because he believes he suffered enough to get there. Within the tracklist, it’s interesting to note the contrast between the more aggressive and hard-hitting songs, like Ready to Die, and the more laid-back and accessible ones, like the classic Big Poppa. Nevertheless, the record closes in a truly dark moment with the rapper’s most negative thoughts, ending with his hypothetical suicide—a rather strange track compared to the rest of the LP and one that’s hard to forget. A true classic in every sense—the power of Biggie’s flow, the quality of the instrumentals, the strength of the storytelling… I think it loses a bit of steam in the final minutes, with Friend of Mine, whose misogyny can’t be ignored, or Unbelievable, which feels like one of the less polished and more forgettable tracks. Not to mention the sex skits, which are… quite uncomfortable. Favorites: Things Done Changed, Gimme the Loot, Machine Gun Funk, Warning, Ready to Die, Juicy, Everyday Struggle, Me and My Bitch, Big Poppa, Suicidal Thoughts Least favorite: Friend of Mine
Can’t believe this is my 40 year old stance but did not enjoy the violence & graphic sex references. Well known tunes absolute bangers of course (Juicy, Big Poppa)
Great album, few bangers I never gave a chance before. Could definitely do without all the gooner sex interludes and outros imo.
I liked this album. Didn't t love it but enjoyed it a lot. I enjoyed that all the songs felt authentic to biggie's lived experience, and often led into each other with some short skit or scene about life in the hood. I wasn't the biggest fan of how the album had one speed the whole time, would have loved some variety to pack some punch into a few key points or themes. That being said all the tracks were solid so hey, if it ain't broke don't try to fix it. Shout-out to how he sampled artists like the Sugar Hill Gang and the Beastie Boys(?), and then has like 3 of the transition skits about just, fuckin'. My favorite tracks were the ones with the most catchy backing track like Respect, but my favorite was for sure The What with the train whistle sample.
This one rocked. Flow was on fucking point, I love how casually Biggie was able to just, deliver shit, made it sound so damn effortless. Some of the skits went on for so long though T.T idk if there needed to be that much sex, and some tracks just kinda blended between the rest. But when it hits, it *hits*. Favorite Tracks: Machine Gun Funk, Juicy, Everyday Struggle
A raw and authentic album that, with strong storytelling and genuine East Coast rap, cements Biggie’s status as one of the greats. The production is varied and atmospheric, and the lyrics feel both personal and sharp. An important album in hip-hop history. 4/5
I don't condone the misogyny. However, The Notorious B.I.G. is clearly very talented and it shows on this album. Lots of variety, all done very well. I love the dual vocal tracks on Gimme the Loot, I never would have guessed that he did both parts.
se me hizo i¿un toquesin largo, pero muy bueno.
Quite good
Much like the other albums in contention for the best hip hop in the last 30 years, the lyrics didn't age well. I acknowledge that, but if we listen to it in context, appreciate the storytelling, flow, production and beats, this is peak hip hop. I wish today's hip hop still sounded like this.
Superb. One of the best voices and flows in rap ever - the old soul confidence, jazzy cadence and clever moribund lyrics that will either dazzle, tickle or gut, but never bore you - who likely was just scratching the surface of greatness when his life was cut short. So many classics on this debut, however like many albums of the CD era, is a little too long and redundant for its own good. Could have dropped 2-3 tracks easily and made this a perfect album, but alas. The morbid title is prescient and apt, given the death obsession that runs through nearly every track on here. A legend.
Highlight Song/s: Things Done Changed, Warning, Juicy and Big Poppa I honestly thought this was going to be a lot better; I guess I'm just not a huge rap fan, if I don't like the top hip-hop albums or think majority of the songs are mediocre. Perhaps I need to lower my expectations. But I would say this one is a good album.
Amazing record. Loved the production and enjoyed Biggie's flow. I liked the samples that were put together here. I couldn't really enjoy the misogynistic lyrics which also encourages domestic abuse. The skits were also weird as hell. Favourite Track(s): Machine Gun Funk, Juicy Least Favourite Track(s): Unbelievable
Didn't give it my full attention, but what I heard I liked.
I never got around Biggie's music back when I was on a hip hop kick a few years back for some reason, I guess I was put off by the length of the album then. Now though I'm kicking myself a bit for not checking it sooner because this album is obviously awesome (Diddy notwithstanding, even if he had a big role on this album...). I mean, it's nuts to me still that he was only 22, its his debut and he sounds and raps like he was 32 with the kind of confidence and how forthcoming he is, he just goes for it and sounds effortless on all these songs which some have similar vibes and others which go wayyyyy into another sound entirely (Juicy, One More Chance, Me & My Bitch). That's another thing, the variety in the album and how he could adapt to a different sound or theme, one song he raps about his crimes playing two different characters and a little later he is talking about how much things have changed for him and his wife with his success and neither feel out place. Although if we talk about out of place.. I can do without the Fuck Me skit or the end of Respect, but I mean it's really two small things when placed against how the rest of the album is. Just a great listen all around
A lot of these songs are iconic and essential listening for anyone who calls themselves a hip hop fan. The others range from deep cuts that are underrated and should have gained more popularity and respect to absolutely the most disgusting shit you’ve ever heard. Biggie, shut the fuck up about all the sex shit. It’s gross. Why was there a thirty second ASMR of dick sucking at the end of a banger like “Respect”. I enjoyed all of the ones that weren’t blatantly misogynistic. Obviously also excluding the interludes, they were wild. Still, really solid record. Love it. 4/5
A very good gangsta rap album with a foreboding title... BIG was shot before his 2nd album came out. 4* quality even though not really my thing.
> the Beatles
biggie has such a great flow. loved this. iconic record.
Classic album, a few very popular tracks !
4.5. The highs are very high and the lows are better than most rap still. Maybe too much talking for my liking and that one song that ends with you listening to him having sex is a bit weird. Definitely not my proudest fap.
I get to go into this one semi-blind, as I’ve only ever heard the singles. I can see why Biggie is up on the rap Rushmore. Incredible flow and clever wordplay. His gangsta image is a lot more serious than Snoop, unfortunately the production on this record is a lot less distinctive than the golden era G-Funk. I was instantly impressed. Only downside is this kind of hyper-violent sexist gangsta rap wears on me after a while. Small doses, and I’m in.
Decent Hip-Hop. I don't know anything about Hip-Hop.
4.5/5
This is not my jam at all but this man is a legend and his influence must be acknowledged. Also for Hypnotize alone (I know it’s not in this album but still) - 4 stars
Biggie's talent is undeniable. The flow is impeccable. Cadence wizardry and clever rhymes that are both obvious because they work so well and unpredictable because the bars are not a rigid structure. Unfortunately, I just don't really care for gangsta rap. The topic is tedious and a whole album of it is exhausting. Though Gimmie the Loot is admittedly a pretty good song, definitely seems like a street rat anthem. It's also pretty different in styling from all the West Coast rappers so far like NWA, Snoop, and Dre. The album can be really introspective, gotta really think about how gangsta Biggie wanted to be when you have songs like I'm Ready to Die and the haunting Suicidal Thoughts. Also the skits suck. My favorite is probably Machine Gun Funk. It's a great album, just not my personal favorite.
A high watermark of 90s rap that's let down by some truly heinous skits and a run time that's maybe a smidge too long.
I really liked this album. One of Biggie’s only records. If it weren’t for that interlude, it would be absolute gold. It’s worth noting that P. Diddy is an abomination. At least he didn’t produce the whole album. 4 stars for “Ready to Die”.
Much more into this, with regards to hiphop
Iconic album, still hits hard, good stuff
Great album, knew more songs than I thought
Hiphop holy grail voor boomers en alleen al daarom stond de plaat me altijd een beetje tegen. Maar als ik de bias aan de kant zet, dan is dit gewoon een heel sterk album, packed met hits, hits en nog meer hits. Ietwat aan de lange kant en zoals alle hiphop platen van die tijd soms iets minder interludes en dan was het een masterpiece geweest.
Hard, onbeschoft, grappig, pijnlijk, vunzig. Op Ready To Die komt alles langs. Veel storytelling en erg cinematisch. Veel bangers en naast Method Man geen features. B.I.G. staat z'n mannetje en is net zo gevaarlijk als dat ie zwoel is. GIMME THE LOOT, GIMME THE LOOT!
Alright, bij het vorige hiphop album hadden we al established dat het niet echt mijn genre is. Maar dit album heeft mij wel echt verrast! Het begint direct bij de intro. Eerst een geboorte naspelen, dan de thuissituatie en daarna wat gangbanging vond ik erg sterk en leuk gevonden. De nummers wisselen elkaar af van grappig (het begin van one more chance en eigenlijk de rest van het nummer), the real deal en ook wat serieuzere introspectives. Van die laatste vind ik Suicidal Thoughts een heel sterk verhalend nummer. De beats zijn vrij rustig met vooral een focus op de tekst, zoals het bij de oldschool gebruikelijk is. Het is wel een lang album, maar zeker de moeite waard. East side!
Gewoon dikke hiphop
I can see why people enjoy this album. Good bars, too many sex interludes
83% Best: Gimme the Loot; The What; Juicy; Everyday Struggle; Big Poppa; Respect Must-Hear? Sure
Caught between a 3 and a 4, went 4 bc of the historical value of the album. Obviously big was the first great storyteller in rap and deserves a ton of credit. This is simply a harder, more interesting, and more poetic form of rap than almost anything that’s come since. Some fun soul / R&B samples on the production too That being said, the album is a bit uneven for me. Super high highs, but a couple meh tracks in there, so not all aces
Solid. Never given him much of a listen before. Good flow. I can see why he was a star.
2005 Remaster version. I'm not a fan of the skits. Still a good album nonetheless.
Rap sure was different in 1994. Samples from real records, DJ scratches, sketches, credible threats of violence and an extraordinary flow. Some of it we don't miss, but Biggie was a rare talent. I'm not aware enough of what's going on in rap today to speak broadly about it, but I will say that it's rare for me to come across someone whose lyrical gifts and knack for delivery produce something so compelling. The tension that usually pulls me along in other music that I listen to is the resolution of a chord progression and sometimes the infectiousness of a groove. A flow like Biggie's is enough to pull me in -- comprehensible, stacked with various kinds of rhymes, often very clever and rhythmically diverse enough to keep the listener engaged. Recommended, if only so that you can listen to the Drakes of today and understand why people say, "it used to be different." I don't miss the sketches, though.
One of the greatest rap albums ever with some highly questionable lyrics
I LOVED THISSS!! definitely id listen to it again because it was so much fun and interesting, i didnt want it to end :(( i knew Big Poppa but this reminded me how cool that song is. id say my favorite is Juicy but i really liked the whole album and i think its one of those that if you learn the lyrics, you can scream them in your car. thanks to this web i realized i like rap and hip-hop ahaha (as long as its not country....)
Gritty, dark with big beats. I really liked it
A lot of great songs, but not a great album. Of course there's too many skits. Every rap album of the era has too many skits. Back when we made mixtapes on actual tape that wasn't an issue. Too bad the digital versions didn't separate out the tracks, but oh well. The real problem is puffy being all over the place. I have always, always hated that guy. A talentless hack that glued himself to biggies ass and held on. I'm actually happy everyone else hates him too now. Give me a remaster with all of his vocals removed and I'll give the album 5 stars. Give puffy jail for a thousand years.
Man, this is such a hard one to rate. Biggie Smalls was, or at least presented himself, as a misogynistic, violent bully, and that makes a lot of this a bleak and difficult listen. But, Ready To Die has top tier production and beats, and Biggie was fantastic at what he did. On a bunch of these songs, you're right there looking over his shoulder. He was a master of the craft, a storyteller, and his flow and technical skill is basically unmatched. Where Eminem is edgy for the sake of outrage, Biggie was at least honest, laying out his nihilistic and hateful worldview and seeming to mean every word. To be fair he grew up working class in 80s NYC, height of the crack epidemic, and that could darken anyone's perspective. As cringy as One More Chance and Me and my Bitch are, songs like Machine Gun Funk, Juicy, and Who Shot Ya are all time rap greats. He lived by the gun and died by it far too young, and I dont know how anyone could've been shocked if they'd heard this heavy, cold, cruel gangsta rap classic.
I liked this a whole lot more than I’d thought. Except for the skits, there are no bad tracks. The beats and rhymes are excellent and it’s quite catchy at times. Fav tracks: Everyday Struggle and Respect
I don't know if it is because I'm old or white--probably both, but I've always had a hard time getting into hip hop. Despite this, I found myself grooving at various points throughout the album. I'm bumping up the ranks a little higher than I normally would in case I end up making an intentional effort to get beyond my old man biases. If I'm going to really dive into hip hop, this would be among the better places to start.
Great album and probably now my second favourite hiphop album behind the low end theory. Like other hiphop albums though I feel like it suffers from being too long but that’s just me :/
really enjoyed it, ill have to give more of his stuff a listen
so good
Biggie is undisputedly one of the greatest rappers ever-- his voice, his flow, his presence. This album supposedly reflects "life to death", very ambitious. Where it suffers are the dated interludes like "Fuck Me" and the blowjob that ends "Respect". The 3+ minute "Intro" could be cut. It feels very 90's, of-it's-time. I don't think it's aged well. I also found the production lacking. Many of the beats were so similar, they blended together. Not so many hooks. These really put the spotlight on Biggie since they don't overshadow him, but they are also a bit boring. Ultimately, I can only take so much of the narcissism prominent in gangsta/mafioso rap. I cringe when Biggie talks about the size of his penis or is repeatedly misogynistic. Some of it is performance. But most of the lyrics and message are just not something I can relate to and find enjoyment in.
Some classics, some good deep cuts, and a lot of biting reality of the rougher side of life. The skits bring it down a bit, and the songs haven't all aged that well.
Monument
Some iconic hits on here but overall as far as an album goes some of the interludes didn’t feel necessary lol. 3.5 rounded to 4
Ok, og east coast juicy
Good, but the skits are horribly dated which does drag it down a bit 4*
Not seriously listened to B.I.G. before and know only really the commercially successful hits from his second album. This first album I really liked (surprisingly) and would add to my collection of good solid rap/hip hop 'go to' albums, take out the interlude shite and it would be very good, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
https://rateyourmusic.com/music-review/JesseOverPessi/the-notorious-b_i_g/ready-to-die/256692009
Owned this as a teen, but haven't listened to the whole album in years. Great stuff. I sometimes wonder what Rap music would have been like if P diddy were shot and Biggy lived to today.
3.5
3.5
Good prime bit of rough raunchy 90s hippity hop. Biggie is a moet et chandon poet and spits out better rhymes, commits more crimes and snorts more lines than a billion Busta Rhymes. His flow and storytelling definitely make this a captivating listen even if the only main magic poppy moments could not have been done without Isley Brothers and Mtume. Not chunked with classic hits plus a few dodge skits but still a strong listen for the genre nonetheless.
Tuff
Not a genre that I can listen to at work
Some of the beats sound aged, probably because they influenced the next generation. But biggies rapping cadence is still unique and punchy to this day
really 3.5 but rounding up since some of it's so good. but man could I do without the interstitial nonsense.
This is iconic stuff from the last days of the golden era of hip hop. This is iconic stuff. It's too bad the dipshit had to continue to play gangster after becoming successful.
Bright as a summers day with lyrics that bring take all the cheer away. Good stuff
My brother had this album in the 90s and I still blast 'Gimme The Loot' all the time.
This is a difficult one, the singles stand out and BIG’s flow is really engaging to listen to but I don’t want to listen to him getting dirty. Would be 5 but bc I can’t listen to this in any setting other than the privacy of my headphones, it’s a 4.
not really my thing but if i were into hip-hop i think i'd love this - it's really good
Killer! BIG’s flow is not just a complex mechanism for delivering lyrics (and it would be legendary, even if it were only that), it is his message. That flow, that voice — it’s his instrument. The music here would get a 5. The skits in between the tunes are really important and tell a story, but they won’t improve on repeated listens. Not to disrespect the spoken parts— they are epic (though I could have done without the one with the sound effects of BIG getting down with his lady). But, those kinds of non-musical pieces are things i would skip if I put the album on repeat. It’s a solid 4, though.
Dude had charisma enough to make all the gangsta rap tropes palatable.
i miss hip hop. certified bangers. stylistic choices here with the interludes... mariah carey's kinda scary what did he mean by that
lots of sex noises in this album which i wasn’t really expecting… biggie had a wonderful way of storytelling when he’s rapping. RIP
Absolutely classic one of the best in hip hop only reason it's not a 5 star is it doesn't have the personal connection with me
Skits are crude. Lyrics are extreme, but still set the tone for a generation to follow. Production is truly unique for each song.
“I… don’t like that”- Annika, regarding “Fuck me (interlude).” Really good but the messaging sure didn’t age well
We're going to look back if we're not doing it already and compare some of these 90s NYC rappers with the all-time singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s. Biggie has to be one of our most evocative songwriters and the delivery and phrasing is on par with Sinatra and Dylan. Calling Ready to Die cinematic is probably a tired cliche but it's there for a reason.
Didn't need the graphic audio of Biggie getting some sloppy toppy, but still an excellent album.
Would have loved to give it a 5, except for the random sex noises
The album is fantastic. BIG's wordplay is so good. You can hear hip hop genre changing on this album. He begins with reference to old school MCs like Grand Master Flash, and BIG wraps over a beat suitable for Flash on the first song Tings Done Changed. As the album progresses, the beats become more complex, and BIG's voice shines when it's contrasted with sweeter accompanying music like the female voice on Juicy. You can tell he's finding his style on this record.
Could have done without the explicit sexual recording parts. Overall great sounding album that serves as an example for hiphop for years to come.
Krasnej gangsta rep
19/1001 This album has some of the highest highs on any hip hop album, period. The five best songs on this record can go toe to toe with any five songs from any hip hop album and will probably be victorious against them all. Biggie really changed the game. There were plenty of rappers who had good/great flows and strong lyrical content: Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip - just to name a few. But when Big hit the scene with a flow that could ride any beat and lyrical content that could paint a picture so crisp in your mind, it changed how every rapper (mostly on the East Coast) would approach their songs for at least the next decade. When Big was at his best, no one could come close. All that to say, Big wasn’t always at his best on this album (or his sophomore follow up, Life After Death). A lot of this album is Biggie a step or two down from his peak abilities. This album is a classic in the hip hop world, as it should be. But this one gets put on a pedestal where it doesn’t belong. If this were boiled down to the 12 best tracks, it might be the greatest hip hop record of all time, but there’s just a few too many songs that never did it for me; Ready to Die (the title track), One More Chance, Respect, Friend of Mine, Unbelievable, are all mediocre songs at best. Mostly with poor production, but also not the best version of Biggie either (could be argued that it is hard to flow on such crap beats). Gimme the Loot is one of my favorite tracks from any artist, in any genre. Big rides the beat with genius level expertise while telling a story from 2 different personas, using different voices for each character. It is as much of a joy to listen to it today as it was even I first heard it 30+ years ago. I blew my 12 year old brain away (the 90s were wild, I bought this album with the PA sticker on it from the record store as a 12 y/o in 1995 and played it in my Walkman with my headphones so my dad wouldn’t know what I was listening to.) I didn’t even realize the first couple times that it was Big as the two voices. I can’t give this album a 5 though, just too many songs that hold it back. A lot of folks complain about the skits holding it back. I understand that point of view, but skits are just part of hip hop records. They rarely, if ever, are enjoyable, but they’re almost always there. They are a peek into the artist’s mind to see what they are trying to convey on that particular record.
Diddy was the main reason i was hesitant to listen to this record today. not because of his crimes -- numerous and horrid as they are -- but simply because i didn't think he was going to be a good producer. everything i'd heard from him beforehand as a solo artist was inoffensive, horrible interpolate'n'b that you hear in a shopping mall. so color me surprised that despite his legacy as a solo artists being that, he's a fairly competent boom bapper. of course, the production plays second fiddle to Biggie here. he's the biggest personality, and damn near the only personality in the loose narrative of the album. of course it doesn't do any good gushing over "Juicy", "Big Poppa", and "Suicidal Thoughts". rather, i'd like to highlight how strong the first stretch of the album is and how great of a job it does building Biggie's character so you have greater context for the more emotionally open and positive hits later on and the inevitable, tragic ending. at first it seems like he's about nothing but crime and death, but reveals himself as a more sensitive and honest character over time. i mean, he robs a train in the opening skit. who robs a train if they aren't a bit of an old timey goofball at heart? (recording your wife giving you head on the album is gross, still.) "Suicidal Thoughts", man. Scarface is ostensibly a movie about a man's rise and fall, but his fall is a glorious blaze of glory, with yayo, grenade launchers, and grand foyers. imagine if Scarface ended with Al Pacino morosely muttering to a friend on the phone before blowing his brains out over the iconic mountain of coke. shit's dire.
Peak mid
All the hits, rap at its best.
The OG. Very long but all the jams.
with rhymes like this who wouldn't like this When it comes to sex, I'm similar to the thriller in Manila Honeys call me Bigga, the condom filler
two bangers in there
I'm not a fan of gangsta rap, or hip hop in general, but I have to admit, I had plenty of fun listening to this album. I think thaf might have been first album pre-2000s, where the lyrics were just seamlessly flowing in the foreground, making the beat quite obsolete. Usually, at least in my uneducated case, I have to get into the song through the beat, and only later listen to the lyrics, but Notorious Big was too good of a rapper and writer to do that. Ready to Die is especially good song, because it's not often that I remember any lines from a track afterwards. But "Your face, my feet, thay meet" is stuck in my head since then. Really good album, I think it's worth trying, even if you're not a fan of gangsta rap like me.
I’d never listened to this whole album and liked it more than I expected, adding 4 songs to my faves playlist
Generally liked it. Not great songs, melody-wise, to my ears but better than most rap/hip-hop. I like Biggie’s flow and vibe. Most of the samples used I was unfamiliar with but they felt like I kinda knew them if that makes sense.
Клевая старая школа, чуть агрессивнее чем я люблю
за записанные зауки секса - отдельный респект. хопчик 90-х. чувствуешь себя гангстером. биты оч аккуратные ввверенные при этом качающие, верхастые с умеренным басом
Firmly 4. What a lyricist and great delivery. Some aspects haven't aged well
some of those rhymes are insane even if the lyrics are perhaps umm interesting
crazy lyrics here
Would absolutely listen again, but minus one for skits and slurs. And diddy. I’m always struck by how dark Biggie’s music is - he really was such a good storyteller
Classic , essential , rap album. Damn. This sound defined an era in the NY scene. Takes me back.
the sex interludes drag it down, was gonna give it a 3 then the album ended with a suicide and suddenly 3 felt very disrespectful, absolutely classic hip hop.
A classic! The sex sketches were awkward, and were definitely intended for shock value.
Not super relatable
sex, money, drugs; fighting to survive
Coming into this already familiar with a lot of Biggie's work. First of all, shout out to the Doggystyle sampling. Secondly, this was a hilarious album choice to listen to while I do homework on a dry technical topic. Yes, the gunshots did make it harder to concentrate, so moment of gratitude that I normally have a quiet study zone. Classic beats that will be sampled til the end of time, smooth rhymes, absolutely unbeatable flow and character from Biggie. Special shout out to the creative freaky funkiness of the track in Machine Gun Funk. A bit of filler in songs like Warning, 1h 16min is a long album and it's impressive that so much of it is timeless quality. That said, the frequent skits, misogyny, violence, and gunshots overwhelm the album. Yes this is a classic but when this album gets listened to today, its with heavily censored and shortened versions, and for good reason. I don't normally like radio edits but it's the only way to cut through the production bullshit and see the genius of Biggie. I live for the funk ~
What a fascinating ‘passage of time’ skit to open an album. Telling a story without rapping about what’s happening. Then “Things Done Changed” drops with one of the coolest, snazziest instrumentals under Biggies iconic flow and it’s just chills! The string section coming in and out on loop, it’s all so lavish. Track after track here, it’s all about hitting licks, kicking back, and living in the afterglow of everything BIG did to come upon these riches. I’m so impressed with the sweet spot these beats find - full of character and texture, but never getting in the way of the rapping. Around “The What”, things start to get a little one-note, which is what makes “Juicy” even more refreshing. What a purely happy song. My problem with this album is just that it’s a little bloated, in a vacuum. Add to the context that biggie never got to put much more out after this, and I can give some lenience, but only some. Still, in so many ways this album is chalk-full of iconography. It forged an immediate legacy, I respect it for that
It’s really good, but somehow not as good as I remembered. I wanted it to be better.
Classic
4/5
Big Poppa. Besser als erwartet, dachte ich wäre kein Fan von 90s HipHop. Die Skits dazwischen war eher lustig als nervig. Hat mich horny gemacht
Braggadocious, violent, misogynistic, arrogant, and groovy as shit. A little bloated, but so was Biggie.
It's a classic, one of the most important East Coast hip-hop albums. I'd have given it a 5 but it starts off strong, then oscillates, doesn't remain consistent throughout.
Insane iconic flow. A couple hits that aren't going anywhere. And then there's the bad. The skits are corny, the content didn't age well. If I put myself back in time, it's still a 4/5.
The lyrics and flows on this from Biggie show the talent he had. My biggest gripes with the album are the skits and the fact it has too much filler. Also probably not the best look for Biggie that Method Man outperformed him on "The What". Regardless, "Juicy" is still a perfect song to me and "One More Chance", "Big Poppa", and "Suicidal Thoughts" are classics. I just wish Biggie had slimmed this down a bit.
Classic
Listened to this album a lot growing up. Felt like revisiting childhood
A good rap album. Beats and pen game are super strong. My only complaint is the dated misogyny.
Classic stuff...
Probably one of the most iconic rap albums of the 90s--if not all time.
BIG sound with a lotta lyric shockas! Rippin my door knockers! BAKKA! BAKKA!
One of the GOATs for a reason. Really good album, some great tracks, could’ve done without the sex recording though
He loses a star for the moaning and slurping LOL
Some of the best rap songs ever but the album is too bloated!
SUPER NINTENDO
storytelling from the streets. biggy smalls was an expert wordsmith with impeccable flow. highlights: “things done changed” “juicy” “big poppa”
Fine work.
I was forming my musical tastes for myself when this album came out, and in Hindi, I absolutely slept on Biggie. I liked the West Coast style with the smooth flows and seemingly higher production value. Up until today, I probably would have told you I didn't much care for Biggie's flow. I don't know what I was thinking, honestly. This guy has skills, and I regret not having LISTENED to this album sooner. Of course, I heard it, but mostly the singles. The deeper cuts on this album are fantastic. Juicy: hey, Puff, shut the fuck up. You contribute nothing to this
Normally I don’t like rap, but I genuinely enjoyed this album!
Great album, period.
Enjoyable! Hated the sex intermission but the rapping was pretty good
An absolute classic and banger. The top hits on this are cemented in Hip Hop history. Doesn't get 5 stars because of the extracurriculars recorded in the album, but the singles are insane.
Amazing album. Vivid narrative and catchy beats from start to finish. Not overly impressed by his attitude towards women in 'One More Chance', but enjoyed his own description of his dick as 'the cleanest meanest penis'. Suicidal Thoughts is tragic, 'I know my mother wished she got a fucking abortion'. Damn. Good to know what a pager sounds like. The sexy sounds though are jarring, that blow job sound between Respect and Friend of Mine is a bit too visceral...
Got some really good stuff of course. Also has some hot garbage Will I listen to again: 90%
Some absolute bangers, but it goes on a bit. If he’d wanted to make some edits, cutting out the grim sex skits would have been a good starting point.
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis! I'd heard Juicy and Big Poppa before, love both of them. The rest of the album was mostly excellent raps. A few of the songs got repetitive in the chorus. Gimme The Loot and Respect were two more good standouts. It's not crazy long or anything, but it does overstay its welcome. The last three tracks kind of lose steam, cutting those out would have made this album much better. Best song: Juicy
Yeah the skits suck. The rest was awesome.
All of the sex noises were only slightly disturbing
6/1089 - Biggie's rapping is right in the pocket. The skits seemed unessecary, the album would have worked with just the songs. A lot of the instrumentals were nice too. (One of them switched tunings a lot of the time for some reason).
Oh my GOD the sex noises skits in this are so fuuuuucking cringy and lame. And it's too long. But it's still a classic so we'll let it slide.
Great album with some great samples. Can see why it is so good.
"Yeah, muthafucka, this is Stefanie..." I've obviously heard a lot of songs on this album, but this project was the first time I'd sat down and listened to the whole thing front to back. I hadn't really listened to anything from him in a long time, so I was struck by the grittiness, listening to it all straight through. The '90s was such an era for this sort of dark humor and unflinching portrayal of life's lows; this album was able to plunge me into a world that's so different from my own. There was also a surprising thread of sadness throughout the album, with emotionally honest references to low self-esteem and suicidal ideation. The production had that East Coast 90’s feel that’s heavy yet smooth, and the raw storytelling and flow was unmatched. A powerful debut.
I liked the first half of the album but lost interest for the last bit. 3.75 stars
I don't feel like I've had a very good track record with East Coast hip-hop — what I consider as "East Coast hip-hop," anyway. 'Coz, see, THE LOW-END THEORY is an album I like a lot, but I don't actively think of it as such. After that, there's Nas's ILLMATIC, which I do consider "East Coast hip-hop" and also like, but I'm not particularly wild about... And then there's all the various Wu-Tang solo albums my group has gotten, which I've been pretty back-and-forth on. Now, I couldn't tell you what exactly it is about East Coast hip-hop I'm not too big on. Best I can figure is just that when you put it next to West Coast hip-hop and G-funk... Yeah, it's hardly a competition in my mind. Living as someone who's largely "melody first," the beats on G-funk albums do it so much harder for me. Despite all the parts of THE CHRONIC that haven't exactly aged well, I still dig it a lot for its incredible beat work, if nothing else. Although, there has always been one exception. In the East vs. West beef of the 90's, I've always preferred The Notorious B.I.G. to 2Pac. Part of it might just be that me and Biggie share a birthday a few years apart, and, y'know, me being me, I hold a bit of importance to that date. Beyond that, though... Well, I haven't heard a 2Pac album in forever, so I'll tell you what my thing is with him whenever The Randomizer gives my group one of his (know for now, at least, that I do **like** him; not just as much as Biggie). And, look, I think it's worth addressing right now, before anything else, the parts of **this** album that haven't aged terribly well. To begin with, there's a pretty healthy dose of misogyny and homophobia. It's not something I'm really gonna ding this album before, since it's unfortunately a pretty common trait of rap records around this time period, but it's still a factor. I mean, you got a song that'd otherwise be a pretty sad (fictional) story about Biggie's wife getting shot dead in place of him — except that the song's called "Me And My Bitch", and he spends the entire song referring to her as, well, "his bitch." It undercuts things a little, y'know? (Let's not even touch "Friend Of Mine", goodness.) Then there's the other elephant in the room: Diddy. He's all over this dang album — and not even as a featured artist, like Method Man. No, he just... Keeps showing up. Y'know, to do ad libs and act as Biggie's hype man... And, I mean, this sorta thing might just be an element of rap music I just haven't encountered, but goodness me, if it don't come across like Diddy's just piggybacking off of Biggie's success. Y'know, like these songs are just happening like normal, then out of nowhere Diddy runs in and is like "I'M HERE TOO! I'M HERE TOO! I'M ON THIS SONG AS WELL! I HAVE LINES ON 'JUICY' AND 'BIG POPPA'! I'M A CONTRIBUTOR!" Like, jeez, man. I know Biggie's your discovery or whatever, but just stick to producing. This guy's ass, tainting Biggie's rep in the 2020's by association... It sucks. I also wanna say I'm not too big on a lot of the skits? Like the one that's Biggie having sex with a girl, or the, like, ten uninterrupted seconds of mouth sounds hidden at the end of "Respect". I don't have many problems with skits on rap albums, but these strike me as ones like, "Why would I listen to these every time I spun this album?" But finally, let's get to the parts of the album I like. Biggie, for all the lyrics that haven't aged too well, I think it's phenomenal on the mic. Generally, I really like his voice, but I also like his flow and storytelling. Like, sure, the songs where he's just bragging about how he's gonna shoot, or about how good he is at The Sex™, they're just as good as any other song of this type. However, the storytelling on songs like "Warning", "Gimme The Loot"... Even "Me And My Bitch", despite its problems. I just find his way of words in these songs so engaging and interesting. Plus, I gotta give props, too, to the songs looking at the hood and his life: "Things Done Changed" and, of course, the masterpiece that is "Juicy". Just amazing looks into his life and life around. The beats are great as well. Sure, there's nothing on the level of any of the G-funk classics I've bumped so often, but these are maybe the best I've ever heard from the East Coast from the list. There could be an album I'm forgetting, but, hey, I can't think of what it could be, so... Shout-outs, too, to the sampled hook on "Big Poppa". I really like that hook, I'unno why. Then we have the closer, "Suicidal Thoughts". It's — y'know, it's always gotten to me that this is the way this album ends. Like, it opens with his birth, and then a quick skim through the rest of his life until this album — his family life, his arrest, his release from jail... And then the rest of the album, y'know, while there are dark spots, he's still bragging about how he's gonna kill you, about how he's good at The Sex™, about how he's made it despite how no one believed in him... The biggest hint something's on is the title track — heck, the title — but until this song, it doesn't seem like too much next to "Machine Gun Funk" and "Friend Of Mine". But then you hit this song, and... Well, if I can quote a disciple of 2Pac, "Money can't stop a suicidal weakness." It's the one song on the album where I don't mind the presence of Diddy. I wish it coulda been someone else, but still, having another voice on the track, starting out confused but then by the end begging B.I.G. to not do it... Goodness. It's chilling, honestly. It's the kind of closer that I can't take lightly; I hafta sit there and just... Let it wash over me. Like, damn. Damn. Made all the worse by the fact that Biggie did, though not by his own hand, actually die not too after this album came out. It makes the opening of the posthumous album LIFE AFTER DEATH, where it's revealed that B.I.G. survived the attempt, kind of sad, actually. And a bit cruel, in the cosmic sense. Like, for good reasons, I can't justify giving this thing a full 5/5. There's just a bit too much of that plays wrong in 2025 for me to go there. It's still, however, absolutely a 4/5. A great album from a great artist who, alongside 2Pac, was taken from the world too soon. It was all a dream...
Day 15: Ready to Die - The Notorious B.I.G. Biggie, Biggie, oh, Biggie. He is often revered as the G.O.A.T. of hip hop music. I am much more of a metal fan and a prog fan than a hip hop fan, so I cannot exactly dispute how much of a G.O.A.T. The Notorious B.I.G. truly is. My favourite non-metal rap album is probably Stankonia by Outkast or Raising Hell by Run-DMC, but that is frankly irrelevant when discussing this album. Biggie has a great flow. The production of the tracks is very cool. The album is definitely a difficult listen, as it features a liberal quantity of violence, misogyny, and sexuality. That is not to say that it deteriorates the quality of the album. In my opinion, the tracks Juicy and Big Poppa are standout tracks in this album. It's a shame that Biggie's output was so small, and that this is his only non-posthumous album. It probably would've been great if Biggie were still alive today. Personal Enjoyment: 3/5. How Much It Belongs Here: 5/5.
Nearly perfect, but wayy too long. Mostly all bangers but tough to get through. It's a 5/5 but on the lower end
Obviously on of the greats - great beats, great rhymes, great flow - unfortunately it suffers from the same thing that so many hip-hop albums from the time did - too many skits/action scenes. Best Tracks: Things Done Changed; One More Change; Juicy;
Great Album but it is a bit weird now since the P Diddy situation.
Great
Powerful legacy…..
4 estrelas, prime demais
First time actually listening and I can see what the hype is about! Not really my thing, but definitely isn’t meant to be.
This album is phenomenal. A life story, not unlike The Wall, with a variety of voices. I was not prepared for the blowjob scene, and I should have been prepared for the "n****" and mfs but that really turned me off. I will say that it's personally unfortunate, because I can't ever really enjoy the album although there is so much to appreciate. 3/5 AND 5/5
4.5 (pls add half stars)
Can’t give a full 5 stars after what Diddy has been up to, the dirty baste
Another hip ho palbum that i enjoyed more than i should've
Too many skits
-1 for the diddy content
Never listened to any of his album. Knew a few and liked them all.
goooddd
Ready to Die is the song for me. I was never into Biggie as much as the west coast dawgs at that time. I'll give this one more attention though. Of course, i guess there was shared agreement between both Westside and Eastside to include lush interludes of rowdy fornications on their albums.
It's an absolute classic, but doesn't have enough big hitters to justify being this long.
The sex skits drag down an otherwise perfect album. Some of the skits are in the songs so it's not like you can easily just skip them
You know, it was better than I was expecting. Some classic hits, but also good flow and beats.
норм!
Original gangsta rap. Pretty good, but I don’t think it has aged well.
Went in with very high expectations- Biggie is a iconic figure in the hip hop community. I would say they were mostly fulfilled. Biggies voice and lyrics are a powerhouse- he really sells whay he says and draws you into his stories and vignettes. The hits on the album are absolute gold- Juicy is top tier hip hop and a personal favorite. Where I was less taken was the skits- they didnt land for me. And of course, Puff Daddy interjecting into every song was fine- he just really doesnt add much, and his current reputation sullies the name of these old classics. Overall- very good hip hop album
Intro n/a Things Done Changed 4 Gimmie the Loot 3.7 Machine Gun Funk 3.6 Warning 3.4 Ready to Die 3.7 One More Chance 3.6 #!@ Me (Interlude) n/a The What (featuring Method Man) 3.4 Juicy 3.5 Everyday Struggle 3.7 Me & My Bitch 3.3 Big Poppa 4 Respect 3.8 Friend of Mine 3.6 Unbelievable 3.5 Suicidal Thoughts 3.5 Score: 3.62
He gets me
Undeniably excellent rap album
Best flow in rap. Could use fewer skits and Diddy. Disappointed to not receive this as my final album of 1001 so that I would be "Ready to Die"
Rest in peace to this legend, classic album with a bunch of bangers & music I grew up on. Any less than 4 stars is doing this a disservice
Sentimental and sad, even his crudest lyrics seem like a cry for help. Especially liked Machine Gun Funk, which feels a little more musical than some of the tracks which are like spoken word performance. A good writer who could have become a great one.
Listened in line to vote. Probably should bring headphones next time.
This is an experience. But a good one! Simpsons: Yes
Solid album, a few stand out tunes in Juicy and Big Poppa. As usual not a fan of the interludes, and in this case had to turn my speakers down. Would listen to more.
Really enjoyed this mostly. One More Chance didn’t do it for me but Biggy rescued it a few tracks later with the lyrics “You look so good, huh, I'll suck on your daddy's dick.” Giving Puff Daddy a shoutout? It was of it’s time 🤷🏾♂️ Ummm that BJ?? Won’t listen to the album again but will give Juicy and Big Poppa the odd play. The intro got me hooked but I was expecting something more socially conscious from it and it didn’t quite hit that.
Loved this. Wish I had heard it years ago
A must listen for any rap/hip-hop enthusiast. This is definitely east coast rap, not as funky as west coast. But still, this is an important album and very well done.
The loops on this thing are immaculate. I always had this image of Biggie as being a gentle giant or something, but these lyrics are anything but gentle. More like 3.5 than 3, so it gets a 4.
Jamais eu l'occasion de l'écouter en entier, je connaissais les hits rien de plus. L'écoute se déroule comme un film, avec des entre-pistes (de plus ou moins bon goût) comme fil conducteur. Dubitative quant à ma capacité à être embarquée tout l'album, j'ai eu bien tort ! Quels samples !! Accrocheur !
If I never heard a sex interlude for the rest of my life it would be too soon.
Definitely some tough, not-kid-friendly stuff on here, but a wonderful arc of an album with often brutally honest lyrics about mortality and failure.
A classic 90s hip hop album, all of my favourite B.I.G songs on. East > West still, doesn’t beat Illmatic, 2Pacalypse etc.
How does one rate this through a modern lens? Problematic skits, problematic lyrical content, problematic producer who seemed intent on appearing as much as possible with "yeahs" and "uh huhs" on every goddamn song. "Juicy" and "Big Poppa" are obvious bangers, but "Machine Gun Funk" is the lowkey MVP of the whole album for me.
very explicit, some sounds are pretty disturbing, great listen overall though, great tracks, rest in peace biggie smalls
Biggie’s debut is brimming with boastful bars.
Ah, the album that pits my feminist principles against my love of good beats, poignant storytelling and BIG's mellifluous voice and flow - still an incredible listen 30 years on.
4.3 - Some really great songs and can hear of influential this is
Never been a huge biggie fan, but this album was way more cohesive and consistent than I expected. Not a lot of supreme stand-out tracks beyond the hits I was familiar with, but really liked the vibe, theme, production etc. Fave Tracks: Machine Gun Funk, One More Chance, Juicy, Big Poppa 4.3/5
Really interesting concept, some emotional reactions. SFX probably will keep me from relistening though
4.5/5
Absolute classic album but feels roughly made in a way that even its contemporaries did not. Skits are fun and provide some counterpoint to what would otherwise be solidly braggadocious. The man's flow is unmatched when he is on. One of the best rappers of all time but this isn't a perfect album. It is a good album with perfect swaths. I don't mean to seem overly critical but when you have peaks as high as this album goes the low points stand out in stark relief.
Happy belated 30th birthday, Ready to Die! The late Biggie Smalls used his larger-than-life persona and delivery to story tell like the best of them in the rap industry. That was in full display here in what was somehow Biggie's debut album. It's a tale of rags to riches, life and death, everything in-between. I'm always somehow surprised that Biggie was in his early 20's during the production of this album, as he already sounds so seasoned with his loose & effortless rhyming. There are some pretty slick samples here too, as the production team pulled from various funk tracks to create these now iconic hip-hop samples ("Juicy", "Big Poppa", etc. Impossible to get out of your head!). Of course, it wouldn't be a 90's hip-hop record without some casual misogyny and countless sexual references thrown in. The interludes and end of song skits can be a bit much at times and bloat the album here. With all of that being said, this is an important album in not only the East Coast hip-hop scene, but in all of hip-hop. Biggie broke into the limelight with "Ready to Die", catapulting him to the forefront of the East Coast hip-hop scene. He only got bigger from there, unfortunately getting murdered at the height of his popularity. However, Biggie's legacy lives on through his two mammoth studio albums, and "Ready to Die" was a pretty damn aptly named album for his debut.
Seeing Biggie in an all white suite standing next to Puffy hits different in 2024. Still a solid, damn near perfect gangster rap album.
Yeah, I really like this album. It's one I listen to quite regularly. I especially like the song "gimme the loot"
Good album. BIGGGGYYY BIGGGYYY BIGGGYYYYY.
My wife hates his masaganistiic lyrics...I love his beats.
Obviously a great album, and a classic at this point. Some of the skits aren't my favorite, a different time and place for sure. But a great album for sure.
My traditional star off for misogyny
absoloutely love the beats on this album, the flows were good but some lyrics were iffy (why is he making raven-symoné call date rape?) the biggest ick i got from this album, though, were the SKITS. I DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO SOMEONE GIVING BIGGIE HEAD FOR A MINUTE AND A HALF. that being said, this album is a true classic with so many amazing songs.
Tamar Braxton's The One samples Juicy :o Sex noises are kind of a lot
Se me hizo UN TOQUECITO largo pero aun asi, es mooooy bueno.
really solid album. biggie's flow is pretty damn great and always makes for an interesting listen. i also enjoyed the production on this one. it definitely sounds a lot more modern than a lot of albums that were released contemporaneously. in terms of the songs, i enjoyed the majority of them, but not too many of them gripped me immediately, but i feel like i would continue to enjoy the songs and grow to love them if upon subsequent listens.
Classic hip hop album of the 90s. Some of the tracks are real bangers. Though, when f*** me started playing, I was like, WTH…
Great album!
Pinnacle of classic hip hop. A
flawless 10 track album but there's 20 and half of them have something horrifically misogynist or literal blowjob noises 8/10
Favs: Gimme the Loot, Big Poppa, Suicidal Thoughts Least Fav: F*ck me (Still a very funny interlude in an ironic sense)
Really developed for a debut album. Lots of interesting things happening amongst the production, lyrics, and content. Only 3 singles but feels like there are 5-6 songs at least that super solid. I'll have to spend more time with the album over the coming weeks.
First time listening all the way through. Great album 4-5
It’s certainly a vibe and time and place.
90s rap does this really awesome thing sometimes where it creates some of the most timeless and iconic beats and bars, and then sandwiches them with some of the weirdest interludes you've ever heard in your life. Despite that, this album is an absolute jam. I don't think it's as good as what he did on Life After Death, but we wouldn't even have that one without this one, which lays the groudwork for it to run on. My favorites are Things Done Changed, Machine Gun Funk, Ready To Die, Juicy, and Big Poppa.
Really good. I'd never listened to the whole album before and besides the unnecessary intermission I really enjoyed ready to die
4.5
Tätä on hauska kuunnella! Jotenki tulee hyvä mieli (jos kuuntelua lyriikoita tarkemmin vois olla vähän vaikeampi kuunneltava)
The tremendous lyricist and a truthful human being! What a fucking rip roaring joy this was to listen to. Such a kindred, listening to this as far as like also listening to like a Johnny Cash album! People who both had a bit of tough up rings and like then became famous
Cool
For what it is, this is incredible.
Decent album! Like the incorporation of lots of samples across the album... Some of my favourite Biggie tracks on this one - Juicy, Everyday Struggle and Gimme the Loot. Only downside of the album is some of the derogatory language around women... the track Fuck Me is just odd.
This one is close to a 5 for me but it‘s just a bit too long for me and too many skits which was usual though during that time.
This was actually really good
A classic
I didn’t mind that album, I especially liked Respect with Diana King (I’m definitely gonna check more of her work out) otherwise it had groove, maybe a bit too many sketches, I feel like they were fashionable at the time? Probably wouldn’t listen again
Obviously a bunch of great ones... "Respect" is a jam for sure!
The hits still hit. It’s infuriating how much talent was lost. Would have been nice to see how this artist matured. So much great work here. The skits aged like milk. But the flow is eternal.
Moody and beautiful. Love this album minus the dick sucking audio…
Moody and beautiful. Love this album minus the dick sucking audio…
It's funny to remember how *hard* so much mid-90s hip hop sounded, spurred to popularity by NWA and all their off-shoots. The bravado and juvenile humor is still there, but the constant refrain of violence and nihilism is so evident - pretty appropriate for an album titled 'Ready to Die.' And yet, even if the gangster rap genre as a whole doesn't entirely hold up, B.I.G.'s lyrical talent is undeniable, his wordplay so often matched by compelling, head-bobbing beats and samples. I might wish Puffy had been shot instead, but this album is still great.
I meeean I know this is exactly the kind of thing that put me off hip hop when I was younger, but tbh it slaps
Ready To Die is an exceptionally produced concept album. Biggie's ability to tell a story with his lyrics is captivating and his flow is brilliant. I struggled (a lot) with the rampant misogyny in the lyrics, less so with the use of sex noises as a framing device between songs, although it did make me less inclined to repeat the album. Overall, glad I listened and I feel I understand why he is such a big deal in the hip-hop world.
4☆/5 08.12.2024
Really looking forward to listening to this album. NOt a huge rap fan but I do know how legendary this artist and album is.
The highs were extremely high—excellent lyricism and messaging. The lows came off as corny and gauche.
This is a legendary classic and with good reason. All those quibbles I had with Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, mad city? Not to be found here. The songs are structured brilliantly. The rap flow is tight and precise. Who knows how much of this was written beforehand or off the cuff, but every word and turn of phrase lands like a sniper rifle. Every song feels perfectly realized. Maybe it’s just a generational thing. I know the younger generation LOVES modern hip-hop. But for me, a lot of new rap feels haphazard and lazy, versus Notorious B.I.G, where every lyric feels so full of wit and precision. “Juicy” is the standout, and with almost a billion spins, clearly plenty of people agree. There’s a bit of a feeling of sameness throughout the album. It’s 19 tracks long, and there sure aren’t any “ballads” to mix it up. But when the songs are as clever and catchy as this, that’s not a deal breaker. 10/10. Surely one of the finest hip-hop albums there will ever be.
Biggie delivers his raps with a smooth, understandable cadence and a deep, full tone that makes his lyrics easy to follow and engaging. A lot of it is your typical gangsta rap fare - guns, drugs, sex, misogyny, streets. Occasionally it gets into something deeper, particularly when it gets deeper into BIG’s emotions, history, and attitudes. A few great songs, a few good/ok songs, and a few crappy skits. Important album with important songs in rap history, but overall not sure it fully stands the test of time. It’s good, but it’s not a marvel.
Have listened, 4.5 stars, classic.
Así la vida rapera.
Yeah this was bad ass. I liked it.
Great rap album but not HoF
Overall good 90s hip-hop album. I liked how it wasn't ALL about thuggin' and sex; he added songs in there about his mental health, which was a good change of pace.
This is a tough one. There are a couple classics in here, but those weren't my favorite tracks. Maybe it's because I've heard them too many times. I also felt uncomfortable with all the horny-ness. A whole song about his amazing dick was pretty off-putting and juvenile. It sounded like somebody who has never had sex wrote that song to prove a point. And then the skit that followed actually grossed me out. The whole braggedocious nature of the album doesn't come across in the popular songs. It just felt over the top as a whole. Oh and the misogyny was excessive as well. With that said, there are some legitimate boppers on here and I enjoy some of his creative lyricism.
Iconic
A little too hard in spots, but so pivotal given the era
Some really nice songs. What a flow! I’ve been thoroughly listening on more rap and hip hop records during this journey than maybe I’ve ever done before. What’s up with all the skits?
Uno de los mejores álbumes de Hip-hop de la historia. Biggie Smalls tiene un flow inigualable que inspiró a cientos de miles de raperos a lo largo del mundo, haciendo evolucionar el género y perfilándolo hasta dejarlo como lo conocemos hoy. Sin embargo, eso no quiere decir que este disco ha envejecido bien; la violencia y la representación negativa de las comunidades afroamericanas en las letras de Biggie reflejan una dura realidad, pero que podría considerarse más celebratorio al mundo del hampa que una crítica en sí misma. De todas formas, un disco indispensable.
cooler sound, old school east cosst - kann man nur gerne hören, die lyrics aber wirklich explizit. ich habe mich zum ersten mal mit der geschichte von biggie smalls auseinandergesetzt, schade um sein talent!
Alright, we got the debut album from the Notorious B.I.G., shortly before his demise. I will say after listening to Ready to Die, I do appreciate Biggie's flows and charisma, as they carry a lot of songs alongside the beats from the various producers. Songs like "Juicy", "Everyday Struggle" and "Big Poppa" carry this ethereal coolness even with the touches of dark lyricism drawn from Biggie's rough upbringing. That said, one of the problems I found throughout this album was the egregious amount of sampling used here. Almost every track has various sound effects going off that interrupt the immersion for me. I get if they were trying to add context like with the guns going off on "Machine Gun Funk" or ringtones when a pager is brought up in a verse, but those kinds of sounds could've been left to the listener's imagination. Similarly, some of the skits have not aged well. Again, it was probably meant for the context of this album, like the intro track sequencing Biggie's life from birth to gang violence or the contemplations made on "Suicidal Thoughts". But that said, I could've done without hearing Biggie getting sucked off at the end of "Respect", cause I otherwise liked that song up to that moment. Production issues aside, I get why this is an influential hip-hop record from someone in their prime gone way too soon. It is worth a listen if you're curious.
Amongst the best Hip Hop albums of the 90's. It doesn't hit me on a personal level enough to elevate it to my personal favorites though.
For not being a lover of hip hop, I truly appreciated this album and its contribution to music.
i liked the way the story was told thru the songs, i also really liked the bass and as a bass player i really respect the amount of bass i could hear
Goooooooood
We all know Diddy had Biggie killed and he robbed us of more of this.
Iconic!! I knew some of the hits but to listen to this front to end was so fun… hip hop was so different back then and to hear the quality of the lyrics and melodies versus now is remarkable. What an album!
Some of the subject matter and skits haven’t dated well but Biggie’s rhymes still sound pretty fresh
Normaly not my music, but in this case I like the hole Album 8/10
Good stuff! Could have done without the graphic hanky-panky bits.
This is such a great album. I haven't listened to it in years, but found myself, again, remembering so many of the lyrics and beats. Just iconic. Now that we're probably 30 years past this album's drop you can hear how it influenced so many albums even today. I'm not really into the hip hop game at this point, but I am thankful that largely rap has stopped being so violent and moved on to different topics. That's what one of the biggest things that hit me today was the violence in this album, from the opening skit to warning etc... Still, a great album.
This one has some classics and some trash. The classics and sleepers carry it up above a 3 for me but overall the gangster rap doesn't age well
Scarface as music album
Hip Hop classic, hands down! Its a shame it has the executive producer all over it and the sex interludes are a bit much
Undeniably groundbreaking album. 4/5 rather because the gun shot sound bites are triggering and sex sound bites unnecessary.
Big bars over big beats by the big fella
Mint
Still a brilliant album, but a few tracks haven’t aged well. However, Juicy, Warning, Respect, Gimme The Loot, Machine Gun Funk, The What and Unbelievable are still bangers 4/5
So so good. Could do without the skits. Take them off, finish in 45 mins and we all go home happy
I'm a big fan of rap and hip-hop, but for some reason I never really paid much attention to Biggie. I was very pleasantly surprised. Favourite tracks: Things Done Changed, Ready to Die, One More Chance, Everyday Struggle (love the out of tune sample, SO good), Big Poppa.