Ready To Die

It's hard for me not to judge the lifestyle that these lyrics represent. In all cases I try hard to empathize with people born into different circumstances than me but I'm so "anti-" almost everything being espoused here that it makes me ill. It's bad enough that someone feels this is the life they have to live, but other people who DON'T live that life who CELEBRATE it are even worse, almost. I frankly don't CARE about your "flow" if you're so psychically messed up that "Because the nigga play pussy, that's the nigga that's getting screwed / And bruised up from the pistol whipping" is the way you think the world is supposed to be. Today almost half of black children in the US live without their father. Is that something to be proud of? What kind of a legacy is Biggie leaving behind him, what good did he do on this earth? He had "techniques dripping out his butt cheeks" and now he's dead. You're still alive. How cool are you now?

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, when I was dead broke, I couldn’t picture this. Just the tracks … forget the skits — and Puff.

Just reading previous reviews was enough for me and I didn’t listen to one track. I find this stuff totally obnoxious and I don’t even want one second of this crap polluting my home. This isn’t music but one man’s putile attempt at using the music industry to glorify all that’s wrong with the world and promoting it so that others follow in his footsteps regardless of the fact that he paid the ultimate price for living in his grimy rancid world. 0/5 24/2/25

nothing super interesting, just some west coast rap. still pleasant to listen to.

He loses a star for the moaning and slurping LOL

Some of the best rap songs ever but the album is too bloated!

It may be because I've never really been that into the 90s rap style, but I feel like this one is overrated. The name is also some unfortunate foreshadowing. RIP

Biggy is a legend, but this has not aged well. The skits really bring things down, but the songs are still good if you can put yourself in a 90s mindset.

This is just such a classic rap album. While I don’t enjoy it as much as a lot of others, I still think it deserves 5 stars.

Maybe 2,5-3? Too many slurpy noises

SUPER NINTENDO

storytelling from the streets. biggy smalls was an expert wordsmith with impeccable flow. highlights: “things done changed” “juicy” “big poppa”

Fine work.

Not enjoyable

That cover hits stronger than the songs do, but I have a perspective with a hard time keeping up with the relentless lyrics. It probably gets better with repeat listening and a better grasp of those lyrics.

Now we’re talking. Great album, sex and violence so makes for age appropriate listening

One of the greatest. Wish there were less sex skits... Would feel far more comfortable playing it out a speaker.

Listened to this a lot when I was a teenager. Whipped out the vinyl for it this time. Easy 5

I know this is a seminal hip-hop record, and it's got a couple really good tracks, but overall I've never quite gotten the hype for it.

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.

It get's redundant really fast and then seems to never end. The interludes become maddening as the album progresses as well. There are a few good tracks but buried under the sheer weight.

Track after track of the same thing. I’ll give it credit for being something interesting and new and maybe pushing boundaries at the time maybe but it doesn’t hold my attention now.

It was done well. There was just so much of it. I was tired of the whole thing by the end.

I've listened to this album before. And I don't like it anymore now than I did the first time I tried to listen to it. I just don't enjoy any part of it and found myself reaching for the skip button entirely too often.

His flow is incredible. The subject matter is mind-numbly redundant. I look forward to the next remastered edition, where P Diddy's moaning hype man routine has been edited out of the back track.

Good old school East Coast rap. Not my favorite - I was more of a West Coast guy. And now the affiliation with Diddy sort of ruins Biggie’s rep a little more. But still a classic example of early 90s rap style.

Enjoyable! Hated the sex intermission but the rapping was pretty good

Inte nog med att det är dåligt, han var ju ful också. Det är ju jävligt tufft att blanda pistolskott och porrfilmstön i låtarna. Eller inte....

I’m so ready. Maybe not to die, but sweet Jesus to listen to this album. There is no chance this doesn’t get a 5, but will the graphic fellatio interludes and constant reminder of “Puff Daddy” render this one into the dreaded “no longer a five” territory?? We’ve had our lyrical miracle street disciple hour with the Jurassic 5 and now, let’s take a turn to the much darker. After the intro of course. I ain’t doing a “blow by blow” on the birth scene. Being born “ready to die” is quite the comment though. Just the beginning. Let loose the best opening salvo in hip hop history. A “back in my day” track rattles out of the starting gate, which you’d think would be a negative. The wordplay, the tone, and the beat. Incredibly good. Had me wondering in my very white, suburban neighborhood why things have indeed changed. Good lord. It’s the greatest. The meanest, toughest mainstream rap song ever released. The true classic from this album. Angry, despondent, yet so so fun. A billion quotables and with that incredibly cool vocal variation and sample. One of the best ever put to tape. Isuzu mentioned. Perfection topped off with a mediocre automobile. This beat is incredibly hard. The sirens and the highly insensitive but so very catchy, Tina Turner interpolation bump up the coolness and odd humour aspect. It’s so extreme that it gets funny at times. I can’t be effusive enough with praise for this song. Even the repetition doesn’t wear itself out. The storytelling is incredible. I’ve heard it many times and I still hang on every word. Also. Might to inquire with the SPCA about the gunpowder dogs. Biggie. Come on now. Start the slow singing and leave the poor German canines alone. Perfect. Well. Except the inclusion of ol’ P Diddy, but at the time, things were relatively unknown. Can’t let him ruin this song. For what it’s worth, his parts are pretty great. This song is another gem in the crown. Biggie sez: When it comes to sex, I’m similar to a boxing match. I assume that means he will punch you and it will last 1-12 rounds? Who knows. I hate sex songs, but he’s simply too likeable and the beats and wordplay are just so fun. Even when he describes personal hygiene. Help me. Oh no. I think somebody is hurt. There is a bumping noise and a woman sounds in pain. Somebody help. The racism roleplay interlude has passed. We have survived. Mr. Cheese. It appears that you’re a rapper now. What a feature. Crazy that it’s pretty much the only one. Despite the lack of respect for pretty much every group of people, this one rules too. I always thought Biggie predicted 9/11 with that line. Anyway. This is overplayed but still fantastic. Such an excellent beat and lyrics that read like a triumph in amongst the dismay of the rest of the album. It certainly has the most pop sensibility so far, but the delivery doesn’t let up, nor does the writing. It’s almost like people don’t talk about Notorious B.I.G’s suicidal themes in his music. People dismiss rap as being about boasting or glorifying a gang lifestyle. Listen to this. Er what did he say about her dad?? This song is kind of romantic? I guess. Not my favourite here. The most popular, most west coast song on the album, and therefore, the very worst song on the album. If it wouldn’t be out of place on “The Chronic,” it’s probably boring. This feels like somebody told Biggie to make at least one hit. The least personality and almost no presence of the rapper’s unique voice to be found on “Big Poppa.” Excellent beat, thrilling intro/chorus vocals, and ultimately, a return to form after the club departure of the previous track. And then simulated fellatio. Or it’s an ad for popsicles. We can all hope. Good song. Decent is probably a better descriptor. Fine. Holy hell. A real deep track winner. The delivery is violent and persistent. Just a really solid hip-hop song. Tell god I said “this song is really good.” And here we go. The official final track. I of course will be listening to “Who Shot Ya” but not until we hear another admission of misery and a real show of depth. I’ve always wondered why music like this appealed to suburban white kids. I think in some surface-level cases, it’s a fetishization of a life that seems exciting and full of danger as opposed to the relative “boredom” and safety of middle class life. For me, sure, there is an element of sensationalism, but what it comes down to is hearing someone who can eloquently describe the feelings of being in a place seemingly consumed by fear, anger, and poverty. The emotions are a point of relatability to a situation that many of us are lucky enough to not have any direct experience with. Of course there are elements of boasting and glorification, but I’ve always found the macho posturing and foreboding lyrics/sounds an illustration of morbid thoughts unsaid. Relatable for anybody who has experienced any helplessness, fear, anger, sadness etc. you just have to dig past the surface. From start to finish, the beats, the lyrics, the humour, the emotion make this a joy to listen to. Popsicle ads and all. Who the fuck is this, paging me a five star album at 10:59 in the morning. Send the gunpowder dogs after those who deny. And somebody keep those fuckers away from the pentagon. Can’t have those monsters harnessing the power of the ShotWeillers. 5 HIGHLIGHTS: Things Done Changed, Gimme the Loot, Machine Gun Funk, Ready to Die, The What, Everyday Struggle, Suicidal Thoughts

Despite the irony of this being his last album before he died, I just can't figure out how it is here on this list. It took me 3 drives home from work to finally finish it, and each tim I thought "well I probably am just going to skip the rest" I really wanted to like this a bit more. Usually fat guys are a little more light hearted and fun, but this was pretty gross, disrespectful and violent. Crime isn't cool. Murder isn't cool. Cheating isn't cool. Biggie is a terrible role model and I can't think of anything good that came from this album. There were a couple funny rhymes like " life token" and some interesting background sound effects, but my ADHD just was over stimulated by the wind chimes and keeping an ear open for rhymes. I have a similar problem with Ice Cube in that there is only so far one can go with violence before you have to call bullshit or else they'd be in jail. Maybe the fantasy/fiction is more understood by others, but I am under the impression that authenticity is implied for there to be any 'cred' or 'rep' from artists work. I didn't quite finish the whole thing, Suicidal thoughts was the last straw. Favorite track? "Juicy" I guess.... 1/5

Für mich ein typisches RAP-Album, nichts was mich begeistert. 2/5

The rhymes and flow are great. The content is not for me.

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.

Difficult to get past the misogynistic lyrics. Putting them (and the unnecessary sex noises) to one side this album does feature some tunes. Juicy stands out. Sent me looking again for the notorious xx project where he was remixed with the The xx album

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...

Biggies delivery is buttery smooth whilst always slightly yelling. The sometimes soulful production I really enjoyed and there are a few gems that I'd pick out and listen to on occasion: "Juicy", "Everyday struggle", "Big poppa" were all highlights. Respect was good but the end was vile. In fact, a lot of it was vile; you don't have to listen too hard for the same misogynistic, vulgar, homophobic, violent message. I'm no prude but at times it was too much for me, it's also cringey as fuck. The skits don't hold up well. It was a letdown in light of all the other positives. But, eh can't have it all.

The skits and sex noises are too much for my sensitive soul. I can’t get past the misogynistic lyrics either.

The fact it's so dated is both simultaneously the best and worst thing about it. I thought it started off well, but then became a bit of a slog. I could have done without all the skits and sex sounds. I enjoyed this more than anything I've heard by Tupac, so congrats!

Love When You Call Me Big Poppa is the only song I like and it's been a favorite for years.

Digs

A killer record, great flow & lyrics

L’ALBUM Hip Hop per eccellenza, va ascoltato solo per la sua iconicità E poi perché il tipo ne ha fatti due e poi gli hanno sparato quindi quindi non c’è molto altro di suo sul mercato

I've heard Biggie's music, but I don't think I've listened to this one all the way through. Overall, it is very good. Just about everyone has heard Juicy and Big Poppa. Some others that stood out to me were Things Done Changed, Gimme the Loot, and The What (with M E T H O D Man). The flow, music, and grooves are all amazing for the most part. The lyrics do get a little tired after a while, but I guess that's what sold in '94. I also did not like the vignettes or whatever they were throughout the album. All they did was disrupt the flow. Overall a good album. Hard to believe he was only 24 when he died.

Got some really good stuff of course. Also has some hot garbage Will I listen to again: 90%

Definitely feel like I should give it another listen to while really paying attention to the lyrics, but I don’t mind it as background music.

What a great album. I've never listened to the whole thing before but it's banger after banger.

Easy 5. Yes, Puffy's contributions are annoying and unnecessary but if you look past those, this is easily one if the greatest rap albums of all time.

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.

Classique

I know he was “Just Playin’,” but the last track had some lyrics that were beyond simply uncomfortable about a child and date rape. Smacking Tina Turner around is also in poor taste. Too bad, too, because it otherwise had a great beat. And forgetting that one for a minute, I can definitely see why people call him one of the best in the genre.

Not for me. I thought I would be able to hear how much better Biggie was than other rappers, but I couldn’t.

Painful in so many ways, but I guess I see that he was a good rapper.

This album seemed to never end. Not my thing.

Not really my thing, but no doubt Biggie could rap.

Just wasn’t feeling this.

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

Musically it's aged well but the misogyny and glsmourisation of crime I had a problem with.

I have tried repeatedly over the past thirty years to get into this genre of rap, but I still find it more akin to poetry than music. While this album has some very interesting bed tracks, the repetitive subject matter that feels so relentlessly negative and frankly, cliched. I respect the effort, but I would not listen to this at home or in my car.

280/1001

Inte riktigt min grej. Två

7/10. This album is often revered as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Biggie has a great flow, and the lyrics are very tragic. Unfortunately, I'm biased against hip-hop, since it isn't really my thing. Sorry!!!

Bonafide classic, multiple 10/10 songs, not sure there are any skips

It was hard. I'm not crazy about the genre compared to more complex instruments

Yeah the skits suck. The rest was awesome.

All of the sex noises were only slightly disturbing

Hip hop again. I always thought this was about music and not lifestyle. As usual, I played a few tracks from the album, found them immediately off-putting or boring and chose the next one. Then I followed the crowd and listened to Big Poppa or watched the video. Is this the representation of a certain kind of big city life? Clubs, (white) wine, gambling (at best :-)), money, pretty girls? The sound was quite cool, but very repetitive. No, I can't do anything with this genre. 1/5

kell egy speckó vibe nekem az ilyen gettó raphez, amúgy jó, meg pl a telepen fun mikor ilyen szól, de nem a kedvenc zsánerem, a s2exes tracket nem teljesen tudtam hovatenni:)

Kedvenc/Favourite: Gimme The Loot Őszintén nagyon meglepődtem mennyire élvezhető volt számomra, nagyon válogatós vagyok, ha rapről van szó. Nem hiszem, hogy sűrűn vissza fogok térni hozzá, még mindig nem az én világom, de örülök, hogy adtam ennek egy esélyt. I was honestly very surprised how enjoyable it was for me, I'm very picky when it comes to rap. I don't think I'll be coming back to it often, it's still not my thing, but I'm glad I gave it a chance.

I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping to.

Good old hip-hop

Gave up halfwqay through and went back to Fatboy Slim! Traditional rap really isn't for me.

Not bad

Seems pretty generic to e

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).

GIMME THE LOOT!

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.

One of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, arguably the greatest! Big was so good at telling you a story while rapping in an elite fashion. Timeless records, effortless flow and the ability to weave in a story throughout this project, flawless man. 10 stars!!!!

Great album with some great samples. Can see why it is so good.

It was good, It was evident how he had such a great skill of story telling through his music. I liked how he had a great flow when rapping. I disliked the sexual themes, especially the "Fuck me Interlude"

It was ok

Classic Biggie. Funny, heavy, witty, and sounds cool all in one. 5 stars

Sigo sin ser muy fan del rap americano

I never got into this album like I did all the Westcoast stuff. However, this is an excellent hip hop album. This is definitely one of the hardest Eastcoast albums ever. Obviously, the hits are there, but I really like the jazzy, early 90's sound on Machine Gun Funk. My favorite song is Gimme the Loot. Biggie was super talented. I really just didn't like anything else on Bad Boy Records, or anything else Diddy lubed up. This is an all time classic, though, so it gets a 5 from me.

The grooves on here are undeniable. Most of the better tracks wait for the second half of the album ("Big Poppa," "Respect"). The production is great and B.I.G. has great flow, but I don't hear why some consider him one of the greats.

"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 was a teen when this album came out, but I never listened to it fully until maybe 15 to 16 years after it's release. Biggie is a top 5 rapper to me and I have a soft spot for him because he is of Caribbean descent with his mom being from Jamaica. To me he is like what happens to Caribbean people sometimes when they come to America and just get absorbed into the wrong things, maybe with immigrant parents that do not fully understand the world they've entered. Biggie's intelligence apparently won him spelling bees as a child but then take that same intelligence combined with no father being present in the home while surrounded by the wrong crowd and there you have it. Though I can't relate to the violence on the album, his delivery, story telling, smoothness and vocabulary are on a different level. Whenever I listen to this album I think to myself 'what if his experiences in life had been more positive and he'd rapped about more positive things, like maybe Gift of Gab'. What if he had lived longer...what kind of songs would he have made? Here's some extra credit for you, many may not know this but look up 'rap song featuring Heavy D, Busta Rhymes and Biggie Smalls' and give it a listen. This is while Biggie was moreso an unknown I think. All 3 of those rappers are of Jamaican decent I'd feel odd writing the song title here, you'll see why. Killer upright bass sound on it..... can't beat 90s hip hop man.

Amazing

the talent is there and there are some bright spots in the album where he really gets into some great poetry, but it drags on too long and I just don't enjoy some of the content regardless of the talent behind it.

Man idk…

I liked the first half of the album but lost interest for the last bit. 3.75 stars

God damn dude. Your DEBUT album is an hour and ten? Too violent, it's bringing me down. Sorry about whatever happened that made you feel like you had to be this way. Gangster violence is always going to be entertaining to some people. Like horror films, I'm not into it. This album is unrelenting in it's violence: I'm not going to try to stop anyone else from listening to it, it's well made (I'm sure, not an expert, critics like it apparently), and there's a lot of cleverness and rhythm in the "poetry." But the subject matter is not subtle, not all that artistic. Pretty sure gangster rap did NOT solve the problems the rappers were complaining about.

Prinzipiell schon gut, aber die meisten Lieder haben mich nicht wahnsinnig abgeholt. Zwei sehr nice Lieder. Old School Hip Hop 3/5

Why is every single hip hop album over an hour? Have these people ever heard of "leave them wanting more"? This isn't the fairest review as I only gave it one listen. I was debating one or two stars. But I decided to go back through some of the tracks and read along with the lyrics and properly concentrate and focus my thoughts fully on the music which definitely helped a lot. If I had time I'd listen to albums as many times as I could. With other genres, there are vocal lines, melodies, solos, riffs, something catchy to 'grab' onto. With rap, there's a constant looped beat and unless you follow along with the words it's difficult to 'grab'. That's the best way I can describe my personal feelings towards hip hop. 'Juicy' is obviously the best track here. It's got a really funky bass line running through it and actually sounds quite uplifting in comparison to the rest of the album. I wish the whole album was exactly like this track. Biggie really shines on 'One More Chance' and 'Respect' too, they're both very good. He's an enjoyable rapper to listen to. I like the laid back delivery of most of the lyrics. 'Gimme The Loot' however is quite an aggressive track, Biggie and whoever else that is on the track sound great. The skits are probably funny once, and then just ruin the flow of the album. Stop with the skits. These ones were particularly cringe. I would probably enjoy this more with more listens. Really popular stuff like Kanye and Eminem I like because it's familiar and I can follow along with the lyrics that I already know which helps a lot, so this is difficult to rate after just one listen. I'll assume I'll like it more after more spins, so I'll give it a 3.5 rounded down.

Dragged out a lot. Wasn't super engaging to me.

First album I couldn't bring myself to finish. Just really not my thing. The interludes consisting of weird noises was also uncomfortable.

The Good: realizing that rappers know how to spell a name The Bad: realizing the size of one’s ego if you’ve got to spell out your nickname… The Ugly: trying to convince us of an innocence lost I don’t want to get all philosophical here, so I will keep this one short… I don’t like rap. Not that rap is bad, nor that I can’t enjoy a good rhyme, or “flow”… but give me a beat poet any day over this “look at the size of my dick, click, there goes Rick, with my gin-n-tonic” Do I know what it’s like to live in the ghetto? No. Do I find this album a good means to let me understand what life is like in the ghetto? If I use most rap albums of that era, then yes… and how grateful I am that I don’t live in the ghetto, or have to worry about a ghetto… but for the love of all, stop glorifying the shit, pretending it’s all cool and shit. And what’s with blow-job in the middle of it all? At the end of the day, if I go by words being used, and the flow, then I’ve heard it before, which might prove that B.I.G. is the goat, or it just might prove that there are only so many words that rhyme with gat, rat-a-tat, or dick, or bitch, or cold champagne… Also, you can’t have a background line stating “remember they used to thump, now they blast, right?” inferring the better days of the past, to then glorify carrying a gun and knowing how to use it… So, needless to say, this album is getting the best possilbe rating 1*

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...

An absolute masterclass in 90's rap. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 4.5, and I’m kind of conflicted about whether I should go down to a 4 or go up to a 5. I’ve heard this album before – I think anyone who claims to know 90s music has at least heard one of “Juicy” or “Big Poppa” before, and in my case, I listened to the whole thing for the first time… gosh, maybe a decade ago, when I was 15. I liked it back then, but I never really gave a lot of thought to the lyricism, and this is obviously when people still liked Diddy, before… well, you know. So, with several years removed from listening to this album in full, but with years of the songs coming up in my big playlist, I was really curious about how it would hold up as a complete front to back package. I’ve matured in spades since 2015, and as part of this whole 1,001 albums thing, I’ve learned to really & truly pay attention to music, and analyze it a lot more past “it sounds good”, for the most part. From the intro, though, this weirdly felt akin to riding a bike – once my brain locked in on “Things Done Changed”, a lot of it came right back to memory. From a purely musical standpoint (i.e., melodic flow, instrumentals/beats, mood-capturing energy, etc), this really is a masterclass on most of the tracks. Easy Mo Bee deserves a lot of fucking credit for the opening stretch of this album, because his stuff is an incredible tonesetter, and a bar for every other producer on here to meet, and they all got pretty close. The lyrics need to be talked about, because they are mostly the reason I’m wavering between a 4 and a 5 – it’s not even necessarily in the fact that a lot of the deeply misogynistic stuff has aged so poorly (although that is a really big factor that should not be understated), and more so in the fact that when you really pay attention, a lot of these tracks end up circling the bases on flexing, bragging, self-hype, and threats of violence, with a touch of domestic abuse throughout. Granted, that’s probably a lot of Diddy’s influence striking through on this album (and I’ll get to him at some point), and from what I remember of “Life After Death”, his songwriting improves tremendously in those regards to make a more varied, thoughtful, introspective & arguably, a more fruitful & better album. On here, though, while those subject matters have legs for a while, by tracks 14 and onward, it just feels like retreading old water, and it does get sort of bland. The curse of a long album, I suppose. However, I’m more inclined to lean towards a 5, if only because Biggie Smalls makes those lines, as poorly aged and repetitive as they might be, sound compelling and unique and mesmerizing every single time – yes, this is a 70 minute album, but it genuinely still flew by for me. Part of that is familiarity, but a lot of it comes in how charismatic and unique Biggie’s voice is, and how he’s able to pull you into the story he’s telling almost every time, without fail. It really didn’t hit me until I had headphones in just how smooth the man’s flow is – the ending of “Everyday Struggle” struck me as the key example, with the bass picking up, the percussion getting a little louder, and the clarity where you can hear just how on-beat he was the whole time becoming apparent. It’s that sort of mesmerizing appeal that’s pulling me towards a 5, and I think it’ll stay there. I’ll be damned if old Puff Sean Diddy Daddy P. Combs didn’t do his damn best to drag this down to a 4 though – it’s not even that he does anything especially bad, but for the love of God, man, do you need to be doing hype-man adlibs on every single fucking track? It’s a side effect of getting this album after all the crimes really came to light, but I just don’t need to hear the man give an Ariana Grande-esque “yuh” after every single fucking line Biggie says. It happens so often that it feels like I’m listening to a man ride coattails in real time, and it is by far the worst side effect of The Notorious B.I.G.'s success. Ultimately, though… I dunno, maybe I just have too much reverence for this album from my younger years, but I think I just have to give it a 5. I can see the case to go lower, and if I were going in with totally fresh ears, I’d probably be there. I cannot change the misogynistic parts of this album from existing, and they do genuinely drag it down on a modern relisten (and don’t even get me started on why the interlude had to be on this album), but on so many of the tracks, I’m just reminded of why Biggie felt special. Even in 2015, I just knew. Beyond the mythos of the Tupac rivalry & his own subsequent death, the man’s talent was on full display, and in 2025, I think his musicianship still speaks for itself. I could (& probably will) go down to a 4 in the future, when I have less of a starry-eyed glaze, but I feel OK about giving this a 5.

we were doing so well until the slurping.

this was a real mixed bag for me. pros: - love the creative censoring spotify does for some of these lyrics, changing the curses into dashes or the n-word into obvious substitutes like "man" and "people" and "why they" (???). those might be radio edit lyrics but still, amazing stuff. - biggie raps about his pager at least twice in these songs, and probably more if i had listened more closely. it's like, dude, aren't you like 19? why do you even have a pager? kids those days, always on their damn pagers!! - the beats and flow are pretty slick here. - after the confusing and unimpressive intro, the album opens nicely with things done changed and the next song available on spotify, warning. one more chance even has a cool interpolation/parody in it. - i love it when you call me big poppa cons: - holy shit these skits have to stop. i don't need women moaning and slurping in my ears while i'm at work. -- side note: i know pornography was a lot harder to come by (pun intended) 30 years ago but were there people out there who were like "oh boy, a 15-second skit of a horny lady moaning on my rap album, now THIS is the good stuff" like what does this inclusion actually do for your credibility vis-a-vis bitches and hoes, mr. smalls? i rest my case. - on a related note, the misogyny here is mind-boggling. comes with the territory and time period i guess but yiker's island, what are we doing here. - boy this album is long, huh? it really starts to wear out its shtick after a couple tracks, and it doesn't help that most of these tracks are around 4-5 minutes long already. all in all, it's gonna be 2.5 stars from me, dog. i guess i'll throw you a bone and round up. favorites: things done changed, warning, juicy, big poppa

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.

Such a great voice and flow, it really is a shame he died so young. It is kind of weird how much he talks about dying on this album. The beats on this album are also really great and groovy. Mid 5.

That's not my taste in music - But ok, some cool songs

Top 10 rap album ever probably. I’ve of course heard songs off of this album but listening to it all in one sitting made me feel like it’s actually a bit more intimate than I realized. Kind of a chronicle of Biggies life, at least is how I took it. 5 stars

Repetitive, sort of drones on. Skits are cringe.

A rap classic. You could maybe argue 4 stars because I don't love the skits but his its catchy. He has good flow, and the beats are good too

Ja. Hörbar.

Nearly perfect, but wayy too long. Mostly all bangers but tough to get through. It's a 5/5 but on the lower end

this one is a hard one to rate, because on one hand this feels like a great view into peak 90's hip hop with some really captivating songs in here, some real good flow, and the intro was one of the best album intro's i've ever heard. on the other hand though, the theme of the album kind of just boils down to 'sex, drugs, violence, repeat'. I think i've decided on a 5 for this purely because this was jus the style of the time, and i still think it's done extremely well.

It has like two good songs over 75 minutes. And even those songs are just okay.

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;

He has a great flow and the beats are good. But even putting the misogyny aside, having the same lyrical theme song after song, only broken up by crappy skits kills the enjoyment.

was always west coast but i'm mature now and have put long dead (no pun intented) rap beefs behind me. i still don't care for this album. yes, biggie is talented and it carries such an aura that you have to respect, but there's so much fat to be cut (pun intended) and i have a hard time finding standout songs that aren't the hits. the skits sucked too

Great Album but it is a bit weird now since the P Diddy situation.

Nice beats, weird skits

No thanks.

Bonafide classic

Quite catchy beats and poignant lyrics

I could only listen to this once, so the review isn't really fair. I honestly expected more from this. It is a solid album with really good beats and flow, but there wasn't anything that clicked. If I had more time, maybe it would be able to grow on me, but for now, this gets 3 stars.

Shame BIG’s legacy is so tied to the rapist P Diddy.

Great

2 out of 5. Having listened to this for the first time I can see why Biggie's music is so highly regarded. It was mostly the skits that killed it for me.

Powerful legacy…..

While the overall tone was terribly misogynistic from start to finish, I did enjoy the overall style and sound they were laying down. Maybe it's because I'm listening to this 30 years after its original release (who knows). But damn is this album unnecessarily bloated. I don't need skits and interludes between almost each and every track. I especially didn't want to (or need to) hear "renditions" of Biggie and his sexual escapades throughout.

The beats and music were great, the interludes and skits unnecessary, and rapping was unique. Typical.

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.

already heard - fav is hypnotize - overly long

норм. вайбовый, семплированный хип-хоп. местами слишком пошловато))

a masterclass in lyricism featuring the some of the biggest hits in the genre, but a chore to get through at times.

What can we say more about this absolute classic. A contender for best rap album of all time. Incredibly influential.

Misogynistic

Good beats and a good flow. I can understand how this was incredibly influential. But I completely fail to connect with it due to the infantile skits and lyrics.

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

Rap is not my thing. I'm not a fan of the robots making music and am drawn, in music, to melody and harmonic progression over lyric and rhythm. That said, I can't dismiss this album. Biggie's flow is amazing and the creativity and intelligence reflected in the rhymes is undeniable. The subject matters are super challenging. But it comes across as a 100% honest chronicling of an American experience.

4.5 (pls add half stars)

Gimme the loot

Not for me

Album 636 of 1001 The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die (1994) Rating : 1 / 5 No offense to anybody who enjoys this album but my IQ feels like it drops by half while listening to this crap. It is sad that it ever shared space on a shelf with real music. No surprise somebody took him at his word.

Beyond the hits, I found it repetitive. He does have immaculate flow though.

These hour-plus gangsta rap albums are fast becoming more of a chore to listen to than anything enjoyable. Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in, the time of day, whatever. I hate to say this, but it’s all the same. It’s vaguely interesting and certainly respectable, but just not entertaining enough. It’s not even the consistently vulgar and often pornographic content, it’s just that it doesn’t sound different enough to the albums I’ve had previous, e.g. The Chronic. I can’t say anything else about this, really. A landmark album, fine, but not all that remarkable.

Early 90’s hip hop - at the time I thought it was cool as fuck but old me cringes at an awful lot of it.

Can’t give a full 5 stars after what Diddy has been up to, the dirty baste

Shite

Yes, the skits are unpleasant, but the music is really good, and importantly, is not one-dimensional.

the skits really brought this down

Definitely an album built on shock value. Big's flows and rhymes are impeccable, a true microphone renegade and ambassador of 90's east coast flow. The samples too are beyond iconic, and Juicy is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. But, the day and age of porno skits and interludes of gunfire are over and really demolish what big built here. I have the same opinions of west coast 90's g funk and hip hop. But, rap and hip hop were only about 20 years old at the release of this behemoth, so I tip my hat to Big for redefining the genre and absolutely demolishing the competition.

Juicy always hits

Неприятная рэпчина

THEY'RE COMING THEY'RE COMING THEY'RE COMING RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN

Hip-hop soez. Un 2.

Another hip ho palbum that i enjoyed more than i should've

Obligatory five stars because of what this album is. One of the greatest rap albums of all time this arguably could be the best rap album of all time because of a lot of things. I didn’t realize how much foreshadowing there was in his death. Literally every song is about him about to be killed or getting some ass lol

Maybe the smoothest flow on an album you'll hear outside of maybe Doggystyle by Snoop. Biggie though has the incredible lyrical ability to go along with it, and some classic beats. It's an easy 5.

Really good album the only one i dont like is where biggie is getting his lil biggie ridden and she calls him alot of racist things. Gimme the loot is really good

Second half 👌🏻

Rough lyrics and terrible skits, but a lot of tracks with undeniably excellent beats and flow. Low points aside, it made for an unexpectedly fun soundtrack to my daily walks. Favorite tracks: Juicy, Everyday Struggle

Big Poppa is a classic, but the entire album feels quite aggressive and I'm not very into rap in general.

Possibly my favorite rap album I’ve listened to during this project thus far. A perfect encapsulation of the struggle of gang life in that era set to a masterful flow and infectious beats. Definitely some work I’ll have to revisit. Notable Tracks: - Things Done Changed - Gimme the Loot - The Loot - Juicy - Big Poppa - Respect 9/10

Too many skits

I can’t listen to music filled with “N” words

I feel BIG was one of those artists that started normalising the transition from old style rap to the new one. Great beats, but the kind of rap lyrics that overwhelm the genre nowadays

-1 for the diddy content

It got some flaws like the skits that haven't aged well but a majority of the songs make up for those parts. A weak 5 but a 4 would be too low.

More trash. When so call singers have to use swear words every second words, you know it's absolute garbage.

long

Believe it or not, Len Houmous was the first person to be interviewed on that fateful day for Biggie. They’d had a heated argument that afternoon. We wanted to cover Me & My Bitch in honour of Lens first wife, Andrea. Len just can’t stand swearing. So we wanted to change it to Me & My Witch but Biggie wouldn’t have it. Fortunately the only thing Len hates more than swearing his his ex wife and firearms so they knew it wasn’t him. 4.7

I was sure that this was going to be an easy 5. One of the best rappers ever, what a flow. Production is great. It just didn't age well. The skits are out of control, and there's just to much of everything.

Iconic and totally changed the game. One of the best rap albums of all time.

You know, I really just don't need sex audio interspersed throughout the album I'm listening to. Really don't.

Such a classic

Never listened to any of his album. Knew a few and liked them all.

This was solid, though the lyrics are a bit embarrassing - A bit ‘did ye aye?’ but he probably did.

Bigs best

goooddd

Classic 90s hip-hop. Not bad. The constant lyrics about drugs, guns and sex get annoying after a few tracks. Giving this one a 3/5.

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.

There’s some real hits on here and it’s a great breakthrough album. There’s some weak stuff in the middle as well.

"Gimme Da Loot" Plus "Who Shot Ya" on the remaster version...those are my faves.

It's an absolute classic, but doesn't have enough big hitters to justify being this long.

It's a "no" from me on this one. Musically, it's pretty good, but nothing in the lyrics here appeals to me.

Aged like milk.

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

would love to listen to a version of this that edits Diddy and the two atrocious sex skits out. what was the obsession with taking 2-3 minutes out of an otherwise fantastic album for the least funny audio skits you've ever heard? those blemishes aside, wow. this is one of hip hop's first timeless albums; Biggie Smalls' flows are immaculately constructed, and listening to him light these beats up is a pure delight. there's tons of different approaches to the art of storytelling across these tracks! my favorite is when he plays multiple characters in the same song, like on "Gimme the Loot" or "Warning"; it feels like he was planting a seed for Kendrick Lamar to harvest a couple decades later. "Things Done Changed", "Everyday Struggle", "Suicidal Thoughts" and many other songs here portray Biggie's criminal lifestyle and condition in society with vividly macabre detail, matched with ornate, jazz-tinged production and piledriving drum grooves. it's undeniably New York, but the influence of West Coast G-Funk is also undeniable. there's also a few glitzier cuts dedicated to his material possessions and the women he's bedding (and threatening to beat if they act out of line), as any mainstream rap classic worth its salt tends to have. the production value and rhyming quality hardly ever dips, but the subject matter is often pretty repetitive. there's definitely no shortage of material here, with 15 proper songs clocking in at over an hour. this was the early days of the CD age, where everyone was trying to fill up as much of that disc as they possibly could. I think you could maybe trim this down by 5-10 minutes and it would be a much tighter experience. but, when so many of these songs are so legendarily good, I can hardly complain! light 9/10.

You know, it was better than I was expecting. Some classic hits, but also good flow and beats.

Битые неинтересные, скучные, некоторые вообще попсово-РнБишные. Стиль читки Бигги мне никогда особо не нравился. Так что ни одна песня не понравилась. Единственной отдушиной был куплет Method Man в песне "The What".

1/5

норм!

Fuck me interlude? Lol

Some bangers but some meh

Not for me

Original gangsta rap. Pretty good, but I don’t think it has aged well.

This was never for me. There's some fun melodies, and good production, but I struggle to find much else here. It's not saying anything interesting, and it's not saying it in an entertaining way either. It's self indulgent, like a lot of this style rap is. I'll take this opportunity to repeat a firmly held belief that talky skits in albums add nothing and are just annoyances to get past. Also, I have a bigger TV than Biggie was bragging about in '94, which did make me chuckle that it took me so long to catch up.

I like slower rap because I can understand it better and there are a lot of good rhymes. Now I don't like all the b*tches, hoes and misogyny. I also don't know if I look at the violence as trying to make a political statement or just being violent. Plus P. Diddy just sort of makes this all tainted of me. Is it influential...for sure East Coast and West Coast probably wouldn't be nearly what it is without it. I just think maybe for actual music and not just cultural influence, others do it better.

This was ok. Not bad, but a lot of bitches and hoes with less meaningful songs to balance that out. And I could’ve done without the sex SFX, especially at the end of the reggae song, which I rather liked until the end. Also hard to listen to those sounds knowing how much Puffy was involved in this album. Anyway. There’s a reason I’m west side apparently. Give me Tupac!

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

It was interesting and intense hip-hop. He’s talented but very vulgar and I thought it wasn’t bad but not the best. Just not my kind of music.

3- Stars (7/15)

Awful. Just awful.

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

I could do without the random women moaning in my ear during work hours, but the rapping was great.

He gets me

Undeniably excellent rap album

I probably could benefit from a second listen to really judge this, but I also don’t particularly feel like it. When listening as background noise the thing that caught my attention most was the random sex interlude, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the album

Fun beats that I would come back to listen to again

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"

I can't listen to this shit

Absolute gold.

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

It's hard to explain how monumental biggie smalls was in his day. His flow was just so unique and his rhymes so creative if gruesome and profane. Unfortunately it doesn't hold up very well. This may be a more recent thing but hearing Puff Daddy whispering stuff in the background puts off a different vibe than it did in 1993, and frankly the stuff he's wrapping about is kind of boring and juvenile. The back in the day I used to be a buyer for a record store that prided itself on an excellent hip hop selection the kids would travel from all around for it. The first time I heard of Biggie was when some of the hardcore hip hop heads started asking about him. None of our distributors knew the name, but within a few weeks he started showing up on some of the underground dj mix tapes we carried. Improbably, about 12 years later I inadvertently found myself gentrifying the very hood Biggie rapped about, Clinton Hill. It might have been the same place, but in name only. Still, it felt good to occasionally walk by the building he grew up in and fantasize about the childhood that developed this unique style we barely got to know before he was murdered. RIP.

It's funny how I've heard the name "Notorious B.I.G." so much over the years, but as far as I know I've never heard anything by him, and don't actually know Biggie Smalls' story at all (although I guess I might have known he got killed right before his second album was released). Not the most promising start to the album between the endless f-bombs on "Intro" and plenty of n-words throughout, but I suppose that's largely par for course for 90s rap/hip-hop, particularly East Coast hip-hop, as depressing as it is to hear and watch the glamorizing of drugs, violence and sexism, although I do appreciate it that occasionally you get the darker side of it all on this album, and you definitely get a sense that Biggie Smalls experienced a lot of what he sings about. Interesting story-telling on several of the tracks, especially "Gimme the loot", the title track "Ready to die", and "Respect". Overall, though, this is far too long for what you get, especially for a debut album. I'm glad to have finally heard it, but I doubt I'd revisit this, just based on my personal music tastes. (It reminds me of how I read this amazing review for E-40's "Charlie Hustle: Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire", went out and bought it, and then listened to it exactly once.)

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.

delightful. smooth and way ahead of its time. could have done without the sex noises though

Funny coincidence to have 2pac and Biggie right after each other. This album is pretty bloated just like Biggie himself. The skits are awful but the songs are all bangers. The songwriting does get repetitive after a while though. Could count about 20 different cars he bragged about and shooting and fucking and bragging gets tiresome here.

Not.My.Thing.

The beats are made from classic soul and funk samples with a bit of live bass to animate them, for a smooth easy going sensual strip club feel that fits well with the horny songs and offers a stark contrast on those that deal with the violence of hustling life. He's got an incredible lyrical gift and delivery, layering rhymes on top of each other relentlessly in a fluid direct cadence that plays around the beat to create a autobiographical/self-mythologizing narrative, that ends in a remarkably introspective reflection on lovelessness and how little it all amounts to in the end. The skits are so annoying and it gets a bit samey over an hour, but there are torrents of masterful verses and Big-Poppa has probably THE most iconic sound of 90s hip hop.

Behind the sex tape audio and gun shot sounds there are some serious jams here.

Biggie sounds excellent, there are some great lines, and a few major hits. There’s also a lot that didn’t hold my attention. Not my favorite type of rap.

East Siiiiiiiide

Listened in line to vote. Probably should bring headphones next time.

A bonafide classic that is loaded with massive hits and some of the best hip hop deep cuts ever. Puffy’s production impresses throughout this record. Considering Diddy’s crimes, and some of the outdated lyricism from BIG, I was expecting to not like this as much as I used to. The sexual interludes and “sucking on your daddy’s dick” level of nastiness included in the lyrics is uncomfortable to say the least. That being said, BIG’s lyrics and flow are influential and timeless. The personal lyrics about thoughts of suicide are some of the first deeply personal lyrics included in hip hop. It’s hard to give this much lower of a score, because it shaped my interests at a young age honestly. And although, it has aged poorer than others, it is loaded with classics. Everyday Struggle isn’t a song that gets mentioned often, but I like it more than other rappers’ whole discography. Juicy is one of the best songs of all time regardless of genre. There are so many other tracks I could mention, because it is that loaded.

I liked Big Poppa, I did not like listening to that sloppy blow job

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.

Bed-Stuy's chef d'oeuvre! Ready to Die is a success story that is entertaining and poetic!

It was ok

This hit so hard, his lyrics are sometimes graphic and a bit intense, but the ending song is one of the greatest ways to end an album

thank god for the editing feature !!! I think that the beats and flows here are so entirely sick but the skits JUST kill this thing everything is so like tainted by all of the overt sexuality but its still good.

This wasn't terrible, but I got a little tired of all the talking.

This is complete garbage. I can find no connection with this

Obviously there are classic hip hop hits on the album. However, the album as a whole fails with the interwoven storytelling that heavily distracts from the actually good tracks. 2/5 for the album, 5/5 for the hits

Best beats. A little uncomfortable.

Musically/hook wise/Biggie’s rapping abilities: amazing Lyrically/content: I’m too old for this kind of thing Skits: dumb/unnecessary It’s terrible to think about what might have been going on in the background with P.Diddy pulling the strings

first six tracks, insomniac, vibing a lot and making my night more vearable, really good storytelling, has a conventional storytelling style but it's not stale so far. Could use less slurs. Also the end of respect grossed me out and made me drop the rating and then the last one fucking killed it for me, disgusting.

kicsit sokallom a hiphopot már, bevallom :D de ez különösen nem tudott lekötni most

Definitely a skit or two that I never need to hear again.

Loved this. Wish I had heard it years ago

The intro was such a traumatonasty that I couldn't listen to the test of it.

No, I don't want to listen to people having sex for an hour. In fact... *checks notes*... the album is 69 minutes long. You can't make this up. 1/5 Key tracks: Warning, Big Poppa

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.

This is less misogynistic than Americakka's Most Wanted, which I recently listened to. So it had that going for it. But it also had less memorable lines. Solid album, but I didn't find myself laughing at any puns or just being floored by a rhyme. Probably wouldn't listen again.

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.

Some good tracks. The filler tracks were a bit much. I wish the “uh huh’s”, “uhs”, and “yeahs’s” were uttered less frequently. The worst trend ever. While I do like some of his songs, as a whole, I did not really care for this album. Just mid to me.

This album fucks so hard. Outstanding production, strong pop sensibilities, great voice and delivery from Biggie, it's got it all. The lyrics are kinda juvenile in a lot of places but I get it, they were basically kids. I wrote terrible lyrics/poetry at that age too. Anyways, now that I'm not a shitty teenaged metal snob, I can totally understand how this became huge and how (along with the Death Row stuff) rap/hip hop broadly became such a sensation around this time. I mean, not that it wasn't already popular but rap was basically the default soundtrack to the 90s. My only beef with this album is Big Poppa copping the West Coast style G-Funk sound. It's out of place. I mean, it sounds good, but it sounds like they were trying to dip their toes into waters that Dre basically owned. Other than that, this is basically flawless.

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.

Was not as good as I had hoped

Sad to hear he dieded of diabeetus, his music was aight

Classic

I like the instrumentals and his flow, but I found the songs blended into one a little bit. Also that skit in the middle was unbearable.

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.

It's not B.I.G and it's not clever. Great tracks ruined by the sort of language I hear too often in work. Difficult to chill to and too pointlessly and purposefully offensive to be entertaining. Puerile.

Ok

77 minutes of rap is a lot to ask of a person who doesn't care for rap. Blah. With that out of the way, this was fine. I know Biggie is considered one of the greatest rappers and so I was invested in listening. It's just that rap is never going to be a genre I choose to listen to.

Nah.

Vulgar, Violent, and everything bad about rap in one album.

Petty and trashy. Not quite as bad as 50 cent.

Teachers telling kids they'll never amount to anything so they'll get a shout out years later

very explicit, some sounds are pretty disturbing, great listen overall though, great tracks, rest in peace biggie smalls

Может быть каждый бар тут можно цитировать, и весь вот этот контекст убийства, и так далее, но в целом мои впечатления смешанные. И вот эти секс-скиты и мизогиния совершенно не помогают. Лучшая песня - The What (feat. Method Man)

Not my style

What a horrible little man

päheetä sakkia nää tummat... valmiina koulemaan!!!!! elämä on rankkaa mut mun sielu on vankkaa.. virta on sulava mutta syön vittu pullavan... siks oon läski vitun läski joten laita pääskii... pikku riimiä teillekin, ehk extra settiä albumille emt... yyyhyyy rivouksia... yhyhyhyyyyy seksisti paskapää!!! on osa kulttuuria heh... opi tavoille... respect the culture..... mene kiina syö koira... osa kulttuuria, ongelma? ei kannata olla homo. saudi arabiassa... jos ei kulttuuri kelpaa niin ei tarvi vittuilla...... albumi vähän pitkästyttää loppua kohden mutta on ainakin semmoisen tunnin verran eliittiä settiä. i dont give a hell!!!!!! on nää päheetä sakkia nää tummat... respect

I don’t like rap and I especially hate this kind of rap. N-bombs and F-bombs galore.

Shite. Too noisy.

Biggie’s debut is brimming with boastful bars.

Relentless flow, and deliberately claustrophobic. This suffers from the mindset of early CD era - "PUT IT ALL ON, WE HAVE GOT SEVENTY MINUTES TO FILL." It could do with some edits, I think. But the highs are pretty high!

This was so nasty. Lol. But that one song is good. 🙉

Good.

This is a hard one to rate. I'm a relatively new rap fan, and don't have as much knowledge as most of the other genres. Of the artists I do like, it's a lot of Midwest and West Coast, and I can't think of a New York rapper I'm actually a fan of. After listening to this, I'm not really inclined to go further in that direction. The beats just felt kind samey. The lyricism is good, no doubt, but it's just not my style.

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.

I totally missed this era of music. Nice to revist

His vocals are clean, his flow is good and the storytelling is all there. His talent really shines through on this record, way too many skits though.

Biggie's flow is great, but listening to this oversexed and overstuffed skit-heavy album in its entirety becomes incredibly tiresome and tedious.

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

Haven't listened through the album before, was good

hate to do it but a bunch of the tracks are just basically trauma songs. Fuck that shit

I tried, but just not my jam.

Really interesting concept, some emotional reactions. SFX probably will keep me from relistening though

Some catchy rhymes, but the misogyny is dating it - can't hear "bitches n hoes" without cringing

Awesome

The beats were good and some of the songs were good. But the lyrics were quite grim at times. Question: Biggie or Tupac? Answer: Wu tang clan

Heard better since this was first generated from me.

Lacked variation

BIG is a 5* artist, but this loses points be abuse... - it's a single issue album. Lots of "I do crime and shoot people" and not much else - the Intermissions are a bit cringe, and as Diddly was involved I can only imagine that was his influence. It's a good listen, and BIGs storytelling and flow are unparalleled, but this isn't an album I'll ever play front to back ever again

What flow. What a debut. Too much Puffy. One of the best to ever rap

As a middle age middle class guy from Aotearoa there is nothing for me to appreciate or relate to in this entire album

I enjoyed a few songs (the ones I’ve heard already) but overall it’s not really my thing.

Artiste totalement inconnu. Aucun intérêt, je ne suis pas allé au bout. =>1/5

RIP Biggie. One of the OGs. Phenomenal album and such a classic.

4.5/5

Essential 90s east coast rap. It tells a story that never gets old