Ready To Die

THIS IS NOT MUSIC! this is foul-mouthed pretentious self-indulgence with no musical content, innovation or inspiration..

I liked it. Good beats and production, had me bopping. The sex stuff is a bit gratuitous but the rappings great and got soul man!

Ok

The visualizations I get almost feels like a musical the way the dialogue happens throughout the album I feel like stylistically, Lin Manuel Miranda is heavily influenced by this narrative flow and style - especially in Hamilton Favorite Songs: Gimme the Loot, Juicy

Biggie's flow and rhyming are fantastic, but this album is bloated by all the skits and filler, and the lyrics are about the things that have put me off 90s hip hop for decades - violence and misogyny - which prevents me from enjoying his obvious talent. It's such a a shame we didn't get to see the rapper he could have matured into.

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.

A classic of its time i guess

This album bought Diddy a lot of lube unfortunately

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.

Day262 - i wasn’t a fan when this came out and in light of all the puff daddy news coming out in 2024 i don’t think this ages well

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"

Not my bag but see how its good

Classic

Well then how violent. A 1-minute interlude of graphic sex audio lol, bit awkward at work.

A classic but now all I can think of is baby oil. :(

I really like the style and execution, however, the violence and in-your-face sex knocks this down for me.

I recognize that it's good and also influential, but I just don't enjoy it.

Inarguably one of the best debut albums of all time.

Good album. BIGGGGYYY BIGGGYYY BIGGGYYYYY.

My wife hates his masaganistiic lyrics...I love his beats.

Classic. The lyricism is incredible, the flow is impeccable, the beats are fantastic.

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

Would be hard to say this is not one of the best hip hop records ever.

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

Liked the album. Had some classic bangers on, not sure if I’d listen to it over and over again though.

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…

This album just missed the day my twins were born which would have been amazing considering the album art and the song "Big Poppa." I love Biggie's cadence and rhyme. There is a smooth and crunchy sound to his voice that makes it so good. Some of the lyrics are your stereotypical rap theme (women, money, drugs, murder, cars) but when Biggie raps about these things it feels real. Biggie sounds like a motherfucker you don't wanna mess with. Probably what got him killed unfortunately.

5-

Great album!

Rap, blah

Pinnacle of classic hip hop. A

Buenos beats. Algunas canciones muy buenas. Me costó conectar con el álbum.

flawless 10 track album but there's 20 and half of them have something horrifically misogynist or literal blowjob noises 8/10

Every song is a banger

Not for me.

Favs: Gimme the Loot, Big Poppa, Suicidal Thoughts Least Fav: F*ck me (Still a very funny interlude in an ironic sense)

I like the drama. Hard to listen to this with new ears though

Some classic tracks, but not a classic album for me. Great flow, great delivery, great rhymes, but sounding dated and the lyrical themes (misogyny, homophobia, glorification of violence and drugs etc) let it down. And the sex noises are not big or clever (unlike Biggie).

Didn't finish it, heard enough

Not my vibe, too slurpy

not really my vibe

Could get into some of the songs and really disliked some of the others. Overall it’s just not really my thing.

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.

This album has some bangers and is honestly really great.

First time listening all the way through. Great album 4-5

This rules. A classic for a reason.

He really was ready, wasn't he?

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.

Just about every song here is a certified classic. Incredible beats and quite possibly the best flow and voice of all time. Would be an easy 5/5 if not for the sex skits, which haven’t aged well, and Diddy not ever shutting up. Who Shot Ya? Is one of the best beats ever, but half of the song is his yapping. My favorite songs were Gimme The Loot, The What, Juicy, Big Poppa, Unbelievable, and Who Shot Ya?

Really good. I'd never listened to the whole album before and besides the unnecessary intermission I really enjoyed ready to die

Awful!

Pretty good, I liked Juicey, me and my bitch and big poppa

Classic album from an all time great. Sound is a bit dated now though and the skits are unnecessary. 5.5/10 (2.75/5)

Sexistisk

Voice, rhythm, and flow are good. Content not so much. Misogyny, porn, violence. Offensive.

4.5

I enjoyed the autobiographical nature of this album. And not enough can be said about Biggie's voice. That throaty baritone filled with moxie. Pride in one song, rage in the next. Songs about coming out of the life of a drug dealer into the life of a musician are a common theme. It's a shame that changing his focus still couldn't keep him safe from violence. The Biggie vibe is that of a monster rhyme delivered with timing absolutely locked in the pocket. Stick those lyrics on top of beats by Puff Daddy and that's a winner all day long and twice on Sundays. All of that being said however, I could never give an album this misogynistic a five.

This album lost me with the misogyny and the threat of violence against women in the very first track. I didn't need to listen to any more, I knew what was in store for me. No thanks.

I think at one point in my life I would've found Biggie mimicking having loud sex right on the album really funny and awesome. Not anymore. This CD is stupid and crude. It's modestly less unpleasant than the truly awful West Coast stuff I'd gotten earlier.

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

Depressing album. Even though I did not like it, made me appreciate my life a bit more. Very emotional for the artist who had a difficult upbringing.

This is album that requires listening to on headphones - the extraordinary number of MFPH and the toe curlingly explicit references to sex, violence and drugs make this extremely NSFW. Headphones also show off the dense soundscapes of dialogue, jokes, samples, music and rap. You could almost see this as an elaborate satire of a gangsta whose idea of luxury is being able to afford both Sega and Nintendo at the same time, but Biggie was dead by 24. Sheesh.

I lost count on the m*therfuckers and the gunshots. It might be the best of gangsta rap, but also somehow its worst.

One of the rare albums on this list that I had to bail on.

A notorious terrible for it.

Cool

Overall this sounded better than previous albums in the same genre I’ve listened to for the project. I don’t mind the swearing, but the voicemail beeps, sex moans and other obnoxious neighbour sounds mean it’s another 1 for me.

For what it is, this is incredible.

A classic in so many ways. So many memorable lines and a great snapshot of who Biggie was, before all the posthumous releases started popping out.

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.

Although Hip-Hop is not really my favourite gerne, I quite enjoyed this one. Apart from the weird "sex-interludes", the tracks were quite mellow

This is a difficult one to review. I liked the music and Biggie's vocals flow well. However, some of the lyrics are absolutely appalling. I'd feel embarrassed to listen to this album with other people around - and considering I'm happy to listen to Kunt and the Gang, that's not an easy thing to achieve. The glorification of violence, the casual homophobia and, in particular, the horrific levels of misogyny mean that I can only give this album 1 star, even though I thought the music was good. Some of the more delightful lyrics: From Me and My Bitch: "And I admit, when the time is right, the wine is right I treat you right, you talk slick, I beat you right" From Just Playing (Dreams). Where Biggie "Dreams of fucking an R&B bitch" "Make Raven Symone call date rape" Fuck off you creepy, vile weirdo.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I like Hip Hop as for me it has a massive cross over with metal and puck music and many fans have that common bond. This album when I heard it back in the day just blew my mind the heaviness musically and lyrically is just incendiary. I do wonder what he would have gone on to do if not killed at such a young age. Stand out tracks: - Gimmie the loot - one of my favourite tracks of all time The whole thing!!

Like other reviews pointed out, this really didn’t age well lyrically. The beats and rap still hit, but the message of violence and misogyny is difficult to overlook.

Overhyped

Already rated this one as the 2nd album in the list, still a 5

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

3/5

s'Alright. Not quite what a 54 year old pasty rock fan from Yorkshire tends to enjoy - fun beats, lots of juvenile stuff here. He can rap, the samples are beautiful, but this is more fun for my 14 year old son

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

Nix the skits and this is probably a low 5.

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.

Do you want to hear a guy rave about his prowess with a gun, how big his penis is, and how much money he has? Do you hate women? Would you like to hear the audio of him receiving oral sex? Then this is the album for you. For everyone else? Maybe 3 stars for music and production and one star for lyrical content. We’ll call it a 2.

Moody and beautiful. Love this album minus the dick sucking audio…

Good comedy album

Moody and beautiful. Love this album minus the dick sucking audio…

A CLASSIC comming from a non hip hop guy!

Massive debut. While the general aesthetic, stile and "content" feel kind of dated today, Biggie Small's flow and lyrics and rhymes and delivery are something to behold. I don't even mind the skits that much. Still, over an hour of good, but not spectacular, dated gangster rap is just too much. 3.5/5

This was a hole in my musical knowledge - I only knew the popular tracks: Juicy and Pig Poppa. Some of the backing tracks are great, especially ones that sound like movie scores (so I guess props to P Ditty for that). Biggie has a great delivery and I especially liked the tracks that were dialogs. But at the end of the day I’m not really into the style.

A lot of the songs are pretty great, with a couple classics amongst them. But, I could do without the "interludes," and the misogyny and violence wore me out by the end

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.

Some good tracks, did not need the sex skits. When these old hip hop albums come up I don't pay too much attention to the lyrics and judge on vibes only, otherwise a lot of shit would get 1/5. 2* (would be 3 but the sex). Enjoyed: big poppa Worst tracks: fuck me, respect

Rap is not my style

Didn't get the fuss about it.

Frankly anyone who needs to sing about his dick so much needs to re-evaluate something.

Skilled, at times fun and funny gangster rap.

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

B.I.G A.I.N.T F.O.R M.E.

Not a good start. The threatening aggressiveness bothers me. The tropes become tiresome. I can recognize the quality of the rhymes and the structure, but there's nothing for me.

This was tough beyond belief. Not aimed at me, I know. Not enjoyed by me either. Some of it I found downright offensive and ugly and unbearable. I will never be asking: Gimme one more chance. But horses for courses and all that jazz.

I am pretty tired of hearing about Bies sexual prowess. Big papa is catchy and the reggae influenced song was OK but I did not need to hear this.

Dude's got skills, no doubt. His flow is killer. But the subject matter and the skits get tiresome. Some great songs on here, though.

Well this started and immediately made me totally uptight and uncomfortable. (so much sweeter hearing Missy Elliott sing about her chocha than this aggressive crap) The canvas clips on Spotify started to give me a headache too. By the time I got to Me and My Bitch I was done. It's still sad that he died promoting this so I'll bump a star.

Of it’s time I guess but didn’t talk to me the way I thought it used to.

Really looking forward to listening to this album. NOt a huge rap fan but I do know how legendary this artist and album is.

Flow, samples, beats are a 5. Lyrical content gets old pretty fast and the skits really ruin any kind of uniformity. Like did I really need to hear a girl asmr his dick in a song?

The highs were extremely high—excellent lyricism and messaging. The lows came off as corny and gauche.

Didn’t really resonate with me, guess it wasn’t supposed to. Regardless, I enjoyed some classic songs, great beats, and that nonchalant delivery of dark subject matter that only Biggie could achieve.

what a journey. Among the greatest hip-hop albums I've listened to. 5 stars.

I have to admit, this album was actually pretty cool to listen to. Back in the 90s, I never gave it a chance because it was so trendy and commercial, especially with suburban kids who thought they were gangsters. That audience always turned me off, and I was more into other styles of music back then. Revisiting it now, I realized it has really good production and is better than I expected, especially for its time. The album uses a lot of great old samples of funk, jazz, and R&B, which adds a lot of depth. Another pleasant surprise was seeing DJ Premier involved in the production, as I’ve always enjoyed him. Overall, it was a much better experience than I anticipated.

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.

I was Ready To Die after this.

Album could’ve used more skits of him fucking. 2.3 stars.

Nice beats, and I have a soft spot for Biggie’s flow and voice. Album could have been 20 minutes shorter, and lyrically some of the stuff doesn’t hold up. But it wasn’t terrible.

Just not a big fan of rap though big poppa slaps, the porn interlude not so much

No

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.

It was ok. Not the greatest hip hop album I've ever heard. Probably won't listen again.

Loved “Juicy” and “Big Poppa” but that’s about it. Those are the two I was familiar with before listening to this, and I hoped to enjoy this based on those songs. But I didn’t. I enjoy hip hop a fair amount, but this just didn’t grab me. The Diddy of it all probably didn’t help either. This was just okay, but I wanted more.

Así la vida rapera.

Maybe this is sacrilegious, but I found the beats pretty similar for an album this long. Biggie's voice is hard to understand. I wasn't really a fan.

This is weird because it's serious. If you put out a song like "One More Chance" in 2024 it would be assumed it was satirical. Is it weird that the main thing I notice is parallels with Hamilton? Obsession with death. It's not my thing (a lot of the like, beats are kind of samey) but content wise I think it is a very good album.

I admit I really know nothing about this genre of music and the key players. I am taking the time to listen and try to learn. It is still difficult to listen to because of the violence and mysogeny. However, music is for performers to tell their stories and I think Notorious B.IG. had a story to tell, even if it is a way that I can't relate to.

Where I’m forced to finally deal with the question of whether or not to include skits when deciding on a rating. Rap skits are SO bad! Especially the ones from the 90s omg. My first thought is just to ignore the skits and rate the music, which would easily be at least a 4. Howevah, the skits are clearly there for a reason, and for better or worse (worse) are part of the artist’s vision. This is all just rambling to say I feel so sad imagining the poor girl giving a fake blow-job in a recording booth, almost definitely multiple times so they could get a good take.

Yeah this was bad ass. I liked it.

Great rap album but not HoF

This fella is awfully fond of curse words. He also seems to be without any ethics or courtesy, and is woefully racist. I don't think I like that.

I am the whitest man I know and this album makes me feel like a straight up G, like don't fuck wit' me 'less you want tha heater. Feel me? just kidding but this is what rap is supposed to sound like to me, but I am also old. The beats and samples are so distinct to this era of East Coast rap that you know it immediately, then BIG's raps are so clear and clever you can't help but move your body and feel like a G.

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.

To use the language of the, fortunately deceased artist...." fucking shit start to finish"

classic hip hop album. One of my favorites from when I was younger. Still holds up after all these years.

As far as Gangsta Rap, this one is a pretty good one. Not something I listen to often, but I can appreciate it now. Not so much when it came out, but we all grow. I would still rather listen to Tribe, J5 or Diggable Planets.

Too good. 6/5

A killer debut with great lines and wonderful production and sonics.

I'm going to level with you here, I felt ready to review this once we'd reached Big Poppa - track 13 with 6 to go. This album is so long not because it's 1 hour 16 but because it's 1 hour 16 of tracks that feel the same. P-Funk samples so beloved of early 90s hip-hop (Dre, Cube etc), bars that feature gats, bitches and money with a side-order of respect to the players, disses to the fakers etc. It's not a bad album and can see why people rate it, but prime Cube for example I would say does this if not better than a bit more concisely. And the skits. Stop the skits.

fairly good beats , surprisingly poppy at times …. but the lyrics - so dated and one-note.

I absolutely loved the Intro, it actually told us a story unlike what the recent music I have been listening

Iconic

A little too hard in spots, but so pivotal given the era

Largely very catchy music, interesting as autobiography, the ending is really haunting

The classics are classic, but too many violent skits and gun talk for me to really enjoy or identify with it.

No!

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?

Didn't even get through this. Never was into the early hip hop stuff, so was initially glad to see this come up today, but what a disappointment. Respect was the only thing that was interesting, and it didn't really even feature Biggie.

Epic

Old School hip-hop has its place, but it's almost impossible not to sound outdated in 2024. Sometimes, the qualities can be so astonishing that we can try to analyze it with 90s eyes, but sometimes not. A good number of songs on this album can be appreciated without the bitter taste in the mouth, but the whole album is much more historically significant rather than enjoyable to listen to. It deserves the spot on the 1001 list, but I'm unsure if I'll re-listen to it as a whole album after today.

Deeply foundational of the East Coast hip hop experience, and clearly some of the tracks on here are major bangers, but after a while you begin to feel he’s shot his load, and it starts to get tiring.

Nothing that interests me at all so 1 star or F for me.

yea, no!

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.

What an album

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!

Gangster Rap, was will man mehr? Eigentlich nur sprachliche Zurückhaltung, sonst nichts.

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.

This may be iconic, but does that make it good?

Absolute all time banger. Instant classic. It starts out slow, but then the pacing of the album is really great and it stays entertaining all the way through which can be a complaint of mine for other hip hop albums from this era. Some are too long and drag on and can become monotonous.

great beats but those interludes/intro are so cringe. 3 stars

I remember liking this at the time, but the material makes it almost impossible to listen to now.

Not for me.

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.

No. 215/1001 Intro 2/5 Things Done Changed 3/5 Gimme The Loot 3/5 Machine Gun Funk 3/5 Warning 3/5 Ready To Die 3/5 One More Chance 4/5 Fuck Me 2/5 The What 3/5 Juicy 5/5 Everyday Struggle 4/5 Me And My Bitch 3/5 Big Poppa 4/5 Respect 3/5 Friend of Mine 3/5 Unbelieveable 3/5 Suicidal Thoughts 3/5 Average: 3,18 Some very good songs, some ok songs. Didn't like the interludes.

Don’t like this much.( cursing, violence) Love the beat but that’s about it.

Mmm usual gangsta rap with usual tiresome tropes. Good delivery. Lots of annoying skits. Decent production.

6.5/10

10/10 quiero que Biggie me enseñe a rimar así de hpta que buenas lyrics, el flow increible y el productor tiene cara de que hace fiestas divertidas!! Me pregunto que pasará en esas fiestas... 10/10. One of the best AOAT.

Se llama a sí mismo "pussy crusher" 10/10

Scarily, almost inevitably prophetic. What comes across here is his colossal talent married with boyish vulnerability and self-deprecating humour. And sloppy sex noises. Was not expecting those.

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

Ready to Die I do like Biggie’s flow, but I only really know Juicy, Hypnotise, Mo Money. Interested to hear this, especially in comparison to the Tupac album we had back in May. I really like a lot of the sound and production on this, and the samples are pretty great throughout, a lot of string laden 70s soul, giving the whole thing a warm, lush sound. Good considering it seems to have had about 300 different producers. Intro really resonated with me, it really reminded me of my own journey from birth to adulthood. His rhymes and wordplay are good, and I like the timbre and style of his voice, but the actual words and lyrics on most of it I don’t like. I thought Tupac talked about these same topics and themes more as reportage, laying out the world and situations he found himself in, with a strong element of despair. While they did border on nihilism, I much preferred them to the lyrics on this. It’s not that he is necessarily glorifying violence or gangs, but there is a fair amount of self aggrandizing, eg on Warning. The bragging about his sexual prowess is also quite painful, the words on One More Chance for example are embarrassingly cringe and hard to listen to. The blow job noises at the end of Respect are also awful. That air of misogyny, while pretty pervasive elsewhere in the genre and other music at the time, is also pretty hard to listen to. Juicy is still a great track though. Musically and sonically I really like a lot of the album, but lyrically I really don’t like it. I know the world he grew up in and raps about is so far removed from my own experience that I don’t fee I’ml in a position to really judge it, but it feels like there are lot of other people out there who do talk about this stuff in a more interesting and, from my perspective, a much better way. ⭐⭐ Playlist submission: Juicy

Flowy, funny, bit outrageous and a cinematic feel to it. Just one of those albums that is top tier, every working on it completely at their creative peaks. Love the skits, not sure why they get so much hate!

We all know Diddy had Biggie killed and he robbed us of more of this.

Too crude for me

Meh

Wow. Is every meme, stereotype and racist slur directed at rap music based on this album? Could be. There's a great amount of talent on here producing a great amount of....well.....junk for me. Is it a rap requirement to include a super-emotional radio-play? Just askin'.... I guess this is good rap, but it definitely ain't my genre. Gangsta Rap? Is that the sub-genre?

Just not my style of music. Can’t get into it.

Nothing more than a 3

I'm sure it was unique to its era, but it's hard to get over the fact that almost all the tracks are about the same subjects. Sex, Gang Violence, Drugs, Boasting. I understand they come from a very real place but musically there's little to differentiate most of them. I thought "Suicidal Thoughts" was great. He drops the machismo for a minute and it feels very honest. And "Just Playing" was hilarious. I'm off to Google what the "R&B B*****S" of the era thought of that song...

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

Autobiographical and layered

It started out strong but then really dragged.

Well what can I say, amazing album. Just find the sexual stuff and the misogyny not to my taste, it only makes the album sound dated but whatever. The beats and flow are still incredible nothing to say about there and some of the interludes are a bit sucky but its fine. One of those albums where you can pick your favorites and listen to them on a playlist and just forget about everything else. Favorite track its probably "Juicy" or "Suicidal Thoughts".

Normaly not my music, but in this case I like the hole Album 8/10

I’m discovering that ‘classic’ rap is not the genre for me. I get and like some of this. But I can really live without all the ‘bits’, sex noises, posturing and misogyny

Good flow, but misogynistic and the explicit interludes were too much for me...

It's an excellent album. Could do with less wet-sex noises being pumped directly into my ears, but everything else is great. Obviously it's violent and misogynistic, but that's a window into the scene at the time. You can't judge everything with a modern lens, basically. Musically, it's fire.

Mmmfunfunfunny in my tumtumtummyyieeee

Good stuff, but I’m more of a Tupac guy. Juicy, One Chance, and Big Poppa are the highlights from this album. Legendary.

Good stuff! Could have done without the graphic hanky-panky bits.

Good samples, but not a lot of singing. I thought the rapping was about average. Rappers and their fucking skits...

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.

While not as good as Nas' Illmatic, still an excellent album. Favs include the narrative "The Warning," "Juicy," "Big Poppa," and the titular track. He helped reclaim hip hop as a New York/east-coast form when the tides shifted to California in the early nineties.

Cinematic. I don’t listen to the genre much, this was intensely dramatic, almost stressful. Then porny. Then sadly prescient. “Sometimes I hear death knockin at my front door”. While I get how massive this album was for the genre, it’s not for me.

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

The greatest to ever do it

Scarface as music album

amazing story telling before during and after songs. Not my kind of tea the subject or the Rap. some beat groovy

Not my taste.

Very nice

Still a good one.

Hip Hop classic, hands down! Its a shame it has the executive producer all over it and the sex interludes are a bit much

Gave up 1/3 of the way through this one. Rap isn't my thing and it seems like all the lyrics are just about being crude and/or a criminal.

Undeniably groundbreaking album. 4/5 rather because the gun shot sound bites are triggering and sex sound bites unnecessary.

Performance: 5 Writing: 5 Production: 5 Fav tracks: The What, Respect, Suicidal Thoughts

Big bars over big beats by the big fella

Ready To Buy what he’s selling (this album).

Majorly outshined by Life After Death

Mint

His dick sound amazing

As far as rap albums go, this wasn’t the worst. I could have done without the skits and adlibs, felt that didn’t add anything to it.

Sampled tunes ripped from real musicians with redundant lyrics, what's not to like...

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

Gosh I really disliked this album, partly because I dislike rapping/hiphop and partly because I found the content spectacularly irritating.

So so good. Could do without the skits. Take them off, finish in 45 mins and we all go home happy

Biggie was a great rapper and I don't think this album took enough advantage of what he could do. I think the slower groovier tracks make use of contrast. Diana King on Respect livens that one up a lot. The first single Party and Bullshit is miles beyond anything on this album. The skits are really obnoxious, though the last one track sort of gets the skit backing to work with the song. production: hated. (⌐⬛_⬛)

Same problem I’ve had with trying to evaluate most of the other 90s hip hop albums on here so far: it’s just pretty tough to overcome a lot of the content. Different world. Sonically, liked this one quite a lot. Better delivery than his peers that’s for sure. This is a round down from 3.5.

I can respect the message and imagery that the album conveys about what life was like for Notorious B.I.G. and the kind of experiences he went through. It describes a lot of unsettling themes of what life was like for his community. However, I am not the biggest fan of gangster rap, or rap in general, so the lyrics are not something I was able to connect to. The beats he used were really good though and he a had a pretty good flow with them. Obviously Big Poppa was the stand out song to me, as it seems it is the same for many others.

I’m giving it a 5 but damn, some of the outros were nasty man. Don’t wanna hear all that

Some of the filler grates, which is probably why I don't listen to this album more than I do. However, the core tracks are just so good that it elevates this to an easy 5 stars. The first side is close to perfection, amazing lyrics and delivery with great beats and production. The second side eases off the gas a little, but it's still a stone cold classic.

um álbum bom e clássico é o que dá pra ouvir e sentir a originalidade e ver quem se inspirou nele. esse tem muito do que os racionais iriam fazer, dá pra ver a influencia. e não tem como não ligar alguns flows a hamilton, da pra ver onde o linn-manuel se inspirou. terminei de ouvir esse e fui ouvir mais rap porque fui inspirada. arte. top 3: ready to die, respect, suicidal thoughts

Never listened to this album before in it's entirety. Not generally what I listen to but loved the lyrics.

Not as bad as I had feared! Some interesting melodic beats, but quite a lot of posturing. I laughed out loud at 'oreo cookie-eating... pickle juice-drinking ... V8- drinking...' on "Fuck me". I don't need to hear it again, but I enjoyed the experience!

63 motherfuckers in the first 3 songs.

This album was disappointing. Outside of the "hit" tracks (Give Me the Loot, Juicy, Big Poppa) which are o.k., the tracks were uninteresting or awkward. The interludes were egregious, and the sequencing of the album was missing. The moments that painted this as a concept album were overblown (Intro and Suicidal Thoughts). Not a great listen. 2/5.

I was never big into Biggie. I wouldn't say overrated, but close to. The biggest thing that's always bugged me about him was all of Puffy's background chirping just to get his prima donna ass on a winner's album. Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Ready to Die' has good writing, but as usual, falls victim to the too may skits that rap albums have and this one's no different yielding a 1 1/4 hour album. No album needs to be that long. 3/5

This one was a little difficult because, reputationally, this is one of the best rap albums ever made by one of the greatest rappers that ever lived. My reality, however, is that I never connected to it, or Biggie, when it came out. I have, of course, heard the radio hits hundreds of times, but I was legitimately curious to see how I would respond listening to the full album now, with fresh ears. Verdict: mediocre. I still just don't connect with it. Look, it's fine. It's very OK! There are some good songs, even one great song, but mostly it's just fine. As a hilarious bonus, while listening to the song Who Shot Ya?, which was/is a Tupac diss track, my mind kept going, "Who Shot Ya but you punks didn't finish, you 'bout to feel the wrath of a menace," which are the lyrics to Hit 'em up, Tupac's rebuttal, and the greatest diss track of all time. Checkmate, Tupac. Three stars.

usual music preference towards metal, classical, electronic, and rap. 3. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die: Heard this first in grade school in the 90s along with other rappers like Tupac, ICP, Wu Tang, etc. My fav Biggie album, 10/10 no notes. 'The What' is unreal.

Enjoyable though not my music type

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.

The lyrical content is seriously nasty 🤢 but completely see why he's so highly rated... Really playful and energising.

Great flow, great beats, some nice ideas. Too much boasting with little substance. I wanted to like this more, but eh..

Such a frustrating listen for me because the delivery can be so strong at times and Biggie demonstrates several times over that he give us a strong track. Over and over again my enjoyment would be detailed by a weak song, or a dumb skit (the bj skit is almost as bad as Eminem’s bj skit). This listen did encourage me to see if it was Biggie who rapped the line, “Check Yo’self, before you wreck Yo’self”. Turns out Ice T was the originator there, so that was neat. Maybe Notorious would have matured and eventually released a 10/10 album if he survived but this ain’t it. 3 stars

intro isch sochli es intro wies zu dem punkt cho isch i sim lebe? geburt denn curtis mayfield denn sugarhill gang denn zug usraube denn usem gfängnis use. sehr cool. things done changed easy cooli reim? mega pretty beat mit de harfe und so. gimme the loot super minimal beat huere hässige biggie. bi gimme the loot ischer afoch e gschicht am verzelle vo sehr viel gwalt und lüt verschüsse und so. bi warning reimt er wieder wie en gott er chas uuuhuere ready to die au wieder understated aber häässig. i like it. schono krass das das album so heisst und bitz meh als e johr spöter ischer fucking tod wie en fisch. one more chance haha sie het en heeerte new yoawk akzent. "joo du arsch hesch mini best kollegin gebemst" chill. joo biggie du mega sexgott ich weiss. MAKE YER KIDNEYS SHIFT BRUDI CHILL. hooly shit huere horny stuff. "i got that good dick" okay hengs etz. er cha so reime aber reims über huuere grausige scheiss. aber er het mi immer wieder mitem flow. the cleanest meanest penis never seen this hahaha. ich los gad en porno?? ääääh oreo cookie eating haha whatt!? the what isch okay aber jetz lauft juicy und da isch de banger vo dem album. wiso kenn ich d lyrics vo dem song? de bass am slappe ohyeah. jo sehr pleasant beat sehr geili drums de afang slappt extrem. sehr sehr guete song. everyday struggle isch jo huuuere dark fuck. aber er smoket mad newports vo dem her isch jo alles uf chillo. me and my bitch? nöd guet? find de etz weeniger geil. big poppa geeile beat. wieder storytelling time cool. respect haaarde beat hobla mega hessig. WISO HETS AM SCHLUSS WIEDER SEXGRÜÜSCH WA LAUFT??? horny fucking album. langs fucking album. de guy mega nöd e gueti ziit

READY TO DIEEEE ich lieb sini mächtig stimm es isch so fucking violent hahahaha "for my fucking bread and butter I leave N.. in the gutter" machine gun funk riese banger I've the cleanest meanest penis🤨 jaa d lyrics fanged ah chli störe hahahaha joaaa s interlude wos rifach figged hani müsse überspringe ja juicy halt riese banger everyday struggle wirdmer denn au wieder ewigs nahlaufe D ANNIK LAHT IRGENDE SCHEISSE LAUFW respect isch ja huuuere geil BRO WAS ISCH DAS FÜREN SCHLUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ich muss nöd amene blowjob zuelose FRIEND OF MJNE IRESE BEAT ja s album usch z lang wie so oft. dass d lyrics nöd guet galteret sind mussmer glaub gar nöd sege d beats und sini stimm sind ebe scho huere guet, ich schwanke zwüsche 3 und 4

Yes! This album reminds me of high school. Still love it.

I just found this a bit boring to be honest 2/5

I love the way Biggie starts this album off in the intro. From the jump, he builds a compelling story that's intense and cinematic in scope. But this is some grim stuff, in spite of Biggie's clear talent and vision. The darkness and fatalism of his worldview as well the sheer misanthropy and crudeness of the lyrics made this a rough listen. I can't say I enjoyed much of this at all, but I do respect it. Fave Song: Big Poppa, Juicy, Things Done Changed

Not into hip hop at all, but somehow I got hooked on this as a teenager and it became a big part of my life. I can still remember every single lyric to Gimme The Loot after all these years. If only you could see me - there’s something about a greying, middle aged white man rapping that song from start to finish that really has to be seen to be appreciated. I feel like Ive been giving too many 5 star ratings recently, but this one is non-negotiable.

So to cut a very long album short, his penis is in fine working order and he has lots of guns, possibly more than most people. Of all the gangsta rap we’ve had on here this is to be the worst (so far) for crassness, mysogeny and violence. Oh, and the beats and samples were pretty lame compared to others (which is usually the redeeming feature for me). And we move on…..

Bit sick of east coast, west coast rapping about their bitches and shooting people. It's not BIG or clever Mr smalls.

One of the best rap albums of all time and some of my favourite rap songs. Medium 4.

A solid hip-hop classic. Widely considered one of the best rap albums ever made for a reason.

01) Intro - 6,0 02) Things Done Changed - 7,0 03) Gimme the Loot - 6,5 04) Machine Gun Funk - 8,0 05) Warning - 6,5 06) Ready to Die - 6,5 07) One More Chance - 7,0 08) #!*@ Me (Interlude) - 1,0 09) The What - 6,5 10) Juicy - 7,0 11) Everyday Struggle - 7,0 12) Me & My Bitch - 6,5 13) Big Poppa - 7,5 14) Respect - 7,0 15) Friend of Mine - 6,5 16) Unbelievable - 7,0 17) Suicidal Thoughts - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,47 (65/100) Current ranking: 154/196 If I wanted to listen to the sounds of sex, I would go to porn hub and turn down the volume. Back to the album, a typical nineties rap album, with a lot of swearing, shooting, fu**ing... Not too interesting, at least from my point of view. I'll have to watch some documentary on Netflix because I'm still not sure who killed who and if Notorious had anything to do with 2Pac's murder and vice versa.

generally very good, some parts definitely drag on for too long

Hot stuff, super gangsta.

vivid, vulgar, visual

This album as a whole goes hard. Some excellent lyricism and rapping. It gets a little old near the end of the album, but that's not a major issue. There is a major issue of some of the set pieces and some of the content of the songs. They cross a line for me, and it takes away from the album for me. Favorite Song(s): Ready to Die, Juicy, Everyday Struggle

Pretty good.

Absolute hip hop classic. Gimme the loooot gimme the loooot.

This album has both similar and completely different problems from 2Pac's Me Against the World, which only makes sense. Despite the media pitting these two against each other, there's a reason the same general group now adore them, and while that may be some amount of nostalgia, they still hit similar beats of gang life in their area, and take time to both bring down and rise up women, as well as various other day-to-day activities for them. However, I think what this album lacks lyrically compared to 2Pac's introspection is its flows and beats, which are great. Biggie seems to never stop talking, and that is all the more impressive by its runtime being over an hour. Sure, some topics are touched on a couple of times, but it is always a pleasure to just listen to, and the beats, while minimalistic to a degree, are notorious for a reason. There are some deeper topics covered, such as the final track's heavy, destructive closing statements that just make you sit there and wonder if the whole rest of the album was a cover, but what makes it fall apart for me is that the rest of the album doesn't seem to reflect this idea. Rather, you get guns, sex, and drugs, and man is there A LOT of each. Really don't need to hear this man get sloppy toppy nor rigorous, greasy sex, I could live without hearing that, and while the songs discussing these topics sound good, often times tuning in lyrically leads to a few eyebrow raises. Nothing crazy, but it took me out of the flow more than once, and was aggravating even. It's an album with a ton of potential, but I feel like that's lost in its coat of 90s sleaze. I understand the bravado was admirable at the time, but now it just feels goofy, and can really hurt this album for a listener ill prepared. Tons to enjoy, and for this to be someone's only album while alive is impressive to say the least, but you will not be finding something new to enjoy if you didn't like gangsta rap before this album.

Solid rap and some recognizable tunes. Too much vulgar language for my particular enjoyment. Everyday Struggle is a good jam

alreddy listened :)

Cool cool 😎

Great album, but the profanity can be hard to listen to at times.

Great album. I have never heard the whole thing before but it's pretty good and worth a listen every once and a while. Great example of 90's rap.

Pretty bored by this but I appreciate it!

Alright album, not my taste, unlikely to listen again, but I can tell why others would love it.

There were some fun songs

I'm so white, I like this music and the importance of it culturally, damn there's some song with a lot of sex noises

This was a decent album. I didn’t love a lot of the beats, but the flow was good and the lyrics were strong

A classic and deservedly so. The rapping is excellent. Biggie has one of the most distinct voices in rap and he has a great flow. He switches up his style and emphasizes certain phrases and lines so that you don’t miss a word of what he’s saying. And I love how he’ll rhyme a few words back to back. The beats are fantastic. The drums hit hard in that 90s New York style but the music is pretty eclectic. A lot of funk and soul samples mixed in with everything else. I started listening to this in college after I’d been listening to hip-hop for a few years and I remember having a bunch of a-ha moments when I recognized lines and references from more modern rap songs. I love that about hip-hop. There’s always a dialogue between present and past and you can jump in at any point. Sometimes I hear a new song and a few years later I’ll realize that one of the lines in it was an homage to an old song. Then I’ll learn that that old song was actually a reference to an even older song. And on and on. So many rappers from this era take the mid-album detour to brag about their sexual prowess for a track or two. Did Biggie start that? Probably not but this was the first album I heard that did that and I started recognizing the move in so many albums after that. The lyrics are great. He has a good eye for detail. I like how a few of the crime stories have rapped dialogue in them. They feel like scenes from a Scorsese mob movie, where the gangsters are bickering in the heat of the moment. Excellent album front to back. That first stretch of songs in particular is killer. The drama of "Things Done Changed" sets the stage and "Gimme the Loot" and "Machine Gun Funk" keep the momentum going.

While not my favorite rapper, I do respect Biggie for what he did for the genre and find him to be one of the more easily listenable gangsta rap artists of the time. I think this album is a testament to why his sound was so influential; it's obvious when you listen to songs like "Big Poppa" and "Juicy" that this is an artist that was making music in his own way for him and his peers and just happened to land on a sound that would be loved by the masses. In particular, I love the beats and music behind his voice. It has a distinct "east coast" style and is so much smoother and less harsh than the "west coast" style at the time. I don't like one more than the other, but it's an obvious delineation.

Damn, ya know, never gave Biggie the time of day but a man can rhyme. I’m a fan of a bit older rap as it’s more coherent to me and I can really get into the groove. 3.9

good album, Spotify had some tracks missing so from what i head i liked

Long, plate et répétitif. L'album semble être blasé de lui-même à mi-chemin. Je suis 100% pas un fan de rap, mais je reste déçu du Gros Notorieux.

This shit comes off as corny AF thirty years later.

I had to go to find a full playlist with all the songs on Youtube because half of the songs were unavailable on Spotify. I know that this is a great album for the ones who love that kind of older rap music but I haven't really liked that thing where they basically just talk. There is nothing catchy and I personally didn't enjoy it that much. I don't like the rap that is popular now either, but instead I like the more melodic one. Of course, there were some songs that were alright, and I think that Big Poppa is the most famous one.

Not my jam. Some of the beats were ok, but the lyrical content was far too gangsta for me.

obv a classic but yeah

Gear: Meze 109 PRO Artwork: 👶🏾❤️ Mix (2004 Remaster): überwiegend mit ordentlich Schub im Tiefgang aber mit bemerkenswert kläglichen Ausnahmen ("Juicy"), überrschanend bluesy wah-wah Gitarren (insb. "Ready to Die") und aber immer glasklaren Vocals Musik: fast schon ironisch unsterbliches Album - manche Lyrics und Skits hätten aber in den 90ern mit begraben werden sollen Wertung: 🗽🗽🗽(🗽)/5

Certified classic. The Story telling on this is so vivd.

Honestly, I was pretty surprised with Ready To Die, it turned out to be a bit better than i was expecting. The production of most of these songs was handled super well and it made the songs have some rather cool beats. The lyrics were alright too even if they did involve flexing some of the time, but hey that's probably what you are gonna expect in rap music and the flexing here seemed a little more interesting since it also involved his early life. This album is actually pretty decent and is a welcome album for my return to looking at 90s hip hop after a long absence. Best Song: Respect Worst Song: Intro

Not sure "Just Playin" still plays given its reference to Raven Simone (in 94) and the stuff with Puffy.

Never a fan of sex interludes. The rest was good though. I preferred the darker more serious songs such as Suicidal Thoughts at the end. Some great songs but not enough for 5*

Hate the friggin intros and interlude “songs” one is just sex noises for a minute The flow is obviously next level, prefer the later half of the album personally. Lyrics also amazing 4****

The obsession of hip hop artists with misogyny and violence is so juvenile and after listening to a few such albums in a short span of time I'm very sick of it. That said, the music is quite catchy

way too many skits

Greatest flow in rap ever, always smooth with it. Juicy is my favorite but the whole album is good. The grapefruit method at the end of respect was shocking but in character.

So many hip-hop classics on this one: "Gimme the Loot", "Machine Gun Funk", "Juicy", "Everyday Struggle", "Big Poppa" This was probably the defining sound of NYC and the East Coast back then, after Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg starting blowing up out West. Even now, it's still one of the most significant hip-hop releases of the 90s and all time. It's also the peak of hip-hop machismo, which is starting to take its toll on me after listening to so many rappers talk about the same "tough" stuff. But I imagine the lyrical content was more fresh when it originally came out. And honestly, this is pretty emotionally raw for a gangsta rap album, which I respect. I could've done without the sex interludes as well lol. He was only 22 when this came out, which is unfathomable. He grew up in Brooklyn not too far from where I live, it's a very different borough these days.

Incredible album, creativity and flow is 10/10 of course, hard hitting lyrics for the most part, solid beats and hooks. I could listen to biggie rap all day and I'm sure he could do it without a breath. Also "blowin up like world trade" is a CRAZY 1994 lyric 9/10

Easy 5 stars. A classic

Yeah I was bumping’ for sure.

As a suburban white kid who had a big rap phase in high school, Ready To Die was an album heavy in my rotation. Listen, I’ll be the first to admit there is a lot about this album that is a little goofy. I mean there are just so so many skits that include simulated acts of violence, sex (like Biggie getting sucked off at the end of Respect), and even a live birth among other things. But if you dig past those, even just a little, this album is actually really dark thematically. It is clear that Biggie went through a lot of trauma growing up in poverty and that through line weaves the entire track list. For every triumphant and braggadocios moment of making it big like on Juicy, there are tracks like Suicidal Thoughts, which cover the anxiety and depression, bubbling just under the surface, that comes with clawing and struggling to make it. Even the album title “Ready To Die” reads prophetic as Biggie knew that this life was always destined to get the best of him. Musically, the beats all go hard and when it comes to rapping, there is no one with a smoother flow than Biggie. Fav Bar: “You look so good, huh, I’d suck on ya daddy’s dick” Fav Tracks: Things Done Changed Gimme The Loot Machine Gun Funk Warning Ready To Die Juicy Big Poppa Suicidal Thoughts