Like movies, some of the best albums are defined by a few
\nunforgettable sequences: the horse scene in the first
\nGodfather<\/i> movie, the chest-bursting scene in
\nAlien<\/i> movie. For The Notorious B.I.G.’s major label debut,
\nReady to Die<\/i>, the album is decorated with similar ‘moments,’
\nsuch as the obscenely funny “Interlude,” rapping about living on
\nfive-cent gum and blowing his ownbrains out at the conclusion of
\nthe album, after over an hour of taunts, bravado and playa
\nfantasies.<\/p>\n
While 2-Pac usually excelled at making general observations
\nabout life as a young black man through the eyes of an observer,
\nBiggie Smalls was able to personalize his experiences: the poverty,
\ndrug dealing, and later, the excess of fame. “My momma’s got cancer
\nin her breast\/don’t ask me why I’m motherf***ing stressed,” Biggie
\nrants on “Things Done Changed.”<\/p>\n
Before Sean “Puffy” Combs was more worried about selling clothes
\nthan making memorable albums, he gave
\nReady to Die<\/i> its ambitious, cinematic flow. For every
\nlaid-back, Cristal-soaked party anthem (“Juicy”), a morose,
\nregretful tune followed. “I don’t want to live no more,” is the
\nmain chorus of “Everyday Struggle.” Even songs that appear to give
\nreason to why groups like the PMRC still are in existence (“Me and
\nMy Bitch”) contain moments of stark vulnerability on par with
\nElliot Smith, as Biggie ends the song with one of his best friends
\ngetting killed.<\/p>\n
Biggie Smalls claimed he never liked writing down his lyrics,
\nopting to rap from the top of his head. With
\nReady to Die<\/i>, he captured the dread and helplessness of the
\nlife of a dealer as well as some of the most over-the-top party
\nanthems of the ’90s. Even in a world where it’s becoming
\nincreasingly harder to shock people, listening to the XXX-rated
\n“#!*@ Me (Interlude)” can still leave me squirming, laughing and
\ncringing at the same time as the song is a minute-and-a-half
\nhardcore porn track, featuring Biggie.<\/p>\n
The album closes with the harrowing “Suicidal Thoughts.” While
\nReady to Die<\/i> contained as many boasts as N.W.A.’s and
\n2-Pac’s best works, Biggie Smalls always excelled at following up
\nevery tale of violence with its stark consequence, on the victim
\nand the perpetrator of the action. It’s an incredibly dark album,
\nmaking it all the more of a difficult listen, knowing Biggie
\nSmall’s tragic fate a mere three years after
\nReady to Die<\/i>‘s release. Even if you’re not a rap fan, the
\nstorytelling Biggie weaves throughout the album remains some of the
\nmost vivid examples of verbal cinematography on an album. Almost
\nten years after its release,
\nReady to Die<\/i> remains a landmark achievement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5852],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-37788","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-notorious-b-i-g","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37788"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}