ItвЂ™s the story of a young man succumbing to the pressures of his environment. ItвЂ™s funky, and thanks to executive producer Sean вЂњ Puff DaddyвЂќ Combs, there are plenty of pop hooks. DreвЂs The Chronic, a record Biggie admired enough to sample on track two, вЂњThings Done Changed.вЂќ Relative to DreвЂ™s West Coast game-changer, though, B.I.G.вЂ™s East Coast landmark is harder, darker and less song-oriented. 15 on the Billboard 200 - is similar to Dr. In that way, Ready to Die - which reached No. His bellowing voice suggests lungs filled with cigar smoke and a throat coated with WelchвЂ™s grape juice, his beverage of choice in the Top 10 single вЂњBig Poppa.вЂќ Whether heвЂ™s spinning semi-autobiographical crime narratives or indulging in lover-man fantasies, he never lets the crippling stress wreck his flow. HeвЂ™s a man of hardy appetites - for money, food, women, blunts, booze, and the thrill of the hustle - and he raps with the easy-does-it delivery of a guy whoвЂ™s just polished off a steak dinner or finished a round of lovemaking. Notorious B.I.G.вЂ™s 15 Biggest Billboard HitsДeath wishes aside, the Biggie heard on Ready to Die is a guy bellying up to lifeвЂ™s buffet. Ready To DieвЂ™ was the only solo album Christopher Wallace released in his lifetime, but itвЂ™s one that will always endure close to the top of rapвЂ™s finest-ever records.Rap Snacks Introduces Icon Line Featuring Master P & The Notorious B.I.G Flavors.: Exclusive

His legacy is tremendous, though, omnipotent almost, with hundreds of rappers since inspired by his вЂњflashy waysвЂќ. Of course, few could have predicted what came next: how reality elected to mirror fiction, and Biggie would die in a drive-by shooting in 1997, murdered by a still-unknown assailant. The opening line alone is telling, an immediate turn to the dark side after so much positivity: вЂњWhen I die, f*ck it, I wanna go to Hell / вЂCause IвЂ™m a piece of shit, it ainвЂ™t hard to f*cking tell.вЂќ At the climax, Biggie takes his own life, the sound of a shotgun preceding a slowing heartbeat, closing the conceptual structure of вЂReady To DieвЂ™ вЂ“ this is a life story stuffed into 68 minutes, and every soul living today will some day be extinguished, one way or another. Here, the 22-year-old ponders suicide, culminating in a call to Puff Daddy, the recordвЂ™s executive producer (and founder of its label, Bad Boy Records).

вЂSuicidal ThoughtsвЂ™ is a stark contrast when held against preceding вЂmoney, hoes and clothesвЂ™ expressions of excessiveness. ThereвЂ™s a real cinematic edge to proceedings, lyrics drawing fully realised images in the mindвЂ™s eye, gangsta rap and street poetry colliding like never before with widescreen effect.Д®very sing-along leads to the albumвЂ™s heart-breaking finale, though. What was once fantasy was becoming reality, and BiggieвЂ™s wordplay was his own diary, documenting the encroaching lavishness that cast into shade what used to be an everyday struggle. The likes of вЂJuicyвЂ™ and вЂBig PoppaвЂ™ were huge hits, rags-to-riches tales exploring BiggieвЂ™s new lifestyle and lyrical leanings, spotlighting wealth, women and high fashion. WallaceвЂ™s rhymes may embrace sinister themes, touching on violence and poverty, but their juxtaposing with pop-savvy arrangements proved to be a terrific draw. His songs are to the point, hitting hard вЂ“ and yet, вЂReady To DieвЂ™ doesnвЂ™t lack accessibility. Autobiographical of impression, the album chronicles its makerвЂ™s criminal past, his drug-dealing at the age of 12, with BiggieвЂ™s sleek but loose flow a perfect vehicle for digressive lyricism and bold storytelling. вЂReady To DieвЂ™ is amongst this crop of rare collections, as compelling today as it ever was.

Years have taken their toll on many 1990s rap releases, but the strongest have survived intact, unblemished. The album played a pivotal role in revitalising the East Coast rap scene, instantly assuming a place beside the likes of NasвЂ™sВ вЂIllmaticвЂ™ ( Spotlight feature) and Wu-Tang ClanвЂ™sВ вЂEnter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)вЂ™ as a classic of the time вЂ“ and further evidence that the Big AppleвЂ™s best had progressed substantially from the days of Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa. And while itвЂ™s true that albums by N.W.AВ and fellow Californian rappers did shift perceptions of what rap was about, filtering gangsta sounds through the spectrum of samples and scratches, the East wasnвЂ™t about to sit back and see their art wholly appropriated by rival factions.Д¬ome September (13 th) 1994, New York had its trump card: вЂReady To DieвЂ™, the debut album from a young Brooklyn MC by the name of Christopher Wallace, better known to a growing fanbase as The Notorious B.I.G.,В AKA Biggie Smalls or simply Biggie. DreВ and his associated acolytes, might have marked a significant sea change for the evolving genre and its culture. RapвЂ™s early 1990s exodus from its home turf of the south Bronx, where hip-hop was founded in the mid-1970s, to the West Coast and its summertime G-funk sounds, pioneered by Dr.

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