The Notorious B.I.G. was born Christopher Wallace, but the world knew him as the man who would die before his debut album was even fully released. Ready to Die, the album that would define his legacy, was recorded in the gritty studios of New York City between 1993 and 1994, capturing a young man's transition from the streets of Brooklyn to the pinnacle of hip-hop fame. The album's cover art, featuring an infant with an afro, symbolized the entire life cycle of Wallace, from birth to his untimely death, a concept that was both haunting and prophetic. Released on the 13th of September 1994, the album was a commercial and critical success, peaking at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and eventually earning six times platinum certification. It was the only album Wallace released during his lifetime, as he was murdered sixteen days before the release of his second album, Life After Death, in 1997. The album's title, Ready to Die, was not a suicide note but a declaration of his willingness to risk everything for his music, a sentiment he expressed in his own words: "When I say I'm Ready to Die, people may be, like, 'Oh, he's on some killing himself shit.' That's not what I meant. I meant that I was willing to go all out a hundred percent as far as the music was concerned."
From Uptown To Bad Boy
The journey of Ready to Die began in 1992 when Wallace was signed to Uptown Records by A&R Sean "Puffy" Combs. The early sessions were marked by an "inexperienced, higher-pitched" Biggie sounding "hungry and paranoid," as described by XXL magazine. These initial recordings included darker, less radio-friendly tracks like "Ready to Die," "Gimme the Loot," and "Things Done Changed." However, when Combs was fired from Uptown, Biggie's career hung in limbo, and the album was only partially completed. After a brief period dealing drugs in North Carolina, Biggie returned to the studio the following year on Combs' new Bad Boy Records label, possessing "a smoother, more confident vocal tone" and completing the album. In this stage, the more commercial-sounding tracks of the album were recorded, including the album's singles. Between the two stages, XXL writes that Biggie moved from writing his lyrics in notebooks to freestyling them from memory. The album was recorded in two stages during 1993 and 1994, mainly at The Hit Factory and D&D Studios in New York City. The production was handled by Easy Mo Bee and the Hitmen, with Cheo H. Coker of Rolling Stone depicting the beats as "heavy bottomed and slick, but B.I.G.'s rhymes are the showstoppers. The tracks only enhance them, whether it's the live bass driving a menacing undercurrent or [the] use of bluesy guitar and wah-wah feedback" and that the production is used to "push the rapper to new heights." The production is mainly sample-based with the samples varying from the percussion of funk tracks to the vocals of hip-hop songs. Steve Huey presented some criticism over the beats, stating that the "deliberate beats do get a little samey, but it hardly matters: this is Biggie's show".
The lyrical themes of Ready to Die were generally praised by critics, with many applauding his story-telling ability. AllMusic writer Steve Huey stated, "His raps are easy to understand, but his skills are hardly lacking, he has a loose, easy flow and a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession." He also went on to mention that his lyrics are "firmly rooted in reality, but play like [a] scene from a movie." Touré, writing for The New York Times, referred to the Notorious B.I.G., proclaiming that he stood out from other rappers because "his lyrics mix autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty, telling how he felt while making a living as a drug dealer." The album is also noted for its dark tone and sinister sense of depression. In the original Rolling Stone review, Cheo H Coker declared that he "maintains a consistent level of tension by juxtaposing emotional highs and lows." "Things Done Changed" was also one of the few hip-hop songs in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. The lyrics on Ready to Die tend to deal with violence, drug dealing, women, alcohol and marijuana use, and other elements of Notorious B.I.G.'s environment. He rapped about these topics in "clear, sparse terms, allowing the lyrics to hit the first time you hear them." The album contains a loose concept starting out with an intro that details his birth, his early childhood, his adolescence and his life at the point of the album's release. Songs on the album range from homicide narratives like "Warning" to braggadocious battle raps like "The What" and "Unbelievable." "Things Done Changed" deals with how life in the ghetto has changed since B.I.G.'s childhood. "One More Chance" as recited by B.I.G largely centers around the rapper's sexual prowess. "Juicy" is a "rags-to-riches chronicle." The title for "Big Poppa" is based on one of the Notorious B.I.G.'s many nicknames. The final song was "Suicidal Thoughts," a song in which the Notorious B.I.G. contemplates and finally commits suicide.
Singles That Changed The Game
Three singles were released from the album: "Juicy," "Big Poppa," "One More Chance," and a promotional track of Biggie: "Warning." According to XXL, the more commercial sound of the singles compared to the rest of the album was a result of encouragement by Combs during the later recording sessions in which they were recorded. "Juicy" was released as the lead single on the 8th of August 1994. It peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 14 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and reached number 3 on the Hot Rap Singles. It shipped 500,000 copies in the United States and the RIAA certified it Gold on the 16th of November 1994. Produced by Combs, it features a prominent sample of "Juicy Fruit" as performed by James Mtume. AllMusic's Steve Huey stated that, along with the other singles, it was an "upbeat, commercial moment," calling it a "rags-to-riches chronicle." Andrew Kameka, of HipHopDX, stated that the song was one of his "greatest and most-revealing songs" and went on to say it was a "Part-autobiography, part-declaration-of-success. It document[s] the star's transition from Brooklyn knucklehead to magazine cover story." Producer Pete Rock, who was commissioned to remix the track, alleged that Puffy stole the idea for the original song's beat after hearing it from him during a visit. Rock explained this in an interview with Wax Poetics. "Big Poppa" was released as the second single on the 24th of December 1994, and like the previous single, it was a hit on multiple charts. It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and number one on Hot Rap Singles. It sold over a million units and the RIAA certified it Platinum on the 23rd of May 1995. Featuring production by Combs and Chucky Thompson of the Hitmen, it samples "Between the Sheets" by the Isley Brothers. The song was nominated at the 1996 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance, but lost to Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise." Steve Huey named it an "overweight-lover anthem." "One More Chance" was released as the third single on the 9th of June 1995. The single was a remix of the album track. It was produced by Combs and featured a sample from DeBarge's "Stay With Me." It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Rap Singles. It sold over a million copies and the RIAA certified it Platinum on the 31st of July 1995. Steve Huey labeled it a "graphic sex rap." Rolling Stone writer Cheo H. Coker had a similar view of the song, noting that it was "one of the bawdiest sex raps since Kool G Rap's classic, 'Talk Like Sex'" and continued, stating it "proves hilarious simply because of B.I.G.'s Dolemitelike vulgarity."
The Legal Battles Over Samples
On the 24th of March 2006, Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records won a federal lawsuit against Bad Boy Records for copyright infringement, with a jury deciding that Combs and Bad Boy had illegally used samples for the production of the songs "Ready to Die," "Machine Gun Funk," and "Gimme the Loot." The jury awarded $4.2 million in punitive and direct damages to the two plaintiffs, and federal judge Todd Campbell enacted an immediate sales ban on the album and tracks in question. On appeal, the Sixth Circuit found the damages unconstitutionally high and in violation of due process and remanded the case, at which point Campbell reduced them by $2.8 million; however, the verdict was upheld. All versions of the album released since the lawsuit are without the disputed samples. Although a fair use issue, Combs and Bad Boy never raised the legal concept of the fair use doctrine in their defense. This decision was questioned by some legal experts: Anthony Falzone of the Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School criticized Combs and Bad Boy for not defending the legality of sampling and suggested that they might have refused to raise such a defense because they feared it could later imperil their control over their own music. On the 2nd of April 2014, Lee Hutson of the Impressions filed a multimillion-dollar copyright infringement suit against Combs, Bad Boy Records, and the estate of the Notorious B.I.G. for copyright infringement, alleging that his song "Can't Say Enough About Mom" was illegally sampled in the production of the song "The What." The case was dismissed. The estate countersued in turn, claiming the sample as used was short, adapted, and supplemented, and thus subject to fair use, the legal tactic not pursued previously.
A Legacy Of Critical Acclaim
Ready to Die received widespread acclaim from music critics. In his review for Rolling Stone, Cheo H. Coker stated, "Ready to Die is the strongest solo rap debut since Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. From the breathtakingly visual moments of his birth to his Cobainesque end in 'Suicidal Thoughts,' B.I.G. proves a captivating listen. It's difficult to get him out of your head once you sample what he has to offer." Robert Christgau from The Village Voice commented, "His sex raps are erotic, his jokes are funny, and his music makes the thug life sound scary rather than luxuriously laid back. When he considers suicide, I not only take him at his word, I actively hope he finds another way." The New York Times wrote, "Though drug dealing carries tremendous heroic value with some young urban dwellers, he sacrifices the figure's romantic potential. His raps acknowledge both the excitement of drug dealing and the stress caused by the threat from other dealers, robbers, the police and parents, sometimes one's own. In presenting the downside of that life, Ready to Die offers perhaps the most balanced and honest portrait of the dealer's life of any in hip-hop." Q magazine gave Ready to Die three out of five stars, and stated, "the natural rapping, clever use of sound effects and acted dialogue, and concept element (from a baby being born at the start to the fading heartbeat at the end) set this well apart from the average gangsta bragging." In their original review for Ready to Die, The Source gave it four-and-a-half out of five 'mics,' stating, "Big weaves tales like a cinematographer, each song is like another scene in his lifestyle. Overall, this package is complete: ridiculous beats, harmonizing honeys, ill sound effects, criminal scenarios, and familiar hooks."