Why Ready to Die is Notorious B.I.G.'s Most Iconic Album | 1994 Hip Hop Series

[@IknowMoreThanYou]

Life After Death is an absolute agreed upon classic lol

[@micace777]

Agreed!

[@Haircuthustler1]

Facts

[@dblshotz75]

Think about this for a second. We never heard Biggie at his best. He died at 24 and never got the chance to grow as an artist. Its unimaginable the work we never got to hear. There are bangers that exist somewhere in an alternate universe that we never got to hear. Crazy.

[@brinecarroll]

his rapping on "victory," which i believe is the last song he ever records, is incredible. proof that he would've went so far with it

[@dblshotz75]

@brinecarroll Correct. Victory is the last song he ever did and it's among his best.

[@otterdonnelly9959]

@@brinecarroll Victory and Young Gs def show us an older wiser and even more calculate Biggie

[@jishservedcold3536]

I agree, but I also think that the unfortunately short lifespan of Biggie's discography makes it stand out all the more as a very special moment in hip-hop music. Ready to Die may be one of the most important (and best) rap albums ever made.

[@J.B.Whiteside]

"Isn't this great? Your flight leaves at eight Her flight lands at nine, my game just rewinds (don't go, don't go, don't go) Lyrically, I'm supposed to represent I'm not only the client, I'm the player president" Is one of my all time favorites

[@Goatchild90]

Hapy 30th anniversary to a Certified Classic debut album.

[@DominicHolder-nn3um]

Crazy that 2 young black kids made so much of an impact in like a 5 year span.

[@chrisrubio8212]

Biggie Smalls is… the illest.

[@S5King7]

Watchu talking bout Willis?

[@Antmoore1997]

I was in 7th grade in Harlem in 94, and I used to go to the pool hall afterschool to play street fighter. The WHOLE Ready To Die Album would play EVERY DAY! This was when each song was $1 in the jukebox. Instant classic!

[@Lucky2Luciano4]

I whole heartily believe "Life After Death" is Bigs best work.

[@IknowMoreThanYou]

What's beef and story to tell >>>>>>>>>>

[@MrStateoftheCity]

Wholeheartedly

[@DJR33333]

Agreed, but I can see the argument for RTD being “more iconic” or more important. Sadly, only got 2 real albums so you’re 50-50 if you’re discussing which album was better. It messes with me heavily sometimes….wouldve loved to see what he came with in the early 2000s. SMH.

[@jmar5127]

Most do. Everything is better. Its his magnum opus

[@pearlsworld1681]

I totally disagree he was lyrically better after this album

[@larrylambert9025]

Ready to die was the bridge from early hip hop to the platinum era of hip hop(94-05)

[@CFG1849]

That would be Enter The Wu

[@wilsonmatt781]

What about Doggystyle?

[@DJR33333]

@@wilsonmatt781 agreed…The Chronic and Doggystyle were the bridge, and then RTD was the East Coast answer to that.

[@b9479]

​@@wilsonmatt781what's crazy is all those albums came out around the same time

[@AccentShmaccent]

I'd say his second album was more of that bridge... His first was still "Golden Era" worthy. That Platinum BS didn't kickoff till 96' or 97'

[@BushwickHalsey]

First heard B.I.G. on Supercat's "Dolly my baby" remix. Was a fan ever since

[@e5141981]

he looked dusty as hell but there was something about him.

[@BushwickHalsey]

@@e5141981 "Dusty as hell" lol. He did say he went from ashy to classy

[@ccp1906]

He did a ton of material in 2.5 years. 2 classic albums. He wrote most of Junior Mafia’s album, Kim’s album and Puff’s verses on No Way Out plus dozens of features. He put a huge stamp on the industry. I think Big has most of Jay Zs run if he lived. I think the Pac beef would have prevented a Big Pimpin but Big would have been very comfortable in Atlanta. Big over trap beats would have happened. Big over Neptunes beats too

[@chriskeepit100]

jay-z and ugk would've still happened, ugk and biggie might've happened cuz they met before, pimp c was supposed to be on a week ago

[@VZAAGE]

Keep making these Hip-Hop videos, Bomani! They're much appreciated.

[@MrStateoftheCity]

All i bumped that year was Illmatic, Southernplayalistic, and Ready to Die. I turned 21 that summer, played ball with Ray Allen at UConn, some of the best memories of my life.

[@marby.]

Biggie has 2 classics. Some even place LAD over RTD. I personally think Ready To Die is his best

[@bigzizzo]

Agree with everything you said.

[@SMW34]

Biggie is the Bo Jackson of Hip-Hop. We only got to enjoy them for a brief time but we all knew it was something unique and talking about them is as much about what they did but what they would have been projected to do had they been able to continue.

[@jasonnelson6624]

More like Len bias. Jim harbaugh has more rushing yards then bo Jackson. He was a great athlete and potential but never got 1k running.

[@CFG1849]

Damn good analogy👍🏿

[@SMW34]

@@jasonnelson6624 Len Bias never played in the NBA. It's the equivalent of a great rapper who never got to release an album. Bo played in MLB and NFL concurrently so he never played a 16 game season in the NFL for that reason. Yet, his advance stats suggest he would've been a 1K back easily. The comp is we go to see at the top of their games but it was brief, so when we speak about them today, it's as much about projection based on what we saw/heard.

[@jasonnelson6624]

@@SMW34 im well aware. But maybe our levels of greatness are diffrent. To me a great player has impact on his team. Bo Jackson never won them any games. No one watched Raider games just waiting for bo jackson to carry them to a win. Meanwhile there was Barry sander who literally but the loins on his back to the playoffs year after year. Or even Corey Dillon on the Bengals a real bad team and he was their only offense. Bo Jackson still played 10 games a year and he couldn't get 1k? Jim brown has, oj Simpson has really every great running has achieved 1k by game number 10. Maybe my bar is to high? Or maybe you just remember bo Jackson highlights and not his full games? Either way he is great to you and to me he was a disappointment because he could have been great in either sport but he would have had to commit. When I said Len bias was because he never played so all we have is people saying he will be great. With bo Jackson we or I saw a player no live up to his hype. Which to be fair his hype was greatest running back ever so it could have also been over hyped.

[@jeanpayano1506]

​​@@jasonnelson6624 Big L is the Len Bias of hip hop, Biggie was Bo Jackson, also remember Bo played baseball too and was an allstar level player

[@ceb316]

One thing I like and respect about Bo’s shows, are that he waste no air on fluff. Straight meat, potatoes. I never check the length of a pod/show I’m watching especially from a person I like to hear from. But, this man got in and delivered a cool show with info and a concept in less time for me to grab my lunch on a break. Thanks TRT crew for the content. This will be a nice binge watch of the 90’s on my next flight.

[@bald1der]

This album is definitely top 20, and I like the comment of don’t worry about the order.

[@al5603]

My favorite joint is Unbelievable. When Juicy dropped we loved it but it was like aight what's next? When Unbelievable dropped it was like alright bruh is gonna be a superstar!

[@sterlinggrandberry8043]

Can't wait for him to do UGK supertight!

[@gregorybertrand645]

My hot take is that Supertight is a better album than Ridin Dirty.

[@zacharybryant1683]

@@gregorybertrand645 That is in fact a hot take lmao

[@ramsesstafford4640]

Ridin Dirty is better in my opinion it's way more diverse music wise.

[@Rico513]

@@ramsesstafford4640 More polished, but Supertight is more "fun". Glad to see other UGK stans around lol

[@gregorybertrand645]

@@Rico513 I like Supertight's production more. You explained it really well, it does feel more fun. Still love Ridin Dirty to be clear.

[@KMO325]

The original mixes of Machine Gun Funk and the title tracks with those horns are incredible. Machine Gun Funk & Things Done Change are probably my favorite songs on the album.

[@NotoriousF.I.G.]

Ready to Die is a masterpiece.

[@SumnSumnSumnHTK]

Ready to die is such well put together album. Definitely in my top 10.

[@jdfromda80s]

He's really downplaying how dope the OG One More Chance is. Big's flow on that song is amazing. It's my 2nd favorite song on that album.

[@mikejones1572]

Wait, y’all don’t all agree Biggie got 2 classics? Life After Death isn’t a universally regarded classic? I agree that Ready to Die is his best and most iconic but LAD is a classic as well

[@mikejones1572]

@@ChuckAngelHawk that’s news to me. I’ve never seen anyone debate against it

[@majr6852]

LAD is actually a better album than RTD.

[@mikejones1572]

@@ChuckAngelHawk and I’m telling you I’ve never seen it debated personally or any public forum that discusses hip hop in 30 years. A lot of ppl actually say Life After Death is better

[@mikejones1572]

@@ChuckAngelHawk when did I say the debate wasn’t happening? You just came here to argue

[@jeanpayano1506]

​@@ChuckAngelHawk Bro Life After Death aged better than Ready to die, It went Diamond, it also recieved 5 Mics plus most Biggie esencial records where on that album

[@rashadcolvin3518]

Biggie was hands down the best to ever do it, and will forever be the best in his short-lived career.

[@devonmartin-smith3889]

I dont agree, but your comment needs more likes. I'm a Pac guy, but they're always 1 and 2 to me. Respect.

[@Raiders-wm5kb]

@@devonmartin-smith3889 go listen to wutang

[@sterlinggrandberry8043]

Damn, that was a great year!

[@WalkingWallet]

Love these segments, 🫡 Bo

[@S5King7]

Gotta mention the Junior Mafia album. It dropped the next summer and his features were basically BIG songs. That album solidified the legend.

[@JLW26_]

Warning and The What are my favorites

[@IknowMoreThanYou]

Also Bo, it should be noted and documented big was in a bitter split with puff at the time of his end. Lawyers, everything. They were finalizing the money and publishing bit

[@Gonzi_Supreme]

Ready to Die dropped when I was in middle school and was my introduction to boom bap. I went back and listened to all the classic stuff the proceeded it because of it. But Bo reminded me of something that I keep forgetting....Big was only around for a couple of years and was only alive to see one of his albums released. I think of how refined some MC's have gotten with age like Nas and the promise of what could have been with Big....Definietely makes you wonder.

[@tomadon]

It’s wild to think how short of time he was rapping and how long he’s stayed in our consciousness.

[@jeanpayano1506]

Life After Death is The Greatest Hip Hop album ever, that album is considered a classic by every hip hop head so Biggie has 2 unanimous classics not just 1

[@jamesbat09]

Each one of these videos has been elite

[@pearlsworld1681]

Both albums were classics

[@trg-7506]

Loving this Series....94 was a great time

[@kensparrow7703]

Ready to Die is on the mount Rushmore of hip-hop albums ... Along with Illmatic, Reasonable Doubt and take your pick after that

[@ZeppelinRules92]

Excellent stuff, Bo. Can’t wait for more! 🔥

[@damonmcmann5293]

My favorite rapper of all time. In the words of Jayz, Big was the most well rounded

[@robertvcoulter]

thank you for this Bo

[@kelvinbrown8131]

The chronic hands down a lot of skits on ready to die and producing styles came from the Chronic but ready to die is a classic album

[@drausdcs]

Thank you Bo. I completely agree that this was his best album. The HUNGER in it and the fact that it was the first big production from the East Coast. LAD was a bit more commercial to me

[@Domo-yo4pz]

Another great segment

[@LanceJ.]

Life After Death was not as consistent and efficient as Ready to Die, but as a rapper BIG hit God Mode on LAD.

[@MrSilksoul]

I respect Bomani for not trashing Biggies appearance, but referencing Biggies lyrics describing himself.

[@diesel101raw]

2Pac's Plans was One Nation Drops in 1997 and Me Against the World 2 in 1998. Biggie Plans was The Commission drops in 1998 and The Triple LP in 2000 then that Ends the Bad Boy Contract 😎😎

[@joeybdaman3201]

Great episode Bo

[@Bkgiest]

Gimmie the Loot is amazing!

[@NYCtvnyc]

life after death is a classic

[@db5347]

Amazing takes

[@st8uvmind]

You can do a college course on Ready to Die. Especially on the song Everyday Struggle

[@BBB17470]

In my humble opinion he’s top 3 all time if not the best ever, I know his body of work was short but the man was perfect every time he stepped in the booth

[@taronneal7645]

Machine Gun Funk, The What, and Warning were my go to joints. Album is a classic!

[@e5141981]

damn "the Jimmy Hendrix of rap" is one of the best description for him. both of his albums are classics

[@OfficialMaxMinelli]

Life after is a far superior album bro. Nobody else agree with me on this?

[@DewanFrazier]

Shit is amazing!

[@trueknowledge9383]

Nahhhhh…Ready to Die > Life After….IMO

[@JaeSproo]

12:30 time stamp - I have it on pretty good authority that B.I.G. was very unhappy with Puffy's moves and his bank account, and post car accident was SET on getting off of Bad Boy. Funny how that gets ya kiXXed sometimes.

[@PyratKing]

94' had you jonesin , no pun intended for more! I do believe Face rapped about death before Big though.

[@Aluvsloans]

Life After is some dudes whole career - perfect MC Anyone Tyson Jordan Jackson 💪🏾🏆

[@JihadPollard]

Hey Bo great breakdown but I think we kinda know what was next remember he had already started a label of his own with Big Un. They had lil Kim, Cam’ron and Charli Baltimore he was leaving Puff

[@mr.flaxonwaxon9283]

This is going to be a great series. Also, is there going to be a rock version of this? I'd love to hear Bomani's thoughts on the early '90s grunge music that took over. Where does the album Nevermind rank, etc.?

[@mch70]

Really do wonder what he would have done if he was still living. Damn shame.

[@jharne1]

Biggie was on the verge of leaving dat dude when he died

[@ajtheking23]

Damn 🤦🏾‍♂️am I the only one who likes life after death better

[@bennisford1712]

Nope... I know it WORD for word

[@darryldennis3487]

You gotta do Bone Thugs n Harmony “Creepin Ah Comeup”

[@lostintheark5728]

Let's say if he lived Biggie ft Nate Dogg and Warren G would've went crazy. Maybe Big would've signed with Def Jam as a distribution deal.

[@CraigChristie-xg9gg]

Bomani not sure it is on your radar but need your thoughts on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. PE at height of their powers.

[@paidchex]

No mention of Junior Mafia?

[@DeRayP3303]

very new york album but it leaned on a lot of west coast influence. the samples even the skits came from what the west coast was doing at the time

[@Sportsguy0258]

Lol sure bud

[@KWTX22]

Biggie was heavily West Coast influenced. Hell the man's rap name came from Dr. Dre on the Niggaz4Life album

[@IknowMoreThanYou]

That was deliberate. Big said himself he and puff looked at what Snoop and Dre did and figured that making sure their gangster rap was accessible to the masses was important, so he made sure not to rap too fast And they chose beats for their singles that would catch fire and had certain tempo

[@mrduckett4006]

Life After Death is a classic also.

[@kevinford9963]

I could see him going to Rocafella if he’d lived. That ish would’ve been crazy

[@Te_LaSoul]

I know Bomani is gonna give is Dar Iz A Darkside and The Diary. Hope we get Hard To Earn too

[@kevinstewart8054]

Gotta do 2001 next.

[@BKABeloved]

I’m gonna steal the top 20 and we’ll worry about the order later because hip hop has way too many classic at this point

[@DestructoBizzaro]

zero skips on ready to die

[@regice5650]

Life after death is a clear classic Album!!!!!

[@vincentgary5870]

Would love to hear Bo's take on Tupac's Makaveli album

[@plutotech]

He is only doing "1994" hip hop albums..

[@mellomd7831]

Hey Bomani.. don't 4get about Jr. MAFIA. He put his people on after the 1st album blew up.

[@LanceLester]

3:50 according to Moe Bee he said Puffy still owes him money for beats.

[@travisharris5490]

Ready To Die Notorious B.!.G The Best To Ever Do It My Favorite Rapper Had The Game On Smash He Bought Coogi Sweaters DKNY Versace Glasses Moet Champagne To The Limelight We Out In Newark N.j Till Today Still Say He The Best ✋️ Down

[@djb10]

5:03 - LMAOOOOOO

[@GeronFletcher]

Rick Ross said Dr Dre made some songs with biggie before the beef happened and he’s had em in the vault ever since….

[@googleaccount1276]

Biggie had 5 ! Ready to Die, Life after Death was a double album Lil Kim and Junior Mafia are his albums too!

[@EdeDizon]

warning is my favorite non commercial track on that albulm

[@stevenbrinker7147]

Touch my cheddar, feel my Beretta Buck, what Ima hit ya with you motherf*ckers better duck My all time favorite Bar. The way he drops duck at the end I totally get the "raps like Jazz" vibes.

[@bossaint6798]

That’s a great comparison. Biggie definitely dropped 2 classics cause Life after death is certified also

[@28457]

This made me sad...what could have been...

[@eugenegreene463]

Machine Gun Funk is my favorite Biggie song

[@magyare10]

💯

[@MrKiddCJ]

only one biggie album we agree upon is a classic? what ? that intro is crazy Big clearly has two Life after Death is one of the greatest double albums ever. Better production and even superior record making ability

[@K_masters]

Who is the better guitarist, bomani?? Jimi or prince?

[@eddiethomas1156]

jimi better than prince bro...jimi had giant hands that allowed him to do things around the neck of the guitar that prince just wasn't capable of...prince is an underrated guitarist though

[@jeanpayano1506]

Jimi Hendrix changed the way guitars where played, he impacted the instrument like anyone before or after him.

[@derrelbowers]

I just had this conversation that biggie was akin to Hendrix. Short run but hovers around the top of the greats list.

[@Sportsguy0258]

What Bo is missing is that it really wasn’t that short because he was one of the first viral superstars. He had a short time but there’s literally a lifetime of content of him out there. That the New York fast life that they tried to get over to you. A NY minute is like a week somewhere else. That’s literally how it is he also signed like a 70 million dollar deal for his own record label. That’s how we got Camron. That’s why he still alive today all the characters you see and how the game is comes from his influence. No one else in rap besides Tupac is like that. So we can say his body died young but his influence definitely stood the test of time. Also to act like the 2nd album isn’t a certified classic. Notorious thugs is one of the best hip hop records ever. That fact he killed unconventional flow is why he is regarded as the best.

[@Hangingwithfarrah]

As 2pac was known as the James dean of rap

[@stacks_968]

If Biggie had lived he would have became everything that Jay-Z did become. He was making moves to be a mogul with a clothing line and a label

[@Cunninghamily]

12:00

[@daveylewis816]

If BIG💫 is Jimmy Hendrix 🎸 than PAC💫 is Robert F Fleming jr🎸🥶

[@StarboundUK]

Puffy is all kinds of f'ing toxic narcissistic opportunistic trash BUT his 90s A&R record can't be ignored like Phil Spector influence on 60s pop.. He helped make Mary J Blige when she was being ignored on Uptown & was key to 411 & My Life albums. He played a key role in Jodeci's rise & branding & switch from gospel music. When he bounced from Uptown he took Biggie with him cos they didn't know how to use him. He put Missy on Gina Thompson track where her Hee Hee Haw verse blew. Man is a criminal in more ways than one but his 90s A&R ear & vision was something else

[@kmalikmusic]

I always say that while he doesn’t belong in the conversation with the greatest producers ever imo because he didn’t really produce or write any records he produced artist better than any other executive of his generation. He just knew how to make shit look cool and that’s a huge factor in how influential some of the artists he discovered became who they are and you have to credit him for that.

[@BlowskiDohski88]

2pac doesn’t have an album better? Maybe bc Me against the world wasn’t his first album ppl think this but c’mon…me against the world is flawless too

[@TheRealTruth533]

Bomani when were you last at Dwight Howard's House.

[@diesel101raw]

Ready to Die is Top imo

[@Carrpediem21]

BIG GIE AKA BIG get it? “Biggie.”

[@phillyzoe]

It’s Life After Death bcuz imo so many people don’t understand the lines, the war between him Nas, Ghost & Rae, go over peoples head people think he dissin 2pac throughout the album and he probably gave PAC only 2 verses, while going crazy responding to the lines on It Was Written