Check Out: Ready to Die

During the early 90's hip-hop was dominated by the West coast scene. From N.W.A. to the Digital Underground, and everything in between. 1994 was a critical year for the East coast as the some of the biggest names in hip-hop emerged out of New York City. Nas released the instant classic "Illmatic", along with breakthrough albums from Jeru the Damaja, Gang Starr, and one of my favorite albums of all time - Ready to Die from the Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace). New York City quickly became the Mecca of hip-hop and all eyes were on Biggie.

Ready to Die hit the shelves on September 13th, 1994 under Sean "Puffy" Combs Bad Boy label. The album is said to be autobiographical and relies heavily on storytelling, like many B.I.G. tracks on other albums. The albums lyrical content is generally loose in the sense that he raps with no regard to censorship. Some tracks are extremely vulgar while some are deeper and more personal (example: Juicy). Regardless, his delivery is sharp and to the point. The Notorious B.I.G. is also praised for his ability to rhyme numerous words throughout very few lines, exhibiting one of the best flows in hip-hop. The albums production was also generally well acclaimed. Handled mainly by Sean "Puffy" Combs and Easy Mo Bee, who brings a more funk(ish) element to the albums production. The beats merged with lyrical content make this album a true East coast classic.

Ready to Die enjoyed strong commercial success going quadruple platinum and receiving generally rave reviews and later praised by critics as one of the best rap albums of all time. After listening to the album once in entirety it isn't hard to understand why. Some of the tracks on the album are truly compelling stories revolving around drug dealing (Everyday Struggle), homicide (Warning, Gimme the Loot), suicide (Suicidal Thoughts) and struggle (Juicy) - just ignore the sex skits.

Singles off Ready to Die include: Juicy, Big Poppa, One More Chance

I also recommend: Warning, Machine Gun Funk, Gimme the Loot