Description
Ready to Die is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean “Puffy” Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier, and Lord Finesse, among others. It was recorded from 1993 to 1994 at The Hit Factory and D&D Studios in New York City. The partly autobiographical album tells the story of the rapper’s experiences as a young criminal, and was the only studio album released during his lifetime, as he was murdered sixteen days before the release of his second album Life After Death in 1997.
Ready to Die peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and was subject to widespread critical acclaim and soon a commercial success. Three singles were released from the album: “Juicy“, “Big Poppa“, “One More Chance” and a promotional track of Biggie: “Warning”. “Juicy”, the lead single, 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. “Big Poppa” was a hit on multiple charts, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and also being nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. The Notorious B.I.G.’s lyrics on the album were generally praised by critics, with many praising his story-telling ability.
In April 2018, Ready to Die was certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album was significant for revitalizing the East Coast hip hop scene, amid West Coast hip hop‘s commercial dominance. It has been ranked by many critics as one of the greatest hip hop albums, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2020, the album was ranked 22nd on Rolling Stone‘s updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and was ranked 1st on their list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.
| Ready to Die | ||||
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| Released | September 13, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993–1994 | |||
| Studio | The Hit Factory and D&D Studios, New York City | |||
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| Length | 69:05 | |||
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| The Notorious B.I.G. chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ready to Die | ||||
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Legacy
Ready to Die has been highly acclaimed. In 1998, The Source included it on their 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time list, and in 2002, they re-rated it to the maximum five ‘mics’. Rolling Stone has also given acclaim to Ready to Die over the years. In 2003, they ranked it number 133 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, 134 in a 2012 revised list, and 22 in a 2020 revised list. In 2004, they re-rated it to five stars. In 2011, Rolling Stone also placed it at number eight on their 100 Best Albums of the Nineties list, and described it as “mapping out the sound of ‘Nineties cool'”. Kilian Murphy from Stylus Magazine wrote favorably of the album in a retrospective review, and concluded “Sweet, hypocritical, sensitive, violent, depressed and jubilant; these words could all fittingly describe Big at various points on Ready to Die.”
Steve Huey from AllMusic gave it five stars, stating “The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star. Today it’s recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded, and that’s mostly due to Biggie’s skill as a storyteller”. In 2006, Time magazine included it on their 100 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and stated “On Ready to Die, Wallace took his street corner experiences and filtered them through his considerable charm. The result was a record that mixed long stretches of menace with romance and lots of humor. No rapper ever made multi-syllabic rhymes sound as smooth”. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
