the notorious b.i.g. / albums

16,235,330 plays
5,123 SHARES
28,589 FAVS
560 fans

- Ready to Die
- - 3,024,435 plays
  - 1,667 favs
  - 432 shares
The Notorious B.I.G.
Released 1994

Me & My Bitch
04:00
97,696 plays

Things Done Changed
03:57
96,381 plays

Respect
05:22
83,466 plays

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songs

- 1
- Intro
- 03:24
- 48,993 plays

- 2
- Things Done Changed
- 03:57
- 96,381 plays

- 3
- Gimme the Loot
- 05:04
- 206,945 plays

- 4
- Machine Gun Funk
- 04:16
- 121,695 plays

- 5
- Warning
- 03:40
- 220,091 plays

- 6
- Ready to Die
- 04:24
- 115,663 plays

- 7
- One More Chance
- 04:43
- 139,133 plays

- 8
- #! *@ Me (Interlude)
- 01:31
- 52,465 plays

- 9
- The What
- 03:57
- 109,752 plays

- 10
- Juicy
- 05:03
- 669,304 plays

- 11
- Everyday Struggle
- 05:19
- 127,143 plays

- 12
- Me & My Bitch
- 04:00
- 97,696 plays

- 13
- Big Poppa
- 04:13
- 655,905 plays

- 14
- Respect
- 05:22
- 83,466 plays

- 15
- Friend of Mine
- 03:28
- 55,234 plays

- 16
- Unbelievable
- 03:43
- 102,702 plays

- 17
- Suicidal Thoughts
- 02:54
- 144,628 plays

album review

The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star, and vaulted Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy label into the spotlight as well. 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. 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's blessed with a flair for the dramatic, and slips in and out of different contradictory characters with ease. Yet, no matter how much he heightens things for effect, it's always easy to see elements of Biggie in his narrators and of his own experience in the details; everything is firmly rooted in reality, but plays like scenes from a movie. A sense of doom pervades his most involved stories: fierce bandits ("Gimme the Loot"), a hustler's beloved girlfriend ("Me & My Bitch"), and robbers out for Biggie's newfound riches ("Warning") all die in hails of gunfire. The album is also sprinkled with reflections on the soul-draining bleakness of the streets -- "Things Done Changed," "Ready to Die," and "Everyday Struggle" are powerfully affecting in their confusion and despair. Not everything is so dark, though; Combs' production collaborations result in some upbeat, commercial moments, and typically cop from recognizable hits: the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" on the graphic sex rap "One More Chance," Mtume's "Juicy Fruit" on the rags-to-riches chronicle "Juicy," and the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets" on the overweight-lover anthem "Big Poppa." Producer Easy Mo Bee's deliberate beats do get a little samey, but it hardly matters: this is Biggie's show, and by the time "Suicidal Thoughts" closes the album on a heartbreaking note, it's clear why he was so revered even prior to his death. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

more albums by this artist

See all

- - Life After Death (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 1997

- - Duets: The Final Chapter (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 2005

- - Greatest Hits (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 2008

- - Born Again (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 1999

listener reviews

- - Henny
  - - By hennysippa9336
    - 2/21/2009 10:34:52
  - Classic album. I'm a pac fan but you cant really hate on biggie, he did his thing.
  - 1 out of 1 people
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- - Juicy
  - - By PURPLE HAZE767
    - 1/14/2009 03:52:34
  - This Sh*% is like weed once you take a puff theres no gOING gOING bACk to bACk
    
    R.I.P
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- - None Better
  - - By MoNSTER1
    - 12/4/2008 18:55:36
  - Gratest Album From Greatest Rapper Of All Time. If U Dont Have This Stop listening To Hip Hop
  - 0 out of 1 people
  - think this is useful

- - Confessions Of A Pac fan
  - - By Scizzle333
    - 12/4/2008 15:50:40
  - If you had to catergorize Hip-Hop fans into Biggie or Pac factions, I would probably fall into the Pac camp. I dig this CD but I'm not one of those guys who think it's the greatest CD ever. I only bump Gimme The Loot, Machine Gun Funk, The What, Juicy, Me & My Bitch, Big Poppa, & Suicidal Thoughts. The rest I think is average repetitive East Coast rap. I just don't think you can be considered the greatest after only two albums.
  - 1 out of 3 people
  - think this is useful

- - Man shit...
  - - By BigVeney24
    - 11/27/2008 02:58:50
  - This album didn't really need to be FF at all! Except for the interlude track 8, everything else is on point, you got to love this album, if not you don't love hip-hop! This album had something for everyone. :)
  - 1 out of 2 people
  - think this is useful

- - tha time's of my life
  - - By timk7260
    - 10/23/2008 00:24:39
  - when i heard juicy 4 the 1rst i waz like wAt i know that kAt he was tha fastest kat I knew he would make iT B.I.G (rip) hiz flo,tHE rapport,THA beats were wiksd n smooth.My life and social changed & waz affected by this artist n time in history.Biggie smallz is the illest.
  - 0 out of 1 people
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