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Ready to Die [Explicit Lyrics]

Notorious B.I.G. | Format: Audio CD

(382 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

	Amazon Price	New from	Used from
MP3 Music, 19 Songs, 2006	$13.49	--	--
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Audio CD, 2006	$16.80	--	--
Audio CD, Explicit Lyrics, 1994	--	--	--
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Vinyl, Double LP, 1995	--	--	--
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Audio Cassette	--	--	--

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Product Details

Audio CD
Original Release Date: 1994
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Label: Arista Records
ASIN: B000KFTWIG
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (382 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,777 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

17 Tracks

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

(382)

4.6 out of 5 stars

See all 382 customer reviews

“
This is without a doubt one of the best rap albums EVER. ”
Gen X Music Addict| 66 reviewers made a similar statement
“
R.I.P. Christopher Wallace, AKA Notorious B.I.G. AKA Biggie Smalls. ”
Kalie A. Gipson| 63 reviewers made a similar statement
“
Great lyrics,and a hardcore album with great production,very hardcore beats. ”
Juice da sick MC| 46 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the Ready to Die We Rocked in '94 November 29, 2012

By PrinceNikodeem

Format:Audio CD|Verified Purchase

I know, I know. How could I give one of the hottest hip hop albums of all time two stars, right? Well I've got a better question for you: How could Bad Boy piss all over Biggie's legacy and mutilate this classic?

Before they spend their money on this fakeness, the fans have the right to know...especially the young folks who weren't even around back in the day...that the album you see before you...this so called "remaster"...is NOT what Biggie fans rocked out to in '94. This is NOT the album that was bangin' in the clubs, in our cars, or at our house parties. Take it from someone who was there, this so-called "remaster" is not just an enhancement of sound quality as the name might imply, it's a totally different album.

Don't get it twisted, the original version, the one with the white cover, wasn't some rough mix that was stolen from Easy Mo Bee's basement and released on the streets as a bootleg or whatever...it was the official studio release. The one you bought at Sam Goody, Coconuts, or, until 2006, right here on amazon. And now it's gone forever in favor of this inferior mess.

And why? Money, mostly. And a touch of political correctness.

1.) Bad Boy's legal department apparently f'd up and some of the samples used on the original weren't cleared properly, so rather than tap into their billions and just pay whatever licensing fees were necessary for the re-release, Diddy and company decided to just CHANGE THE ORIGINALS!!! So now, tracks like "Machine Gun Funk" and "Ready to Die" sound totally different. They are not at all what we heard when we first bumped this album back in '94.

2.) Some of Biggie's original lyrics were apparently too raw for the sensibilities of the new millenium so they were edited out or backmastered. Most notably on "Juicy" where he spits "time to get paid/blow up like the World Trade" referencing the 1993 attack on the towers. On the remaster, the words "World Trade" are edited out, presumably because someone might think he was making a reference to 9/11 seven years before it actually happened. While I understand that 9/11 was a catastrophic and horrible event, and would certainly agree that a rapper using it as a euphemism for accruing wealth would be unbelievably crass, I also don't think that record companies should go back and selectively edit albums that came out seven years before the tragedy even happened because someone might think that Biggie was Nostradamus and predicted the whole thing in his crystal ball, thus compromising his original vision and lyricism.

Now that this "remaster" has come out, the only way to get the original is to run it down in some used record store. Think about what this means. Kids who grew up hearing that Biggie was the best and wanting to hear the album that their elders say prove it will rush to purchase or download this "remaster", because it's the only thing available, not realizing that they are NOT hearing what those of us who copped the original heard back in '94. They're not hearing Biggie as we heard him. They're not hearing his magnum opus. They're hearing a compromised, mutilated version of that album. Again, think about what this says about Bad Boy's respect for their greatest artist, the man whose talent they pretty much rode to wealth and glory. Would anyone dare to dream of doing this to the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's", Bob Marley's "Catch a Fire" or Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On"? No? Then what does this say about Bad Boy's respect for Biggie and hip hop as an artform in general?

Because it's Biggie, I can't bring myself to give even this mangled version of his vision one star, but because this musical mutilation is the auditory equivalent of putting boxer shorts on Donatello's David or a bra on the Venus de Milo, I also can't bring myself to give it more than two.

To the young hip hop headz out there, consider yourselves warned. If you want to hear Biggie as 90s headz heard him when this classic disc first dropped back in the day, this isn't the version you're looking for. Pressure Bad Boy to re-release the "classic version" full and intact. Peace. Read more ›

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52 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How can I put this? July 22, 2001

By Rex Marksmanson

Hmm it's a good album...wait no a great album...forget that it's the BEST album. When biggie dropped this album it hit like an atomic bomb, totally re-arranging the rap world and driving the fledging east-coast back to the top. Normally I would tell you my favorite tracks but I'll just break it down with the whole damn CD is amazing. From the intro to the ending "Suicidal Thoughts" The Notorious BIG put down everything thats essential for an instant classic, and believe it or not Puff Daddy...oh excuse me "P. Diddy" laced this whole album up with amazing beats. If I could give this CD 10 stars I would, and like several reviewers on here mentioned, how could you give it anything less? And finally this last part is for all angry Tupac Shakur fans coming down on this CD with 1 star reviews and cursing, Tupac and Biggie were equally great we all know it, but some of us would rather stay angry. But isn't that anger the same kind that made us lose the two greatest MC's Tupac and Biggie? Think about it, and grab this CD. Peace.

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Another reason to avoid the remaster! June 24, 2012

By S. Zenisek

Format:Audio CD|Verified Purchase

The album itself is classic, 5 stars, hands down. But, don't buy the remaster!

A previous reviewer already noted that the MP3 version is edited; I can't comment on that. What I can tell you is that, due to legal wrangling, some integral samples have been removed from this version, specifically from "Ready to Die," "Machine Gun Funk," and "Gimme the Loot." This definitely makes the remaster inferior. Go find the original version at a used CD store.

[Edit: Amazon removed my links to examples, but you can find the original and remastered versions of those tracks on YouTube and compare.]

It's really too bad that whoever owns these tracks won't do the right thing! It's not like Biggie's profiting from any of this anyway.

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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Great album; Downloaded version is edited. December 15, 2008

By Amazon Customer

Format:MP3 Music|Verified Purchase

I saw the review posted here about the albums being edited. A comment gave a new link for an unedited version but that one was edited as well. Guess I'm out some money.

Don't download, buy the real CD. Amazon is lying to you.

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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Album for the Thinking Rap Fan August 17, 1999

By A Customer

"Ready to Die" is an essential album for true rap fans. Yes, Biggie explores the usual gangsta trappings (clothes, bank rolls and ho's, etc.). What separates this work from most the rest of the cookie-cutter rappers out there is that Biggie writes with intelligence, style and wit. His lyrics are what separate this album from the rest of the heap - he expresses himself with the clarity and cleverness more typically found in a classic songwriter. The samples and beats behind the lyrics compliment most of the material perfectly and are a refreshing break from the played-out R&B/Funk West Coast sound. B.I.G. uses humor, intelligence and vivid imagery subtely and lets the listener fill in the gaps. Like Nas' debut album "Illmatic"(also highly recommended!), "Ready to Die" is a refreshing departure from the Top 40-driven rap/hip hop scene predominant today. It's rap that you won't feel embarassed to listen to.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Album That Set The Year '94 (Rating: 10 out of 10- -5 stars) December 13, 2006

By Chandler

Format:Audio CD

Can anyone forget this album? This album (as well as Nas' "Illmatic" were the front runners of the year 1994. Christopher "Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls)" Wallace debuted with this album with the lead single "Juicy". A rags to riches song that still gets played here in 2006. Biggie's lyrical skills were excellent. I hear a lot of rappers (who I will be here all day naming) saying excellent lines that came from Biggie. I think to myself "Damn, this guy said everything".

The album is excellent too. A lot of these songs are about drugs, robbing, and what not. Big was just rhyming about things that he went through before he had a record deal, trying to survive and eat. Who could blame him? "Give Me The Loot" is one of those songs about his struggles (some words were edited in this song. I'm pretty sure rhyming about robbing a pregnant woman was going to gain some negative attention). "Machine Gun Funk" is self explanitory on how a good song it was. "Warning" was a short song and video about people targeting him for his money. "One More Chance" is a great song about how he gets his females. The song would be remixed and made into a video a year later, but both versions sound great.

Guest appearances are only one. Method Man, back when his rhyme skills were phenomonal, would rhyme on "The What". Classic track if you ask me.

Production was by Mr. Cee, and Puff Daddy. True, Puffy might be the "king of beat jacking" and what not, but he did a damn good job with them. The Isley Brothers "Between The Sheets" would be made into the classic single "Big Poppa" was one of them.

This album was pulled off the shelves earlier of this year, because of unauthorized sampling on this album. But recently I've seeing it back on shelves. I guess it got settled. Read more ›

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