Legendary is one word to describe this one. Not much has touched the perfect mix of lyrical flow, sheer deliverance, and stellar beats. Everything seems to come together for Biggie's very first album, released fresh out the gate on Ciroc kingpin P Diddy's label, Bad Boy. The Brooklyn rapper immediately made a name for himself across the nation, and spearheaded the revolt against the dominant West Coast sound at the time. The music is packed with soul samples, heavy drums, prominent tasty bass lines, and grim piano. Despite the funky-ness of the album, there's still the overarching darkness in the words. Biggie saw some shit no doubt. The details are just too vivid and precise. Biggie had an unmistakable flow, his word choice is smart, witty, and intensely focused. Yet, he remains so cool and collected in his flow, it's gangster rap you can dance to. The immediate pop appeal of Biggie shot him to the top, with Diddy, Lil Kim, and a whole lot of the East Coast's rising rap overload. With Ready to Die, listeners were suddenly in a whirlwind of crime, money, and violence. A lot of people would choose to believe these are things unreal, left for the media to embellish or create. Instead, the diary-format of the hip hop album would take reign and continue to do so for some time.
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