Biggies Pick of the Week:

Ready To Die – The Notorious B.I.G.
[The Hit Factory, D&D; 1994]
It seems only fitting to select Biggies debut album Ready To Die as Biggies first pick of the week. So roll up your blunts and sit back for hands one of the best hip hop albums of all time. Personally, this album has a permanent spot on my top 5, usually bouncing from the number one and two spots, depending on my mood. Biggie is a natural storyteller. He weaves throughout these songs stories of love and loss, capturing the raw emotions of his life in the drug game. The beats are funky as hell yet allow for his rhymes to dominate the tracks, hitting hard and resonating with you for days. His focus on story telling is what makes him stand out among rappers, past and present. No matter what your mood, there is a track to fit your mood. Be it a darker love story, “Me and My Bitch” to a fat beat with lyrics to match “Machine Gun Funk” there is a song for any mood. He can portray a versatile array of emotions throughout these tracks, among the backdrop of drugs and violence that surrounded his early life. His unique voice is thick and low, which helps emphasize his smooth lyrical flow. Unlike some rappers, Biggies flow is that one that can really be followed, allowing for his rhymes to build off each
other and lyrics to hit you with full force upon your first listening. Biggie is one of the greatest MC’s of all time, and this record will last for just as long. So come March 9th, throw on Ready to Die, smoke a fat blunt and pour out a 40 in honor of one of the greatest lyricists of our generation, or any other.
[Nick Erickson]