Ready to Die

Product Information

Comprised of various labels we know and love at Rough Trade (Bella Union, ATO, Speedy Wunderground, Phantasy, Heavenly, Mute and more) PIAS [Recordings] filter through some of the most diverse artistry to our racks, which we greatly enjoy digging into. 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. Overall, this package is complete: ridiculous beats, harmonizing honeys, ill sound effects, criminal scenarios, and familiar hooks".

Over its 40 years in business, PIAS has grown to be one of the largest independently-owned music groups in the world, carving out its own in-house recorded music division PIAS [Recordings]. On March 24, 2006, Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records won a federal lawsuit against Bad Boy Records for copyright infringement, with a jury deciding that Combs and Bad Boy had illegally used samples for the production of the songs "Ready to Die", "Machine Gun Funk", and "Gimme the Loot". A2: Contains sample from " Just To Get A Rep" by Gangstarr, written by Keith Elam, published by Almo/Irving. Andrew Kameka, of HipHopDX, stated that the song was one of his "greatest and most-revealing songs" and went on to say it was a "Part-autobiography, part-declaration-of-success. Ready to Die peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and was subject to widespread critical acclaim and soon a commercial success.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 April 2018, Ready to Die was certified 6 × Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 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. Coker stated " Ready to Die is the strongest solo rap debut since Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. In their original review for Ready to Die, The Source gave it four-and-a-half out of five 'mics', stating "Big weaves tales like a cinematographer, each song is like another scene in his lifestyle.

Although a fair use issue, Combs and Bad Boy never raised the legal concept of the fair use doctrine in their defense. The lyrics on Ready to Die tend to deal with violence, drug dealing, women, alcohol and marijuana use, and other elements of Notorious B. Former Impressions singer Lee Hutson slaps hip-hop mogul Diddy, Bad Boy Entertainment and estate of Notorious B. According to XXL the more commercial sound of the singles compared to the rest of the album was a result of encouragement by Combs during the later recording sessions in which they were recorded. The first tracks recorded include the album's darker, less radio-friendly content (including "Ready to Die," "Gimme the Loot" and "Things Done Changed").

In 1998, The Source included it on their 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time list, [33] and in 2002, they re-rated it to the maximum five 'mics'. Q magazine gave Ready to Die three out of five stars, and stated "the natural rapping, clever use of sound effects and acted dialogue, and concept element (from a baby being born at the start to the fading heartbeat at the end) set this well apart from the average gangsta bragging". The album was recorded in New York City (mainly at The Hit Factory) in two stages during 1993 and 1994. Recorded at Hive Mind Studios in Brooklyn, NY, with the help of producer/arrangers Mike Buckley and Vincent Chiarito (both members of Charles Bradley's Extraordinaires) and crack team of a-list musicians, his upcoming album blends heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics with sophistication, leaving the listener in a blissful wash of wonderment. This decision was questioned by some legal experts: Anthony Falzone of the Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School criticized Combs and Bad Boy for not defending the legality of sampling and suggested that they might have refused to raise such a defense because they feared it could later imperil their control over their own music.

He rapped about these topics in "clear, sparse terms, allowing the lyrics to hit the first time you hear them". 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. In 2003, they ranked it number 133 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, [35] 134 in a 2012 revised list, [36] and 22 in a 2020 revised list. In April 2018, Ready to Die was certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Producer Pete Rock, who was commissioned to remix the track, alleged that Puffy stole the idea for the original song's beat after hearing it from him during a visit.This x2LP re-issue featuring the iconic artwork of an infant bearing a resemblance to the rapper has been out of the marketplace for over a decade and also features all 19 tracks from the Ready to Die Sessions. However, for younger fans like me that have never heard the og release, this record is more than enough. Songs on the album range from homicide narratives ("Warning") to braggadocios battle raps ("The What," "Unbelievable").