Years before he would evolve into the rap superstar and Bad Boy Svengali, Puff acted primarily in a production role – to brilliant effect. was also the introduction to Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy) and Bad Boy Records. Ready To Die also stands out as an outstanding piece of production. The sight of a man publicly grappling with suicidal thoughts was ground-breaking for hip-hop: an overwhelmingly masculine genre where vulnerability and weakness were condemned. Crippling doubts, self-loathing and desperate thoughts flow out of Biggie’s lyrics, in stark contrast to the carefree image presented in ‘Big Poppa’ and ‘Juicy’. Tracks like ‘Everyday Struggle’, ‘Suicidal Thoughts’ and ‘Ready To Die’ are strikingly honest and reveal a depth which is unusually rare amongst rappers even now. Nonetheless, it is in his moments of introspection that the true genius of Biggie Smalls is unveiled. This is the rapper at his coolest: an untroubled, laidback, gentle giant of a man.
Hits such as ‘Juicy’ and ‘Big Poppa’ see Biggie in full celebratory mode, flaunting his wealth, style and charm to full effect. The album is at its most joyous when Biggie indulges in his braggadocio. One moment he’s at his swaggering, cocky best – the bombastic player on top of the world – yet in an instant he’s a young man drowning under the mounting pressures of adulthood. From track to track, we witness a different variation of Biggie.
Grounded in a gritty realism, Ready To Die is not afraid to confront all manner of emotions. An immense storyteller, he took huge pleasure in displaying his impressively vast vocabulary, bending it to his will in increasingly wild and inventive fashion. Each track tells a different story, whilst cumulatively fitting into the overall narrative arc of a young man rising from the streets to superstardom.
The album presents a rapper with complete control over his craft a master of flow who could switch effortlessly from laidback nonchalance to chilling intensity in an instant. At just 21 years old, Biggie displayed ability and skill which completely belied his youth and relative inexperience. The quadruple-platinum Ready To Die is a hip-hop classic, an unparalleled piece of craftsmanship which must surely rank as one of the greatest debut albums ever released. With the release of Ready To Die on 13 th September 1994, the rap game would never be the same again. On the opening track of his debut album, Christopher Wallace (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) rapped “Damn, shit done changed”.