Notorious B.I.G. – ‘Ready To Die’ Turns 30
“Celebrating every day/No more public housin’/Thnkin’ back on my one-room shack/Now my mom pimps an Ac’ with minks on her back/And she loves to show me off, of course/Smiles every time my face is up in The Source/We used to fuss when the landlord dissed up/No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us/Birthdays was the worst days/Now we drink champagne when we thirsty.”
There’s been lots of great rags-to-riches stories in the history of hip-hop and popular music, but how many have told the story as masterfully as Christopher Wallace, a.k.a the Notorious B.I.G. did, in “Juicy.” And that was the first single from his debut album, Ready To Die, which was released 30 years ago.
The music video showed Biggie in the streets of Brooklyn, and also hanging out a pool party at a mansion – that he ostensibly owned (it was common for artists to rent mansions for music videos; the one in “Juicy” is located in the Hamptons). Most new artists aren’t immediately millionaires, but clearly Biggie had confidence in his skills and knew that he would be successful.
Could he have imagined that he would become an icon? Today, he’s widely considered one of hip-hop’s greatest MCs, and many say he is, hands down the greatest. He’s also one of the most impactful artists in any genre of music over the past three decades. His ascent started with Ready To Die (although excitement started to build with his debut single as a lead artist, 1993’s “Party and Bulls—,” from the soundtrack of Who’s The Man? He also appeared as a featured artist on tracks dating back to 1992’s “A Buncha N—-a” from Heavy D & the Boyz’s Blue Funk).
Ready To Die‘s undeniable singles – “Juicy,” followed by “Big Poppa” and “One More Chance” – were the gateway to Biggie, along with his legendary verse on the remix of Craig Mack’s “Flava In Ya Ear.” But some his best lyrics were on the album tracks. They shared a stark view of what his life, and the lives of many others, was like.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 into law. But as the writer Justin Tinsley wrote in a post for the Library of Congress, (which inducted Ready To Die into the National Registry in 2024), that bill was “responsible for the stereotypes around Black people, crime and violence.” But, he noted, “With records like ‘Things Done Changed,’ ‘Gimme The Loot,’ ‘Ready To Die,’ ‘Everyday Struggle,’ and ‘Suicidal Thoughts,’ B.I.G. didn’t deny any of this was happening in the streets. However, the music represented what it felt like to survive the same conditions Capitol Hill
failed to humanize.”
Clearly, this story resonated with people who lived in similar conditions. It also resonated with millions who didn’t. You don’t get platinum albums without reaching the suburbs. But anyone with an appreciation for the art of hip-hop — not just its commercial potential, but the art itself — knew that this was an MC with an eye for storytelling that was nearly unparalleled. Mean Jean, from 105.1 The Bounce’s Morning Bounce show, says, “From the beginning, you could tell he was going to be considered one of the best ’cause his flow was so effortless. Looking back on it, it’s crazy that his second single ever, ‘Juicy,’ is still considered one of the best hip-hop songs of all time almost thirty years later.”
He adds, “A lot of people in sports and music love to have conversations about legacy. Biggie’s legacy is cemented, especially considering that he only released two albums while he was alive. He is always in the top five, at least, when people talk about their favorite rappers of all time.”
It’s tragic that Christopher Wallace didn’t live to see all the many accolades presented to him. There’s a street named after him in Brooklyn. In 2020, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Both Rolling Stone and Billboard named him as the greatest rapper of all time.
In “Juicy,” he rapped that his mother smiled when he was in The Source. In 2002, The Source named Biggie the greatest MC of all time. There have been few, if any, MCs since then who can challenge that. And Ready To Die provides a great argument to back up his spot at the top.
