“The World Is Filled…” then features West Coast rap veteran Too $hort, which is in turn contrasted by NYC rap veteran DMC on “My Downfall,” a track that also features a top-3 Puffy rant (wedged between No Way Out’s “Victory” and “Long Kiss Goodnight”).Ĭlosing out the album is “You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You),” which, despite its biblical intro and moody Faith Evans backing vocals, finds The Black Frank White himself undisturbed by death.
#NOTORIOUS BIG LIFE AFTER DEATH CRACK#
Naturally, that record was followed by “Ten Crack Commandments,” a track featuring a booming Chuck D countdown over a classic DJ Premier beat, without a doubt the most NY record on the album. He’d also unabashedly express his love for California on “Going Back To Cali,” a typical West Coast banger complete with Roger Troutman sample. Decades before we accused Drake of stealing the sauce from regionally successful rap acts, Biggie was collaborating with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on a track that’d fit right in on one of their own albums. In the second half of the album, we see Biggie introduce another element to his game of contrasting tracks: adopting styles from other regions. It’s every bit as recognizable and even more unchanged than the Diana Ross source material that follows, but the result is a sharp contrast that moves the story along. Interlude,” in which Biggie repurposes Schoolly D’s minimalist classic “PSK, What Does It Mean?” the very song whose brutal drums and unapologetic lyrics started gangsta rap itself. Its predecessor? The short but stomping “B.I.G.
This decision is most blatantly apparent on “Mo Money Mo Problems,” a song straight from Puffy’s patented late ‘90s template of highly recognizable, barely chopped samples from established hit records, paired with celebratory lyrics. That griminess is followed by the glitzy JAY-Z collaboration “I Love the Dough,” which, in turn, is followed by the brooding “What’s Beef?” Following this glorious raunchiness is “Last Day,” where Biggie and The Lox prove they can tackle a Havoc beat as well as any rapper from Queensbridge. This wise contrast of tracks is held up throughout practically the entire album. “Kick In The Door” is a rap purist’s wet dream, so of course, it’s followed by You Tonight,” the most sexed-out, R&B crossover track on the album, featuring none other than R. So he kicks in the door over a knocking Premier beat, throwing bleach in the eye of any of his peers that dare doubt his mettle. It’s something The Black Frank White’s success could easily allow him to ignore, but Biggie remains a rap purist at heart. This point is underscored by a genuinely funny skit (a rare feat in itself) featuring The Madd Rapper, a character on a talk show who is ranting about why his raps deserve more success than Biggie. But the next song makes clear Christopher Wallace hasn’t forgotten the people who brought him here. Close like Starsky and Hutch, stick the clutch.Ĭelebrating their cartoonishly lavish lifestyle by proxy, we’ve left the darkness well behind. The album is a sequel to his first album, Ready to Die, and picks up where the last song, "Suicidal Thoughts", ends.You’re witnessing the infectious birth of the shiny suit era, and it’s clear whose steering rap in this direction: Yeah, Poppa and Puff.
further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. Life After Death exhibits The Notorious B.I.G. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort, Angela Winbush, D.M.C. It was released sixteen days after his death. Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records.