Music Debate: Is the Notorious BIG (Biggie Smalls) Life After Death OVER-RATED???

[playahaitian]

@largebillsonlyplease

http://www.spreecast.com/events/the-evening-jones-04-15-15
​

I got love for Bomani but this was some unmitigated bullshit....

During a recent episode of his The Evening Jones podcast, the Clark Atlanta University graduate answered questions from some of his listeners. Jones was asked to give his pick for the most overrated rapper of all time.

“I feel like this question is a trap, because you’re trying to see if I’m going to say 2Pac,” responded Jones. “Like 2Pac, the most overrated rapper ever is dead… The single most overrated rapper of all time is Guru… You take Guru off those Premo beats, and we’re not having any discussion about Guru.”

Bomani may think the deceased Gang Starr member is held to a higher standard than he deserves, but it was another dead rapper’s work he named as the most overrated Hip Hop album in history. Jones took aim at The Notorious B.I.G.’s sophomore studio LP.

“Life After Death disc 1 is really, really good. Disc 2 – sorry man, you asshole New Yorkers. How you gonna make your West Coast song [“Going Back To Cali”] and get [Brooklyn’s] Easy Mo Bee to do the beat?” Jones said. “It’s got some cool songs on it. But the idea that it’s better thanReady To Die or the idea Life After Death is some kind of 5-star album – that’s just ridiculous.”

 

[jasonblacc]

Hell no end thread

 

[playahaitian]

Retrospect[edit]
Since its release, Life After Death has received retrospective acclaim from critics. Rob Sheffield, writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), called it "a filler-free two-disc rush of musical bravado" and commented that the Notorious B.I.G.'s voice and lyrics were "deeper" than before.[12] AllMusic’s Jason Birchmeier stated "It may have taken the Notorious B.I.G. a few years to follow up his milestone debut, Ready to Die, with another album, but when he did return with Life After Death, he did so in a huge way. The ambitious album, intended as somewhat of a sequel to Ready to Die, picked up where its predecessor left off".[6] Birchmeier further stated "Over the course of only two albums, he achieved every success imaginable, perhaps none greater than this unabashedly over-reaching success".[6] Evan McGarvey of Stylus Magazine wrote in his review "Life After Death is a grand exercise in personal mythology, narrative sweep, and truly diverse, universal pop excellence. As a double album it is the very definition of cinematic; it essentially perfected the concept and standard in hip-hop ... Sequenced as an unpacking of sorts, the album’s progression from song to song is an essay itself".[16] In 2013, VIBE named Life After Death the greatest Hip-Hop/R&B album since 1993.[17]

 

[playahaitian]

http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.33545/t...t-overrated-rap-album-espns-bomani-jones-says

ESPN analyst Bomani Jones took some time to answer questions from fans during an episode of The Evening Jones. When asked what the most overrated Rap album is, he says that it's an album he remembers buying the day it came out: March 25, 1997.

"I was in my work getup and I went up into Blockbuster Music so that I could go in there and I could buy this double album that had just come out and it was called Life After Death," Jones says.

He explains that he likes the first disc of The Notorious B.I.G. album, but part two let him down, especially "Going Back to Cali," produced by a New Yorker who worked with both Biggie and Tupac.

"Disc two, sorry, man, you asshole New Yorkers," Jones says. "How you gonna make you a West Coast song and get Easy Mo Bee to do the beat? Huh? It's got some cool songs on it man, but the idea that that's better than Ready to Die or the idea that Life After Death is some kinda five-star album, that's just ridiculous."

When answering who the most overrated rapper is of all time, he says despite the fact he thinks the question was tricking him into saying Tupac, the most overrated rapper is Gang Starr member Guru.

"Like Tupac, the most overrated rapper is ever is dead," he says. "And I feel kinda torn about this 'cause he's the first rapper that I ever interviewed after I started covering the rap game. But the single most overrated rapper of all time is Guru. Guru, Guru, Guru."

Jones says that without quality production from DJ Premier, Guru wouldn't nearly be as popular as he is.

"Guru's not bad, but you take Guru off them Premo beats and we ain't having no discussion about Guru, man," he says. "There's people who swear by Guru, dog, swear by Guru to the it, Guru one of the most underrated rappers of all time. The fact that you know Guru's name is rating enough."

 

[DiGeneral]

I don't agree, but the dude is entitled to his opinion........

 

[Mt Airy Groove]

Yes. 19 years later that album has very little replay value.

 

[pookie]

Nope....in fact i'm about to stream it to my car radio on my way to work based solely on seeing this thread

 

[playahaitian]

Disc one
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Life After Death Intro"

• Christopher Wallace
• Sean Combs
• Steven Jordan

• Sean "Puffy" Combs
• Stevie J.
• The Notorious B.I.G.[a]

1:39
2. "Somebody's Gotta Die"

• Wallace
• Nashiem Myrick
• Carlos Broady
• Combs
• Anthony Hester

• Myrick
• Carlos "July Six" Broady
• Combs

4:26
3. "Hypnotize"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Deric Angelettie
• Ron Lawrence
• Andy Armer
• Randy Alpert

• Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie
• Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence
• Combs

3:50
4. "Kick In the Door"

• Wallace
• Jalacy Hawkins
• Christopher Martin

DJ Premier 4:47
5. "Fuck You Tonight" (featuring R. Kelly)

• Wallace
• Daron Jones
• Combs
• Robert Kelly

• Jones
• Combs

5:45
6. "Last Day" (featuring The LOX)

• Wallace
• Jason Phillips
• David Styles
• Kejuan Muchita

• Havoc
• Combs[a]
• Stevie J.[a]

4:19
7. "I Love the Dough" (featuring Jay-Z and Angela Winbush)

• Wallace
• Osten Harvey, Jr.
• Winbush
• René Moore
• Shawn Carter

Easy Mo Bee 5:11
8. "What's Beef?"

• Wallace
• Myrick
• Broady

• Broady
• Myrick
• Paragon[a]

5:15
9. "B.I.G. Interlude"

• Wallace
• Angelettie

• B.I.G.
• Angelettie

0:48
10. "Mo Money Mo Problems" (featuring Ma$e and Puff Daddy)

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan
• Mason Betha
• Bernard Edwards
• Nile Rodgers

• Stevie J.
• Combs

4:17
11. "Niggas Bleed"

• Wallace
• Myrick
• Combs
• Jordan

• Myrick
• Broady
• Combs
• Stevie J.

4:51
12. "I Got a Story to Tell"

• Wallace
• Anthony Best

• Buckwild
• Chucky Thompson[a]
• Combs[a]

4:42
Total length:
49:55

Disc two
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Notorious Thugs" (featuring Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)

• Wallace
• Steven Howse
• Anthony Henderson
• Bryon McCane
• Combs
• Jordan

• Stevie J.
• Combs

6:07
2. "Miss U"

• Wallace
• Kaygee Gist
• Lionel Richie

Kay-Gee 4:58
3. "Another" (featuring Lil' Kim)

• Wallace
• Kimberly Jones
• Combs
• Jordan

• Combs
• Stevie J.

4:15
4. "Going Back to Cali"

• Wallace
• Harvey
• Roger Troutman

Easy Mo Bee 5:07
5. "Ten Crack Commandments"

• Wallace
• Martin

DJ Premier 3:24
6. "Playa Hater"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan
• Wilbert Hart

• Combs
• Stevie J.

3:57
7. "Nasty Boy"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan

• Combs
• Stevie J.

5:26
8. "Sky's the Limit" (featuring 112)

• Wallace
• Clark Kent
• Bobby Caldwell
• Hubert Eaves III
• James Williams

Kent 5:29
9. "The World Is Filled..." (featuring Too $hort and Puff Daddy)

• Wallace
• Angelettie
• Combs
• Kit Walker
• Todd Shaw

• Angelettie
• Combs

4:54
10. "My Downfall" (featuring D.M.C.)

• Wallace
• Myrick
• Broady
• Combs
• Darryl McDaniels

• Broady
• Myrick
• Combs

5:26
11. "Long Kiss Goodnight"

• Wallace
• Robert Diggs

RZA 5:18
12. "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan
• Billy Preston
• Ephram Lopez
• George Johnson

• Combs
• Stevie J.
• DJ Enuff[a]
• Jiv Poss[a]

4:52
Total length:
59:29

 

[playahaitian]

I don't agree, but the dude is entitled to his opinion........

we just have a fun debate fam...

 

[Mello Mello]

There was a thread in here not too long ago where many here said the album had too many filler tracks. I didn't agree but that's what was said.

I think it was a Ready To Die vs LAD thread.

 

[daddyfatsacks9000]

I prefer "Ready to Die" but I owned both...

 

[CarpeDiem]

 

[Mello Mello]

No it was this thread: http://www.bgol.us/forum/index.php?threads/life-after-death-vs-the-blueprint.875700/#post-16016343

 

[keone]

it is. Illmatic, Paid in Full and ready to die too

 

[DiGeneral]

we just have a fun debate fam...

Nah I get that, it's just that some things aren't up for debate, music likes/dislikes being one of them (IMHO). I put this in the same vein as me not liking Tupac. I have never been into him or his music. Some folks can't seem understand that....... So I can respect dudes point of view, even if I think he's an asshole.....

 

[pookie]

Disc one
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Life After Death Intro"

• Christopher Wallace
• Sean Combs
• Steven Jordan

• Sean "Puffy" Combs
• Stevie J.
• The Notorious B.I.G.[a]

1:39
2. "Somebody's Gotta Die"

• Wallace
• Nashiem Myrick
• Carlos Broady
• Combs
• Anthony Hester

• Myrick
• Carlos "July Six" Broady
• Combs

4:26
3. "Hypnotize"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Deric Angelettie
• Ron Lawrence
• Andy Armer
• Randy Alpert

• Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie
• Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence
• Combs

3:50
4. "Kick In the Door"

• Wallace
• Jalacy Hawkins
• Christopher Martin

DJ Premier 4:47
5. "Fuck You Tonight" (featuring R. Kelly)

• Wallace
• Daron Jones
• Combs
• Robert Kelly

• Jones
• Combs

5:45
6. "Last Day" (featuring The LOX)

• Wallace
• Jason Phillips
• David Styles
• Kejuan Muchita

• Havoc
• Combs[a]
• Stevie J.[a]

4:19
7. "I Love the Dough" (featuring Jay-Z and Angela Winbush)

• Wallace
• Osten Harvey, Jr.
• Winbush
• René Moore
• Shawn Carter

Easy Mo Bee 5:11
8. "What's Beef?"

• Wallace
• Myrick
• Broady

• Broady
• Myrick
• Paragon[a]

5:15
9. "B.I.G. Interlude"

• Wallace
• Angelettie

• B.I.G.
• Angelettie

0:48
10. "Mo Money Mo Problems" (featuring Ma$e and Puff Daddy)

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan
• Mason Betha
• Bernard Edwards
• Nile Rodgers

• Stevie J.
• Combs

4:17
11. "Niggas Bleed"

• Wallace
• Myrick
• Combs
• Jordan

• Myrick
• Broady
• Combs
• Stevie J.

4:51
12. "I Got a Story to Tell"

• Wallace
• Anthony Best

• Buckwild
• Chucky Thompson[a]
• Combs[a]

4:42
Total length:
49:55

Disc two
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Notorious Thugs" (featuring Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)

• Wallace
• Steven Howse
• Anthony Henderson
• Bryon McCane
• Combs
• Jordan

• Stevie J.
• Combs

6:07
2. "Miss U"

• Wallace
• Kaygee Gist
• Lionel Richie

Kay-Gee 4:58
3. "Another" (featuring Lil' Kim)

• Wallace
• Kimberly Jones
• Combs
• Jordan

• Combs
• Stevie J.

4:15
4. "Going Back to Cali"

• Wallace
• Harvey
• Roger Troutman

Easy Mo Bee 5:07
5. "Ten Crack Commandments"

• Wallace
• Martin

DJ Premier 3:24
6. "Playa Hater"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan
• Wilbert Hart

• Combs
• Stevie J.

3:57
7. "Nasty Boy"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan

• Combs
• Stevie J.

5:26
8. "Sky's the Limit" (featuring 112)

• Wallace
• Clark Kent
• Bobby Caldwell
• Hubert Eaves III
• James Williams

Kent 5:29
9. "The World Is Filled..." (featuring Too $hort and Puff Daddy)

• Wallace
• Angelettie
• Combs
• Kit Walker
• Todd Shaw

• Angelettie
• Combs

4:54
10. "My Downfall" (featuring D.M.C.)

• Wallace
• Myrick
• Broady
• Combs
• Darryl McDaniels

• Broady
• Myrick
• Combs

5:26
11. "Long Kiss Goodnight"

• Wallace
• Robert Diggs

RZA 5:18
12. "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)"

• Wallace
• Combs
• Jordan
• Billy Preston
• Ephram Lopez
• George Johnson

• Combs
• Stevie J.
• DJ Enuff[a]
• Jiv Poss[a]

4:52
Total length:
59:29

Wowwwwwwwwww.........My joint was "Long Kiss Goodnight"

 

[playahaitian]

Nah I get that, it's just that some things aren't up for debate, music likes/dislikes being one of them (IMHO). I put this in the same vein as me not liking Tupac. I have never been into him or his music. Some folks can't seem understand that....... So I can respect dudes point of view, even if I think he's an asshole.....

I am not a Tupac fan myself but I respect the hell out of him and his music but he just wasn't an MC like I'm used to but he was a bonifed poet with the pen a charismatic intelligent dynamic driven Black man who was able to convey a FULL RANGE of emotions on records.

 

[Mt Airy Groove]

it is. Illmatic, Paid in Full and ready to die too

wtf did you just say?

 

[playahaitian]

it is. Illmatic, Paid in Full and ready to die too

just stop it keone

we all know you know better

 

[^SpiderMan^]

I know this is blasphemy to New Yorkers but BIG is among the most overrated. The dude only came out with 2 albums and they have little replay value. If you honestly wrong down the songs from his albums that you intentionally played within the last 3 years,you would have 3 maybe 5 max. Now he has been on other peoples bangers but as far as HIS songs? Not many. Pac on the other hand has a long list of classics.Same with Jay.

 

[jasonblacc]

Biggie on RZA track

 

[jasonblacc]

I know this is blasphemy to New Yorkers but BIG is among the most overrated. The dude only came out with 2 albums and they have little replay value. If you honestly wrong down the songs from his albums that you intentionally played within the last 3 years,you would have 3 maybe 5 max. Now he has been on other peoples bangers but as far as HIS songs? Not many. Pac on the other hand has a long list of classics.Same with Jay.

Smh

You can play both albums now and they sound fresh. What's beef, niggas bleed. One more chance, mo money , long kiss

 

[Amajorfucup]

Shit shoulda been one CD.

 

[BDR]

Bomani smoking hot rocks

 

[jasonblacc]

Puff is evil he on every track as writer but never wrote

 

[EPDC]

Fuck outta here....

Life After Death and Wu Tang Forever STILL get play in my truck.

Summer 1997 was a great time to live in NYC.

 

[keone]

wtf did you just say?

just stop it keone

we all know you know better

add hell is hot, reasonable doubt and atliens

 

[playahaitian]

add hell is hot, reasonable doubt and atliens

 

[peterlongshort]

Yes. 19 years later that album has very little replay value.

And there it is.

 

[Mello Mello]

it is. Illmatic, Paid in Full and ready to die too

Keone ready for a Friday Night Fight.

 

[playahaitian]

Life After Death Intro



a banger great cinematic way to to introduce the album and connect with the last one.

The way Puff and Big crafted "movie" albums was ahead of their time.
Prince Paul may have done it best with the skits (shout out Redman and Wu Tang)
But those two albums were damn near a cinematic autobiography.

 

[ak_rep]

Thing is, when people start saying it's better than Ready To Die. That's where it stops. LAD is cool. More upgraded in terms of sound, but it's not better than his debut as an album.

 

[playahaitian]

Biggie Smalls - Somebody's Gotta Die

again cinematic. awesome production first BARS address West Coast beef
One of the BEST storytellers in hip hop history PERIOD. (shout out to Slick Rick)
classic


[Verse 1]
Ah, ah! I'm sittin' in the crib dreamin' about Learjets and coupes
The way Salt shoops and how they sell records like Snoop, (oops!)
I'm interrupted by a doorbell - 3:52 - Who the hell is this?
I gets up quick, cocks my shit
Stop the dogs from barkin', then proceed to walk in
It's a face that I seen before
My nigga Sing, we used to sling on the 16th floor
Check it! I look deeper
I see blood up on his sneakers
And his fist gripped a chrome four-fifth
So I dip, nigga, is you creepin' or speakin'?
He tells me C-Rock just got hit up at the Beacon
I opens up the door, pitiful: "Is he in critical?"
Retaliation for this one won't be minimal
Cuz I'm a criminal way before the rap shit
Bust the gat shit, Puff won't even know what happened
If it's done smoothly, silencers on the Uzi
Stash in the hooptie, my alibi, any cutie
With a booty that done fuck Big Pop
Head spinnin', reminiscin' 'bout my man C-Rock

[Hook] (2x)
Somebody gotta die
If I go, you got to go
Somebody gotta die
Let the gunshots blow
Somebody gotta die
Nobody got to know
That I killed yo ass in the mist, kid

[Verse 2]
Fillin' clips, he explained our situation
Precisely, so we know exactly what we facin'
"Some kid named Jason, In a Honda station wagon
Was braggin', about how much loot and crack he stackin'
Rock had a grip so they formed up a clique
A small crew
'Round the time I was locked up with you"
"True indeed"
"But yo nigga, let me proceed
Don't fill them clips too high, give them bullets room to breathe
Damn, where was I? Yeah!
Went outta town, blew the fuck up
C-Rock went home and Jay got stuck the fuck up
Hit him twice, caught him right for the Persian white
Pistol whipped his kids and taped up his wife (Niggas is trife)
He figured Rock set 'em up, no question
Wet em up no less than 50 shots in his direction"
"How many shots?" "Man nigga, I seen mad holes"
"What kinda gats?" "Heckler & Kochs and Calicos
But fuck that, I know where all them niggas rest at
In the buildin' hustlin' and they don't be strapped
Supreme in black is downstairs, the engine runnin'
Find a bag to put the guns in, and c'mon if you're comin'

[Hook] (2x)
Somebody gotta die
If I go, you got to go
Somebody gotta die
Let the gunshots blow
Somebody gotta die
Nobody got to know
That I killed yo ass in the mist, kid

[Verse 3]
Exchanged hugs and pounds before the throw down
How it's gonna go down, lay these niggas low-down
"Slow down, fuck all that plannin' shit
Run up in they cribs, and make the cats abandon ship"
See niggas like you do ten year bids
Miss the niggas they want, and murder innocent kids
Not I, one niggas in my eye
That's Jason
Ain't no slugs gonna be wasted
Revenge I'm tastin' at the tip of my lips
I can't wait to fill my clip in his hips
"Pass the chocolate, Thai"
Sing ain't lie
There's Jason with his back to me
Talkin to his faculty
I start to get a funny feeling
Put the mask on in case his niggas start squealin'
Scream his name out (Ay yo playboy!), squeezed six, nothin' shorter
Nigga turned around holdin' his daughter

 

[playahaitian]

Thing is, when people start saying it's better than Ready To Die. That's where it stops. LAD is cool. More upgraded in terms of sound, but it's not better than his debut as an album.

agreed...

but I think it was a NATURAL progression lyrically production wise and even the guest verses skits everything it was the evolution of BIG.

 

[4 Dimensional]

Yes, only because there where several tracks that didn't need to be on there. Mainly many from disc two. One CD would have made that a classic.