I was arguing all night over this. Which album was better Nas' Illmatic or Biggie's Ready to Die? Also, who has better lyrics, Nas or Biggie? I know they have different styles, but lyrically who is better?
Illmatic vs. Ready to Die which album was better?
- Thread starter Black A. Camus
- Start date
Depends on which day of the week. Fri-Sun Ready To Die, Mon-Thurs Illmatic.
In my own life Ready To Die was more influential on me.
In my own life Ready To Die was more influential on me.
That's rough. Nas didn't waste a single bar on that whole album. For me Illmatic is almost flawless lyrically. But Ready To Die knocks more. I'd give a slight edge to Illmatic. Almost depends on which one I'm listened to last
Illmatic imo.
Nothing was commercial about that album. Raw. I swear I knew what Queensbridge was all about at 13yrs old.
Ready to die was great, total opposite tho.
Nothing was commercial about that album. Raw. I swear I knew what Queensbridge was all about at 13yrs old.
Ready to die was great, total opposite tho.
Illmatic...all day!!!..
Quail will slap you with the power of 1000 Zeus lightning bolt strikes. You will have 1020 virgins upon your death, though. Tough call.
How can you show your coworkers the poll results if bgol does not exist?
Fight Club
ready to die is way better
Illmatic. Juicy is still a song to this day I can't listen to.
Illmatic by faaaaar
Ready to die i cant listen 20 yrs later, however life after death i can
Ready to die i cant listen 20 yrs later, however life after death i can
Given Nas's 5 mics in The Source I knew somebody was going to play the overrated card. What song on Ready to Die articulates images that form realistic stories better than NY State of Mind?
Verse for verse, how is any song on Ready to Die fucking with NY State of mind alone? Not to mention other Illmatic songs?
In NY State of Mind Nas wrote and rhymed...
...inflictin' composition
Of pain I'm like Scarface sniffin' cocaine
Holdin' a M-16, see with the pen I'm extreme, now
Bulletholes left in my peepholes
I'm suited up in street clothes
Hand me a nine and I'll defeat foes
Y'all know my steelo with or without the airplay
I keep some E&J, sittin' bent up in the stairway
Or either on the corner bettin' Grants with the CeloChamps
Laughin' at baseheads, tryin to sell some broken amps
G-Packs get off quick, forever niggaz talk shit
Remeniscin' about the last time the Task Force flipped
Niggaz be runnin' through the block shootin'
Time to start the revolution, catch a body head for Houston
Once they caught us off guard, the Mac-10 was in the grass and
I ran like a Cheetah with thoughts of an assassin
Pick the Mac up, told brothers, "Back up," the Mac spit
Lead was hittin' niggaz one ran, I made him backflip
Heard a few chicks scream my arm shook, couldn't look
Gave another squeeze heard it click yo, my shit is stuck
Try to cock it, it wouldn't shoot now I'm in danger
Finally pulled it back and saw three bullets caught up in the chamber
I liked Ready to Die. But really, Ready to Die vs. Illmatic, is like College football vs. the NFL.
Verse for verse, how is any song on Ready to Die fucking with NY State of mind alone? Not to mention other Illmatic songs?
In NY State of Mind Nas wrote and rhymed...
...inflictin' composition
Of pain I'm like Scarface sniffin' cocaine
Holdin' a M-16, see with the pen I'm extreme, now
Bulletholes left in my peepholes
I'm suited up in street clothes
Hand me a nine and I'll defeat foes
Y'all know my steelo with or without the airplay
I keep some E&J, sittin' bent up in the stairway
Or either on the corner bettin' Grants with the CeloChamps
Laughin' at baseheads, tryin to sell some broken amps
G-Packs get off quick, forever niggaz talk shit
Remeniscin' about the last time the Task Force flipped
Niggaz be runnin' through the block shootin'
Time to start the revolution, catch a body head for Houston
Once they caught us off guard, the Mac-10 was in the grass and
I ran like a Cheetah with thoughts of an assassin
Pick the Mac up, told brothers, "Back up," the Mac spit
Lead was hittin' niggaz one ran, I made him backflip
Heard a few chicks scream my arm shook, couldn't look
Gave another squeeze heard it click yo, my shit is stuck
Try to cock it, it wouldn't shoot now I'm in danger
Finally pulled it back and saw three bullets caught up in the chamber
I liked Ready to Die. But really, Ready to Die vs. Illmatic, is like College football vs. the NFL.
both are great albums. influential to hip hop. illmatic was so pure to what hip hop, from the musically standpoint, is all about;beats rhymes and life. the lyricism display by a young nasir was flawless. like fat joe said, while everybody was screaming and rhyming with the rough voice, nas was killing you soffly with the smooth monotone delivery. it was mixture of kool g rap rhyme scheme with rakim's poetical value. nas made mobb deep step it up on their second album (the infamous) as well as many his peers during that time frame.
ready to die was like a movie, with a birth and death at both ends of the album. biggie lyrics was simple but the beauty with him was the flow. mos def was once quoted as saying B.I.G. was a mathematician with flow. his timing was impeccable. that matched with his comical wit made biggie a threat on the mic.that album gave new york artists at the time a blue print on how to sell records.( a method perfected when the remix of one more chance came out a year later). you hung on to big's every word, in the way the words bounced on the beat like a child on trampoline.
both was students of the game , wise enough to know that being topical made you stand out. concepts flood their catalog( latter works like 10 crack commandments and rewind fulfilled the potential we heard in suicidal thoughts and one love respectively). i love both albums. they played a part in my childhood. if i had to choose one it would be illmatic. it was straight to the point. short and sweet. i was hurt when the album sampler version of "me and my bitch" was not one the the official album version, due to sample clearance issues. i was also peeved that "dreams' and "come on" was not featured on the album. although "dreams",as well as "who shot ya" are now added to ready to die. but this is me just nit-picking.
ready to die was like a movie, with a birth and death at both ends of the album. biggie lyrics was simple but the beauty with him was the flow. mos def was once quoted as saying B.I.G. was a mathematician with flow. his timing was impeccable. that matched with his comical wit made biggie a threat on the mic.that album gave new york artists at the time a blue print on how to sell records.( a method perfected when the remix of one more chance came out a year later). you hung on to big's every word, in the way the words bounced on the beat like a child on trampoline.
both was students of the game , wise enough to know that being topical made you stand out. concepts flood their catalog( latter works like 10 crack commandments and rewind fulfilled the potential we heard in suicidal thoughts and one love respectively). i love both albums. they played a part in my childhood. if i had to choose one it would be illmatic. it was straight to the point. short and sweet. i was hurt when the album sampler version of "me and my bitch" was not one the the official album version, due to sample clearance issues. i was also peeved that "dreams' and "come on" was not featured on the album. although "dreams",as well as "who shot ya" are now added to ready to die. but this is me just nit-picking.
I think the fog of nostalgia has some of you not seeing clearly. First there is a fallacy of thought. Illmatic dropped in 1994, Ready to Die, a full decade later.
Starting with the intro, it provides a glimpse into Nas at the time he realized that he could rap on Live at the BBQ, to his and AZ talking about counting money, rolling blunts, Hennessy, and then we are dropped into the first track.
We start with the birth of young Christopher Wallace, his bad behavior and the dissolution of his parents relationship, to his decision to rob a train. From there we are taken on a nihilistic ride through his life.
To compare the two is like comparing a VCR to a DVD player. The production value had changed so vastly in that decade, the subject matter became more vivid. Since we must, per the OP and Topic, for my money, Ready to Die stands tall.
Starting with the intro, it provides a glimpse into Nas at the time he realized that he could rap on Live at the BBQ, to his and AZ talking about counting money, rolling blunts, Hennessy, and then we are dropped into the first track.
We start with the birth of young Christopher Wallace, his bad behavior and the dissolution of his parents relationship, to his decision to rob a train. From there we are taken on a nihilistic ride through his life.
To compare the two is like comparing a VCR to a DVD player. The production value had changed so vastly in that decade, the subject matter became more vivid. Since we must, per the OP and Topic, for my money, Ready to Die stands tall.
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Nas is an artist I have really tried to like...
...and I do like some of his songs, but "Illmatic" never did anything for me.
Ready To Die, on the other hand ....
I was very impressed with Biggie, because not many people can be so simplistic, and yet so interesting to listen to.
...and I do like some of his songs, but "Illmatic" never did anything for me.
Ready To Die, on the other hand ....
I was very impressed with Biggie, because not many people can be so simplistic, and yet so interesting to listen to.
"Took home ready to die...listen...studied shit"
I think the fog of nostalgia has some of you not seeing clearly. First there is a fallacy of thought. Illmatic dropped in 1994, Ready to Die, a full decade later.
Starting with the intro, it provides a glimpse into Nas at the time he realized that he could rap on Live at the BBQ, to his and AZ talking about counting money, rolling blunts, Hennessy, and then we are dropped into the first track.
We start with the birth of young Christopher Wallace, his bad behavior and the dissolution of his parents relationship, to his decision to rob a train. From there we are taken on a nihilistic ride through his life.
To compare the two is like comparing a VCR to a DVD player. The production value had changed so vastly in that decade, the subject matter became more vivid. Since we must, per the OP and Topic, for my money, Ready to Die stands tall.
When a man tries to drop knowledge and is dead wrong.
Biggie died in 1997 but his debut album came out in 2004
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I think the fog of nostalgia has some of you not seeing clearly. First there is a fallacy of thought. Illmatic dropped in 1994, Ready to Die, a full decade later.
Starting with the intro, it provides a glimpse into Nas at the time he realized that he could rap on Live at the BBQ, to his and AZ talking about counting money, rolling blunts, Hennessy, and then we are dropped into the first track.
We start with the birth of young Christopher Wallace, his bad behavior and the dissolution of his parents relationship, to his decision to rob a train. From there we are taken on a nihilistic ride through his life.
To compare the two is like comparing a VCR to a DVD player. The production value had changed so vastly in that decade, the subject matter became more vivid. Since we must, per the OP and Topic, for my money, Ready to Die stands tall.
first of all.........nevermind, just never mind
I think the fog of nostalgia has some of you not seeing clearly. First there is a fallacy of thought. Illmatic dropped in 1994, Ready to Die, a full decade later.
Starting with the intro, it provides a glimpse into Nas at the time he realized that he could rap on Live at the BBQ, to his and AZ talking about counting money, rolling blunts, Hennessy, and then we are dropped into the first track.
We start with the birth of young Christopher Wallace, his bad behavior and the dissolution of his parents relationship, to his decision to rob a train. From there we are taken on a nihilistic ride through his life.
To compare the two is like comparing a VCR to a DVD player. The production value had changed so vastly in that decade, the subject matter became more vivid. Since we must, per the OP and Topic, for my money, Ready to Die stands tall.
nigga said a full decade later , biggie making albums from the grave now? i got money that says you're a cac, who wanna take that bet? oh and illmatic is better, it changed hip hop, it was short and to the point, with that said tho, i wont get mad if someone said ready to die was better, has more commercial appeal 
NICKLEBAGKILLA
Rising Star
Illmatic
Interesting
Illmatic overrated and wasn't even and LP it was EP. Ready to Fie
Reasonable Doubt >>>
When a man tries to drop knowledge and is dead wrong.
Biggie died in 1997 but his debut Almere came out in 2004
first of all.........nevermind, just never mind
Overall i liked Illmatic better. And i might be one of the few who liked Life after Death better than Ready to Die.
Overall i liked Illmatic better. And i might be one of the few who liked Life after Death better than Ready to Die.
some ppl will say it was written is better than illmatic,
In terms of "hits" and car ridability yes. Illmatic was a lyrical classic though.
Ive always though Ready to die was overrated. Good album. Commercial hits, but something was just missing to me.
It Aint Hard to Tell still have me like, damn! every time I hear it. Illmatic was the first flawless hip-hip album.
Still have love for Ready to Die but it was the modern blueprint to a commercial Hip Hop album.
Illmatic was uncut raw.
Still have love for Ready to Die but it was the modern blueprint to a commercial Hip Hop album.
Illmatic was uncut raw.
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