Track by Track: Biggie's Life After Death, 25 Years Later
Hot97 Staff
03/10/2022 12:00 AM EST
We Lost Biggie 25 Years Ago, Let's Remember His Life After Death.
25 years after the death of hip-hop legend Biggie Smalls we are revisiting the life of Biggie’s album Life After Death track by track. This 24 track album is a hip-hop masterpiece that explores the themes of life and death, selling drugs, and the reality of America in the 1990s. Life After Death is widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time by outlets like The Source, Rolling Stone, and many more. Life After Death was released posthumously just two weeks after Biggie’s tragic death.Let’s break down Life After Death, Track By Track:
Life After Death
The album Life After Death begins with an intro track that goes by the same name. The intro takes audio from Biggie’s hit Suicidal Thoughts and underscores it with a dramatic pianos and strings reminiscent to a soap opera scene. Diddy then can be heard calling out “Ayo Big” then speaking about how he and Big were “supposed to rule the world,” saying Biggie has “too much living to do,” just before a heart monitor fades out.Somebody’s Gotta Die
The heart monitor fades into Somebody’s Gotta Die and the sound of rainfall joins a smooth piano beat with boom bap drums. “Somebody gotta die. If I go, you got to go” repeats throughout the chorus - one of dozens of references to Biggie’s death that are peppered throughout this album. Obviously, this album was recorded long before Biggie’s death - however he consistently alludes to death, his own death, and the death of others.Sombody’s Gotta Die is a song about revenge that also loosely tells the story of getting specific revenge against a man named Jason. Big had the ability to weave in and out of a narrative, storytelling format within his songs that hasn’t been seen since his passing.Hypnotize
This is one of the Notorious B.I.G’s most famous songs, recapping it feels foolish. Young readers may be surprised to learn that Hypnotize was released as the first-single for Life After Death and came out just five days before Biggie was killed. The infectious hit charted both the hip-hop charts and the US Billboard Top 200. Since its release, Hypnotize has remained a staple. It is used in blockbuster films like Into the Spiderverse, MMA fighter Connor McGregor walked out to it, and it continues to be sampled by and inspire other artists.Kick In The Door
This track features a rant about hip-hop done by The Mad Rapper as the intro and then subtly samples a Martin Lawrence sound byte. Kick In The Door is not the most popular Biggie track, but it’s a quintessential Biggie song filled with East Coast references from Howard Homecoming to Great Adventure to Frank “Most High” White. Turn on Kick In The Door to make the gas face and nod your head.“It's ill when MCs used to be on cruddy shitTook home Ready to Die, listened, studied shitNow they're on some money shit, successful out the blue”
Fuck You Tonight (ft. R Kelly)
This track is a canceled classic. Fuck You Tonight is undeniably a good song, however the life after Biggie’s death has been turbulent and unkind to R. Kelly. As good as this song is, it’s hard to listen to R. Kelly sing about sex after all that we’ve learned about him since this songs release 25 years ago.Last Day (ft. The Lox)
Brooklyn and Yonkers come together for an all-New York collab. The members of The Lox - Styles P, Sheek Louch, and Jadakiss have a much harsher delivery than Biggie, however the group compliments Notorious well. By no stretch of the imagination is Last Day the most successful or lauded song off Life After Death, but I’m sure it’s somebody’s favorite.I Love The Dough (ft. Jay-Z & Angela Winbush)
“Brooklyn Style Baby” is screamed out during the intro and before the beat drops, and it couldn’t be a more accurate ad lib. Two of the greatest rappers of all-time go back and forth over a groovy disco beat sampling I Love You More by Rene & Angela. This is a song worth revisiting that fans may have forgotten about, although it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to point out how good a Jay-Z and Biggie song is.“Roll shakers in Vegas, you can't break usLost chips on Lakers, gassed off ShaqCountry house, tennis courts on horseback”
What’s Beef
This track has longevity and continues to add value to the rap game long after Biggie’s death. Biggie’s flow on this track has been mirrored time and time again as artists imitate “ha ha ha ha check out this bizarre.” This track is sampled by Kanye on Late, Out Here Grindin’ by DJ Khaled, and was revisited by HOV on Meek Mill’s What’s Free. What's beef?Beef is when you need two Gats to go to sleepBeef is when your moms ain't safe up in the streetsBeef is when I see youGuaranteed to be in ICU, one more timeWhat's beef?B.I.G (Interlude)
This interlude is reminiscent of the early 90’s rap sound and brings Slick Rick to mind. This is a quick little 48 second track. On B.I.G, Biggie spells out what his name stands for.Mo Money Mo Problems (ft. Mase & Diddy)
This is Biggie’s most popular mainstream hit off of Life After Death and perhaps of his entire career. Mo Money Mo Problems has one of the most prolific samples in hip-hop in using I’m Coming Out by Diana Ross. This song received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1998, but was defeated by I’ll Be Missing You by Diddy - which is a song about Biggie. Mo Money Mo Problems has been a dominant pop culture force for a quarter of a decade, both as a song and as a mantra.N***as Bleed
Elaborate rhyme patterns and masterful storytelling are spread throughout this album, but on this song Biggie paints a vivid, yet violent picture of his reality. “Took it to trial, beat itNow, he feel he undefeated, he mean it'Nothing to lose' tattooed around his gun wounds'Everything to gain' embedded in his brain”I Got a Story to Tell
This is as close to a love song as you’ll find on this album. Biggie raps over a soothing guitar beat that is way ahead of its time - acoustic guitar has just recently became common place in mainstream hip-hop, but Biggie did it perfectly 25 years ago. On I Got a Story to Tell BIG mentions sleeping with a woman who dates a player on the New York Knicks, while he was playing against the Jazz. According to TMZ, Biggie was referencing former Knicks Power Forward Anthony Mason. I Got a Story to Tell is one flawless verse sandwiched between an intro and outro.Notorious Thugs
There are few words that get me more excited than “It’s Bone and Biggie Biggie.” It’s very difficult to make an amazing six minute rap song, but if anyone can do it - it’s Biggie Smalls. Krayzie, Layzie, and Bizzy Bone all have verses on Notorious Thugs, and if you listen closely you can hear Diddy in the background. This is a quintessential 90’s hip-hop collaboration - which Life After Death is choc-full of. Notorious Thugs is the first track on the back half of the album.Miss U
In a bit ironic of meta-commentary this is a song that Biggie wrote about the murder of a close friend. According to Genius, many hip-hop fans thought that this song was about Tupac, but Lil Cease who’s lightly featured on Miss U has denied that claim. Biggie's tendency to speak about the nature of life and death poignantly throughout his music serves as a serendipitous omen after his passing. The things that Biggie discusses on Miss U are probably how Biggie’s friends felt when he passed.Another (ft. Lil Kim)
Another is a soundtrack for toxic relationships. If you and your partner are constantly fighting and cheating, turn up Lil Kim and Biggie. Very few artists would be comfortable being called a “fat motherfucker” on their own album - but Biggie was one of a kind.Going Back to Cali
This is just one of a number of timeless classics on Life After Death. Obviously, this track was a commentary on the east coast-west coast beef that permeated the 1990’s rap scene. Going Back to Cali has had an extensive life after Biggie’s death - living on in films and television that reference LA. This song peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 200 Charts. Something I’ve always appreciated about Going Back to Cali is Biggie’s ability to adopt the LA style and rap over an LA beat in a way that feels authentic.Ten Crack Commandments
Ten Crack Commandments is my favorite song on Life After Death. It’s a song with a clear and obvious concept, executed flawlessly. It’s worth noting that if you were to take “crack” out of the lyrics and concept - most of the commandments work well as general rules to live by. Source Magazine explained the Ten Crack Commandments in layman’s terms:- Never let anyone know how much money you have.
- Never let anyone know what your next move will be.
- Trust no one.
- Don't use what you sell.
- Never give credit.
- Never sell out of your home.
- Keep family and business separate.
- Never park your stash on your person.
- If you’re not being arrested, never be seen communicating with the police.
- G.C.G.C. (Great Consignment, Grave Confinement)