#483 The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death (1997)

I took a day off from the blog.  Sorry if anyone was counting on it.  I saw the 2 hour double CD, and it intimidated me.  In fact, there's a good chance I won't finish this in one sitting.  My band of over 12 years is playing its first official gig tonight, after a six month hiatus.  It was my intention to nap a few hours before, but sleep's just not coming to me.  I'll make the assumption that B.I.G. won't make me drowsy.

Rap, especially mafioso rap, is far outside my comfort zone.  I've heard of B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls, Big Poppa) I know he was shot dead and that this album was released soon thereafter, and I'm familiar with the title "Mo Money Mo Problems" but admittedly not so much the song.  This is the springboard for my dive.

CD 1  

Life After Death Intro-  Just like the TV show Lost, the CD opens with a "previously on Ready to Die"--Biggie's first album.  I'm lying if I don't think the titles are ironic, about his dying.  It's musical exposition--was B.I.G. in a coma? Did he die?  I think the mini-series is about to begin.

Somebody's Gotta Die-  This is a tough listen, only because I have such a hard time focusing on lyrics versus music.  Also Biggie's rapping, is masked with talking on the right channel.  So, I find myself looking up the words on the Internet.  And now I'm following the narrative, and it is a full story.  It's well written, and tragic.

Hypnotize-  is the first single released from the album. It made BIG the fifth artist to hit #1 posthumously.  If you grew up in the 70's, you know the sample: Rise from Herb Alpert.  Much like listening to a convo in a foreign language, I can get the vibe of what's going on by the tone, but the words aren't optional when you take B.I.G. and my A.D.D.  The gist of the song is that he and Puff are successful, and representing the east coast--was it worth the translation?

Kick in the Door-  Back to this TV theme; now it's a talk show intro.  Violence and Guns, putting down the west coast rappers, and boxing out his position as King of the East.  The music and "book" is very flat or one-dimensional.

Fuck You Tonight-  Features R.Kelly just about the same time his hit "I believe I can fly" came out.  First thing I notice is the great jazzy chord changes on the rhodes piano background.  Other than the raw subject matter, I think the song is a solid groove, complete with sweet bridge.  I realize this is the R&B fan in me, enjoying the break from the violence.

Last Day-  A young trio of rappers known as the "LOX" does most of the song.  Another song that seems one dimensional to me... it boils down to "I'm harder than you, I'm more real, and don't fuck with me."

I Love the Dough-  I like this from the beginning, it's the music, the fullness--70's like disco strings, and am I picking up on a nod to Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" with that synthesizer?  Maybe it's Jay-Z's influence on this song, but it's got me hooked.

What's Beef-  A little thicker than one dimensional, maybe one and a half.  Biggie's elaborating on the kind of crippling fear someone has when they cross him..  Beef is the metaphor for this worry i.e. "I don't want no Beef."

B.I.G. Interlude-  A throwaway transition blurb of drum machine and some lines

Mo Money Mo Problems- The second single from the album hit #1 and made Biggie the first artist to have  two number one hits posthumously.  I hear the Diana Ross sample of "I'm Coming Out" and it instantly puts me at musical ease, Puff's influence?  Note, I learned that rappers often refer to a gun as a "gat" short for Gatling gun.  I'm so white sometimes, it hurts.

Niggas Bleed-  A full narrative, it's a nice change.  It's a story of a robbery, or a hit, or the internal struggles of a man in the crime, is he admitting his fear, or is he psyching himself up? "Picture me being scared, of a nigga that breathe the same air as me"I Got a Story To Tell-  It's actually a humorous song about a close call, where Biggie uses his brains instead of his bullets.  It's funny hearing the rap, and then hearing the story told over the music.

I'll probably never understand the rap genre, or the posturing, the violence... and definitely never understand why an artist like Biggie would have to die from it.  In spite of my distance from the music, listening and reading Big Poppa, I realize what a gift he had, and what a shame it is to lose him to something as trifling as bravado.

CD 2

Notorious Thugs-  I'm finally rested and sober enough to listen to the second disc.  It's like someone turned  the treble knob down about three notches, but that's my ears, not the CD.  The first track features Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and BIG steps up his speed in a big way; he has to just to keep up with the rapid flow of Bizzy, Krayzie, and Layzie.  I think the triplet-note rapping of Krayzie was my favorite on this.

Miss U-  "Shit is real in the field"  A slower soulful song taken from Diana Ross' Missing You (about the loss of Marvin Gaye). Biggie remembers friends who were lost to the violence of the street.

Another- features Lil' Kim where she and Biggie sling insults at each other after mutual infidelity.

Going Back to Cali-  Puff and Big are going to California... the land of their rivals.  "All I got is Beef with those that violate me, I shall annihilate thee"  The talk box used is part of the West Coast hip hop sound but the feuding continues.

Ten Crack Commandments-  How to be a successful gangsta dealer, steps 1-10. "Money and Blood don't mix, like two dicks" And yes, that is Public Enemy's Chuck D you hear in the sample.

Playa Hater-  Haha, Biggie sang! I wasn't crazy, this is totally Cheech and Chong's Basketball Jones! "Please don't hate me because I'm beautiful baby"  I think this is my favorite song on CD 2.

Nasty Boy-  intro about a girl who's into something unorthodox.  It uses samples from Liquid Liquid's Cavern -famous as the origin of Grandmaster's White Lines.

Sky's the Limit-  The third single released from the album.  The song features Atlanta's 112 (also on Miss U)  It's inspirational and musically engaging, layered and dynamic.  I take it back, this is my fave on CD2.

The World Is Filled-  "with pimps and ho's but we'll just talk about those I knows"  The reverb heavy percussion on the 2 beat reminds me of the tennis ball sounding beat on Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me.

My Downfall- if that didn't remind you of Marvin Gaye, then the reference to You're All I Need To Get By should.  The song about persevering against those who pray for your downfall, features DMC.

Long Kiss Goodnight-  A song about killing someone, my least favorite on the CD, not because it's not well produced, or musically solid.. it is.  It's just fills me with anger, and in turn makes me sad that it escalated the east-coast feud; the screaming and the voices in the background, it just makes my heart hurt.

You're Nobody (till somebody kills you)- A play on Dean Martin's You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.  The last song on the album, it makes me wonder if Biggie knew what awaited him... and then I wonder, if he could have imagined anything but.  It features Faith Evans (Biggie's widow to be)

Christopher Wallace made a name for himself as B.I.G. but also shared the fame.  On Life After Death, he truly played the Godfather role, by also featuring R.Kelly, The LOX,  Jay-Z, Kelly Price, 112, Lil' Kim, Faith Evans and more.

An old biker friend of mine once told me that there are two kinds of bikers: Those who've been in an accident, and those who will.  Perhaps Biggie knew there wasn't an If to the end-game of his lifestyle, but only a When.  I can't help question Why.  It's the hate and feuding which lead to Biggie and Tupac's murders, that makes me dislike the mafioso-rap genre, in spite of the amazing performances.  I don't hate the player, I hate the game.

Next Up- #482 Elvis Costello and the Attractions- Armed Forces (1979)