“Ready to Die” by The Notorious B.I.G.
The way the lyrics of this song read is as if the rapper is “ready to die” in the name of a couple of different (though you could say related) causes. One would be due to criminal activity, i.e. robbery and selling drugs on the street. And the other, more-pronounced reason would be in the name of shooting his enemies. That is to say the lyrics are primarily centered on Biggie’s wherewithal to bust caps. And the implication is that he understands this type of lifestyle can also lead to his own demise. So his willingness to conduct himself in such a reckless manner – as in approaching his opps straight-up shooting – is what he is referring to as his ‘readiness to die’.
The Notorious B.I.G. actually dies in 1997
It is sad to note that Biggie was eventually killed a couple of years after the release of this track. On the 8th of March 1997, he was shot at multiple times by an unknown assailant in Las Vegas. He died of the injuries he sustained from the shooting the following day (March 9th). He was only just 24 years old at the time of his shocking demise.
Facts about “Ready to Die”
This is the title track from Notorious B.I.G.’s mega successful debut album. And it was released with the album on September 13th, 1994.
The labels that put it out are Arista Records in conjunction with Bad Boy Entertainment. And interesting to note is that “Ready to Die” was the first full album which Bad Boys Records, which has gone one to become a mainstay in hip-hop, ever put out.
This song was written by The Notorious B.I.G., P. Diddy, Barbara Mason and the track’s producer, Easy Mo Bee.
Mo Bee later stated that Biggie uttering the phrase “f*** my moms” in the first verse made him quite uneasy at first. However, at the same time he understood that Notorious did not mean so literally.
