Many have tried to imitate him, and replicate his style but there’s only one B.I.G. He remains one of the greatest rappers to ever touch the mic, if not the greatest, and that’s largely off of the strength of his debut album, Ready To Die. The 1994 release was the only album that he dropped during his lifetime, as Life After Death came a few weeks after his death on March 9th, 1997.
Today marks 25-years since the rapper’s passing and the limited catalog from the Brooklyn-bred MC proved to be nothing short of timeless. “Warning” showcased Big’s mastery in his cinematic pen, painting a picture of a top dog with money on his head. The wake-up call from Pop from the barbershop at 5:46 in the morning leads to the unfolding of a ploy to rob Biggie Smalls due to his growing profile. War-ready, Biggie prepares with Rottweilers at the door and guns drawn as they come for his head.
From Biggie’s rhyme structure, to his conversational approach to the record, “Warning” remains an exceptional reminder of the legacy he left in hip-hop within a short time.
R.I.P. Biggie.
Quotable Lyrics
Call the coroner
There’s gonna be a lot of slow singin’ and flower-bringin’
If my burglar alarm starts ringin’
What ya think all the guns is for?
All-purpose war, got the Rottweilers by the door
And I feed ’em gunpowder so they can devour
The criminals tryin’ to drop my decimals