The Notorious B.I.G.’s multi-platinum debut, Ready to Die, celebrates its 30th anniversary with a special 2-LP reissue featuring newly reimagined limited edition cover art.
On September 13—the album’s original release date—Ready To Die (30th Anniversary) will be available as a double album on black vinyl from Rhino.com and biggiemerch.com. On the same day, a color vinyl edition will be available exclusively at select retailers.
Earlier this year, the Library of Congress inducted Ready To Dieinto the National Recording Registry. In the essay accompanying the induction, author and journalist Justin Tinsley writes, “In its true essence, the album is a response to American capitalism and just how deadly the pursuit of money could be and was for so many–in particular, young Black folks in America. ‘Ready To Die’ is a response to so many moments in American history before it: the economic crisis that nearly crippled New York in the 1970s, the crack explosion of the ’80s (and the unfathomable violence and destruction it brought) and Reagonomics, ‘Stop-And-Frisk’-era policies that crippled Black communities… ‘Rolling Stone’ dubbed the album ‘the precise moment when hip-hop’s golden age transitioned into its modern age, the height of New York hip-hop and the sound of the greatest rapper of all time at the absolute top of his power.’”
The album’s lead single, “Juicy,” achieved gold certification upon release and peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, crossing over to reach No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Since its release, the platinum-certified track has garnered over 1 billion streams and was named the best hip-hop song of all time by the BBC. The second single, “Big Poppa,” was an even bigger success; with over 1 billion streams to date, it topped the Rap and R&B charts and reached No. 6 on the Hot 100. It was certified platinum at the time and nominated for the GRAMMY® Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. In addition, a remix of “One More Chance” topped the Rap and R&B charts and peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100.
The iconic record has been certified 6x platinum and is widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever, making the Apple Music 100 Best Albums of All Time and No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.
On this date in Hip Hop history, Cleveland, Ohio rap quartet Bone Thugs N Harmony dropped their very first EP Creepin’ On Ah Come Up to the world 29 years ago through the Ruthless/Relativity imprint.
Produced primarily by their mentor Eazy-E and N.W.A.’s DJ Yella, Creepin’ showcased the BTNH’s sing-song harmonious rap style, which was unprecedented at the time. The 8-track extended play featured one of their most famous tracks to date, “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” as well as one of their first video offerings, “Foe The Love Of $”. The EP was a commercial success, earning the group a certified 4x certified platinum classic.
Salute to Wish, Bizzy, Krayzie, Layzie, Eazy-E(RIP) ad the entire Ruthless crew who made this a timeless piece of Hip Hop history!
On this date three decades ago, Death Row Records producer and Dr. Dre’s brother Warren G dropped his debut album ‘Regulate…G Funk Era’.
Executive produced by the late Chris Lighty, The Def Jam/Violator signee took his solo act on the road and brought it cross country to NYC to distinguish himself from the rest of his legendary peers from Death Row Records. The strategy worked, with the album being certified platinum by the RIAA two years following its release.
The album’s title track is by far the most memorable track from the album, however, another track entitled “So Many Ways” made it into the 1995 Martin Lawrence/Will Smith silver screen smash Bad Boys.
Salute to Warren G, the late Nate Dogg, the late Chris Lighty, Dr. Dre, the Violator squad and Def Jam for this timeless piece of Hip Hop History!
On this date three decades ago, Brooklyn rap duo Smif N’ Wessun dropped the premiere single “Bucktown” from their debut album Dah Shinin on the Wreck/Nervous imprint.
Tek and Steele left a lasting impression on Black Moon fans, making their first appearance on wax on the 1993 Enta Da Stage LP, leaving listeners in anticipation for the next offering from the brothers from Brownsville. Produced by DJ Evil Dee and Da Beatminerz’ Mr. Walt, Bucktown is unequivocally the K anthem of the 90s, reminding Brooklynites and out of towners alike that “The Planet” is indeed the “home of the orignoo gun clappaz”.
Even with its street centered concept, Bucktown still managed to garner charting position, peaking at number 93 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Salute to Tek, Steele, Evil Dee and Mr. Walt for this important piece of Hip Hop history!
North West is continuing to soak up more musical experience as the weeks fly by. She has been picking up knowledge from the patriarch, especially during the chaotic VULTURES era. Those contributions came on “TALKING,” one of its promo cuts. She turned in some pretty memorable vocals, perhaps the best out of the rest of the guests. Additionally, Miss Westie flashed her directorial skills by shooting a third music video for the song. Furthermore, it has been reported that her and pops are working on crafting her debut album Elementary School Dropout. But instead of taking time away from other opportunities, she is looking to improve in any way she can. North West recently did so with a dazzling Lion King showing.
According to TMZ, the eldest child portrayed the role of Simba from one of Disney’s greatest films as part of a 30th Anniversary concert. The Lion King will officially turn three decades old June 24 and to help commemorate it, Disney created this two-day event. It kicked off yesterday (May 24) and will run through tonight at the famous Hollywood Bowl amphitheater in Los Angeles. Furthermore, it is serving double duty as a way to promote the live action film Mufasa: The Lion King out on December 20.
North West was brought on stage to perform “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,” which was one of many classics played from the award-winning soundtrack. Kanye, Kim, Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, as well as Travis Barker were all in attendance. The proud Mufasa was seen snapping pictures and taking videos of Simba in what surely was a “circle of life” moment.
What are your thoughts on North West performing “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” at the Lion King 30th Anniversary event? Is she destined to become the next musician in the West family? Where do you rank the score for The Lion King all time? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding North West. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
Hip-hop’s history books contain millions of enduring statements, infinite ideas, and indelible expressions penned by hundreds of thousands of students of the game. Thousands of them got their brilliance delivered to mass audiences, hundreds reached the peak highs of their time and style, and dozens have transcended the genre into a status of cultural ubiquity. But out of all of these writers who shaped the philosophies, language, and communication of rap music, there is a strong case that, along with The God MC Rakim, none have been more influential or definitive than Nas. We took it upon ourselves to accept that challenge and see just how pivotal Esco’s pen has been to the community.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his classic album Illmatic yesterday (Friday, April 19), we listed out seven of the most quoted lyrics, motifs, or refrains from this magnum opus across hip-hop’s history, along with just a few of many examples. As arguably the greatest LP the genre has to offer, a status that only a handful of rap records can claim, there is obviously so much more to say, and many more lines that you’ll hear in songs released since ’94. But these are among the bars on the project that most closely evoke its narratives in your head when you hear them in another song or everyday conversation. We’d love to know your picks, as we certainly missed a lot, so join us in celebrating this masterpiece and thanking Nas for his craft and creations down in the comments section below.
I Never Sleep, ‘Cause Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death (“N.Y. State Of Mind”)
While this phrase obviously existed before Illmatic‘s release, no rapper spits it today without evoking Nas’ “N.Y. State Of Mind.” It’s a phrase that perfectly fits within the vivid description of Queens’ street life and placed the album into a special era; a coming-of-age tale that inspired countless others put their unique spin on. Over the years, we’ve heard the greats reference this specific bar including J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Denzel Curry, and The Game.
Furthermore, the most famous of these is likely Lil Wayne’s “6 Foot 7 Foot,” which actually references another Illmatic bar we’ll get into later. “Life is a b***h, and death is her sister / Sleep is the cousin, what a f***ing family picture,” Weezy raps on the cut. Another notable modern example is $UICIDEBOY$’ 2016 cut “AM/PM,” on which Ruby raps: “If sleep is the cousin of death, I guess me and $lick counting sheep ’til we out of breath.” From ’90s East Coast hardcore to 2010s New Orleans horrorcore-adjacent trap; who would’ve thought?
The World Is Yours / I’m Out For Dead Presidents To Represent Me (“The World Is Yours”)
Here’s a two-parter, mainly because the mere title of “The World Is Yours” and the “It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine, whose world is this?” refrain lives on in a lot of rap media: bars, interviews, promo material, movies… you name it. J. Cole has an early song titled “Who’s World Is This?” and there’s also Blu’s classic album with Exile, Below The Heavens, with the track “The World Is.” Out of the many enduring Nas bars on this song, one of them is the money-focused, “I’m out for dead presidents to represent me.” Joey Bada$$, a student of Nasir Jones who references him very often, spits this bar on 1999‘s “Hardknock,” and 2016’s “AMERIKKKAN IDOL.” Logic does the same on 2012’s “All Sinatra Everything,” and of course, there’s Jay-Z’s use of it for his “Dead Presidents” series. That definitely didn’t backfire at all…
Life’s A B***h And Then You Die… (“Life’s A B***h”)
Next is AZ’s iconic hook on “Life’s A B***h”: “Life’s a b***h and then you die, that’s why we get high / ‘Cause you never know when you’re gonna go.” Other than being one of the most cutting and reality-affirming moments on Illmatic, Nas’ words here transcended even the hip-hop genre. One of the most curious homages we found in our research was a live version of metal band Deftones’ “Teething” from 2001, in which they added this chorus to the track to a pretty hype effect. Just goes to show that these lyrics have etched themselves in musical and cultural history, not just within hip-hop. Back to that, though, some quick examples: Kendrick Lamar’s “FEAR.,” A$AP Rocky’s “Phoenix,” Tyler, The Creator’s “Lone,” and “Headstone” by Flatbush Zombies, which actually references dozens of rap classic throughout its runtime.
Somehow, The Rap Game Reminds Me Of The Crack Game (“Represent”)
Here’s what Nas had to say about this bar from “Represent”: “It’s all about getting a dollar, don’t trust nobody, keep your eyes open, don’t play with nobody, focus on what you’re supposed to get out of it. This s**t is dangerous, it’ll take you down… What’s the difference?” Once again, Jay-Z echoed this sentiment in his 1997 track “Rap Game / Crack Game,” and Biggie Smalls references the rhyme scheme on Ready To Die‘s “Things Done Changed” that same year. “If I wasn’t in the rap game, I’d probably have a ki, knee-deep in the crack game.” Cam’ron also echoes the bar on “Sports, Drugs & Entertainment,” and Benny The Butcher, 38 Spesh, and Elcamino develop the metaphor on 2021’s “Blue Money.” “Crack game like the rap game but ain’t as safe / If we got the same plug we like label-mates,” Spesh spits.
Also, we wanted to shout out Nas’ reference to the Five-Percent Nation on this “Human Nature”-sampling cut, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”: “Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half man, half amazing.” The second half of that bar is the namesake of the third track (featuring Method Man) on Pete Rock’s 1998 album Soul Survivor, and also that of cuts from Blocboy JB and more. As for lyrical mentions, Mac Miller does so on the Faces cut “Friends” featuring ScHoolboy Q, Joe Budden gives a nod on “NBA,” and 50 Cent used it to belittle Ja Rule on the diss track “Your Life’s On The Line.” Safe to say, this last example proves that these aren’t always very favorable references, at least when it comes to who the bars might be intended for, if it’s not just an homage to the Queens legend.
Finally, we have a repeated phrase throughout Illmatic that is the title of one of its songs, and also appears on the outro of “Represent.” “One time for your mind” comes from Grand Wizard, who provides the aloof hook on the first example before Nas gets into the chill cut. This is such a versatile phrase that can be used as an ad-lib, a filler bar, a historical reference, as part of a complex rhyme scheme, or as a reminder to keep the mental focus up and live for the singular moment. It appears in pop hits like “Pon De Replay” by Rihanna, lyrical onslaughts like Lil Wayne’s “Dreams & Nightmares,” Lupe Fiasco’s “Paris, Tokyo,” Ab-Soul’s “Double Standards,” Das EFX’s “Real Hip-Hop,” The Roots’ “No Alibi,” and so many more. Despite the variety of uses for this bar and many others, every hip-hop head knows its origins well.
Nas is one of the names that pops into people’s heads when they are conjuring up their top five rappers of all time. Without a doubt, his sharp pen, incredible storytelling, and ear for production all help make him of one of the treasures of the genre. Today marks the start of his legendary 30-year career, when he dropped almost undoubtedly the greatest debut hip-hop LP, Illmatic. We wanted to go back in time and revisit “N.Y. State of Mind,” which is widely viewed at Nas at his peak.
Famously produced by another fellow icon, DJ Premier, it is viewed as one of the most recognizable beats in rap. The incredible East Coast, boom bap production synchronizes perfectly with the keys used. Nas spoke on the creation of “N.Y. State of Mind” about eight years ago and what it meant to him. “The music just spoke to the people that needed to know what was in my head and what it was like in the minds of everybody in New York at that time—that’s what I thought.”
Besides the song being a face of the over 50-year old genre, it was just an incredible feat period. He was just 20 years old and the first verse was something that just came naturally to him. In an interview with XXL, according to Genius, DJ Premier recalled one of the craziest moments he ever experienced in a recording booth. According to him, when Nas says, “I don’t know how to start this s***,” that was actually true. But Preem just told him to go in after his count. “He did the whole first verse in one take, and I remember when he finished the first verse, he stopped and said, ‘Does that sound cool?’ And we were all like, ‘Oh my God!’ It was like, I don’t even care what else you write,” Premier said.
What are your thoughts on “N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas? Is the greatest rap song in the history of the genre? Or is it the best New York rap track ever? Do you view Illmatic as the cream of the crop when it comes to debut albums? Where does it rank all time in hip-hop? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Nas. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on around the music world.
Quotable Lyrics:
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 Picked the MAC up, told brothers “Back up!” — the MAC spit Lead was hittin’ n****s, one ran, I made him back-flip Heard a few chicks scream, my arm shook, couldn’t look
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Tina Turner’s What’s Love Got To Do With It, a brand new suite of special edition albums are to be released on April 26. The 4CD/1DVD boxed set will include the original album remastered on CD1, with CD2 featuring a collection of edits, remixes and acapella. CD3 and CD4 features Turner’s live show at the Blockbuster Pavilion in 1993 remastered, which can also be watched on the DVD along with three music videos. The boxed set also includes a poster and a 24-page booklet. Additional album formats include a 1-LP and 2-CD and is available to stream digitally. Pre-order here.
Originally released on June 15, 1993, What’s Love Got To Do With Itwas a commercial and critical success. The album was the soundtrack for the Tina Turner biographical film of the same name and reached No.1 in the UK, also making the top 10 in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Canada, and the top 20 in the US. The album went on to be a platinum record across the world, including the US, UK and Switzerland. It was a collection of songs, some of which were re-recorded from Turner’s ‘Ike & Tina Turner’ period, including “A Fool In Love,” as well as five brand new songs, one of which – “I Don’t Wanna Fight” – became a top 10 hit in both the US and UK. The album also includes Turner’s version of The Trammps’ disco classic “Disco Inferno,” a song she had often performed live in concert in the late 70s but never previously recorded in the studio. Two tracks from her 1984 breakthrough solo album Private Dancer are also included – the title track and a different re-mixed version of “I Might Have Been Queen.”
Turner has sold over 200 million records and has had 10 UK top 10 hit singles and nine UK top 10 albums and was the first female artist to have a top 40 hit in six consecutive decades in the UK. Her albums combined are 20x platinum in the UK and 9x platinum in the US whilst also achieving huge sales throughout the rest of the world. She has won eight Grammy® Awards and has been nominated for 25. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame® in 1991 and has stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and St. Louis Walk of Fame. Her 1988 Break Every Rule tour broke the world record for the largest paying audience at a solo concert, with 184,000 at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, and Rolling Stone Magazine named her No.17 on the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and No.63 on the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
On this date in 1994, crew members Wyclef Jean, Pras, and a young, talented Lauryn Hill otherwise known as The Fugees formulated their first album entitled Blunted On Reality on Hip Hop indie imprint Ruffhouse Records.
Not as familiar to Hip Hop heads as their follow-up smash sophomore album The Score, Blunted On Reality did not receive the commercial success their first go around, yielding only 12,000 copies sold in the first two years. After the release of The Score, that number jumped to 125K.
With Clef’s hands in every aspect of production, there were very few times when the Haitian national wasn’t behind the boards during the production of this album. Other producers include Salaam Remi, Brand X, Khallis Bayyan and even Pras.
Salute to the trio for bringing us this slept on classic!
On this date in 1994, the legendary Staten Island, NY collective known as the Wu-Tang Clan released one of the crew’s most memorable songs to date; “C.R.E.A.M.(Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” from their debut album Enter The 36 Chambers.
Recorded in Firehouse studios in NYC, Wu-Tang Clan leader/advisor The RZA sampled The Charmels’ 1967 song, “As Long As I’ve Got You.” Since the WTC’s creation of this hit, “cream” became a slang term used for money in hoods all across the country and eventually the globe.
On January 29, 2009, “C.R.E.A.M.” was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units, 15 years after it was first released.
According to groundbreaking publications such as Time Magazine and Rolling Stone, C.R.E.A.M. is regarded as one of the best rap songs of all time.
