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One of hip-hop's indisputable classics is the debut album 'Ready to Die' by the Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13th in 1994. After being signed by Sean Combs, the Notorious B.I.G. appeared in cameo spots on several Uptown Records singles including ones by Heavy D and the Boyz and Mary J. Blige. Just months before the release of 'Ready to Die', B.I.G. appeared on the 'Flava in Ya Ear' remix by Craig Mack, an essential East Coast party starter. In this three part post, this blog will cover the hits and sample sources of 'Ready to Die'.
'Things Done Changed', the first track following the album intro, features two samples from the Main Ingredient's 1974 album 'Euphrates River': 'Summer Breeze' and 'California My Way' (the Main Ingredient notably features vocals from Cuba Gooding Sr.). The Easy Mo Bee produced 'Gimme the Loot' utilizes samples from James Brown's 'Hell'-era funk monster 'Coldblooded. The excellent 'Machine Gun Funk' samples Black Heat's 'Something Extra' as well as 'Up for the Down Stroke' by Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns. In an example of classics begetting classics, 'Warning' is laced with the gigantic breaks of Isaac Hayes' psych-soul cover of 'Walk on By'. 'Walk on By' will be covered in depth in a future post on this blog.
Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Ready to Die'.
The Lowdown:
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Things Done Changed', 'Gimme the Loot', 'Machine Gun Funk', and 'Warning'
from 'Ready to Die' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Things Done Changed', 'Gimme the Loot', 'Machine Gun Funk', and 'Warning'
The Main Ingredient 'California My Way' and 'Summer Breeze'
from 'Euphrated River' (1974) (MP3 not available/ Import CD)
James Brown 'Coldblooded'
from 'Hell' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Black Heat 'Something Extra'
from 'Keep on Runnin'' (1975) (MP3/CD not available)
Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns 'Up for the Down Stroke'
from 'A Blow for Me, a Toot for You' (1977) (MP3/Import CD)
Isaac Hayes 'Walk on By' (Radio Edit)
from 'Hot Buttered Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
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