Ready To Die

2パックと並んでニューヨーク・ギャングスタ・ラップ・シーンを代表する人気を集めながら、1997年3月に銃撃による非業の死を遂げた伝説の巨漢ラッパー、ザ・ノトーリアス・B.I.G.のデビュー・アルバムにして名作『Ready To Die』がアナログ盤で復刻!

盟友パフ・ダディをはじめ、メソッド・マン、バッド・ボーイ・レコーズのレーベル・メイトであるトータルらがゲスト参加。プロデューサーにはパフ・ダディに加え、イージー・モー・ビー、チャッキー・トンプソン、DJプレミア、ロード・フィネス等、豪華制作陣がそろい踏み!

The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star, and vaulted Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy label into the spotlight as well. Today it's recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded, and that's mostly due to Biggie's skill as a storyteller. His raps are easy to understand, but his skills are hardly lacking -- he has a loose, easy flow and a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession. He's blessed with a flair for the dramatic, and slips in and out of different contradictory characters with ease. Yet, no matter how much he heightens things for effect, it's always easy to see elements of Biggie in his narrators and of his own experience in the details; everything is firmly rooted in reality, but plays like scenes from a movie. A sense of doom pervades his most involved stories: fierce bandits ("Gimme the Loot"), a hustler's beloved girlfriend ("Me & My Bitch"), and robbers out for Biggie's newfound riches ("Warning") all die in hails of gunfire. The album is also sprinkled with reflections on the soul-draining bleakness of the streets -- "Things Done Changed," "Ready to Die," and "Everyday Struggle" are powerfully affecting in their confusion and despair. Not everything is so dark, though; Combs' production collaborations result in some upbeat, commercial moments, and typically cop from recognizable hits: the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" on the graphic sex rap "One More Chance," Mtume's "Juicy Fruit" on the rags-to-riches chronicle "Juicy," and the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets" on the overweight-lover anthem "Big Poppa." Producer Easy Mo Bee's deliberate beats do get a little samey, but it hardly matters: this is Biggie's show, and by the time "Suicidal Thoughts" closes the album on a heartbreaking note, it's clear why he was so revered even prior to his death. ~ Steve Huey

ビギーが遺した永遠のクラシック『Ready To Die』（94年）がリマスターされて新たに登場。さらに本作からカットされたシングルのプロモ・クリップ&ライヴ映像を含むDVD付きとあっちゃ、オリジナルを持ってる人も無視できないでしょ。マイクにすべての気持ちをぶつけたかのような重圧で畳みかけるビギーのラップは、音質向上した本作だからこそ冒頭の“Things Done Changed”から爆音で聴くことをオススメします。
bounce (C)小野沢 洋