In honoring Biggie's death in a post earlier in the month, I posted the original 'Life After Death' press kit. It's been 20 years since his death, funeral and now the release of that album, but it's still at the front of my mind on days like this. I know it's all been said - by me and everyone else - but I wanted to choose something outside of a typical album review or rare remix to share with this post, so I settled on a short article that was in Billboard Magazine the day before Biggie passed and speaks to his enthusiasm for the album's release. Biggie says, 'when my album drops, it's gonna be like the biggest thing ever.' He meant it. He goes on to say: 'I bring the problems and the situations that I've been through in my life into my music, and everything that I've gone through is on another level.' That was certainly true throughout his debut, 'Ready to Die,' but perhaps not as deep on 'Life After Death.' I do agree that there was a bigger focus on production and that he stretched himself lyrically on the album. I won't argue greatest of all-time, but I've never been mad that he's at the top in the those conversations. Listen below to Wax Poetic's 'Life After Death' mix by DJ Matman; he did a great job on the mix. "You'll miss me when I'm gone!" Facts... R.I.P., B.I.G.
Here's the 20th anniversary mix by DJ Matman...