The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death (2017 Re-Issue)

Biggie's second long-player was a huge slab of hip hop featuring a whole range of guests and a whole load of hits. The ambitious album, intended as somewhat of a sequel to Ready to Die, picking up where its predecessor left off, sprawled across the span of two discs, each filled with music, 24 songs in all. You'd expect any album this sprawling to include some lackluster filler.

That's not really the case with Life After Death, however. Like 2Pac's All Eyez on Me from a year before, an obvious influence, Biggie's album made extensive use of various producers - DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Clark Kent, RZA, and more of New York's finest - resulting in a diverse, eclectic array of songs. Plus, Biggie similarly brought in various guest rappers - Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Bone Thugs, Too $hort, L.O.X., Mase - a few vocalists - R. Kelly, Angela Winbush, 112 - and, of course, Puff Daddy, who is much more omnipresent here than on Ready to Die, where he mostly remained on the sidelines.

It's perhaps Puffy himself to thank for this album's biggest hits: Mo Money Mo Problems, Hypnotize, Sky's the Limit, three songs that definitely owe much to his pop touch.

There's still plenty of the gangsta tales on Life After Death that won Biggie so much admiration on the streets, but it's the pop-laced songs that stand out as highlights.

TRACK LISTING

1. Life After Death Intro
2. Somebody's Gotta Die
3. Hypnotize
4. Kick In The Door
5. Fuck You Tonight
6. Last Day
7. I Love The Dough
8. What's Beef?
9. B.I.G. Interlude
10. Mo Money Mo Problems
11. Niggas Bleed
12. I Gotta Story To Tell
13. Notorious Thugs
14. Miss U
15. Another
16. Going Back To Cali
17. Ten Crack Commandments
18. Playa Hater
19. Nasty Boy
20. Sky's The Limit
21. The World Is Filled...
22. My Downfall
23. Long Kiss Goodnight
24. You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)

PRODUCT DETAILS

Artist:  Notorious B.I.G.
Label:  Bad Boy Entertainment
Condition:  New 
Genre:  Electronic
Format:  Vinyl 3LP
Cat Number: 0081227960704
Released:  14 April 2017