In "The Making of: Life After Death" article Lil' Cease explains, "Big talked about Nas a little bit in that shit. Now they on some money shit, successful out the blue Took home Ready to Die, listened, studied shit It's ill when MC's used to be on cruddy shit There's one life, one love, so there can only be one King Yo let me let y'all niggaz know one thing for the title of "King of New York" in the song " The Message" from the album It Was Written in which Nas raps: The lines on the final verse are directed at Nas as a reference to Nas challenging The Notorious B.I.G.
Pullin bleach out tryin to throw it in my eyesight That's life, to top it all off, beef with White The line "Fuck that, why try, throw bleach in your eye" is a reference to Raekwon's jab on the track "Ice Water" from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. In "The Making of: Life After Death", Nashiem Myrick reveals that the second verse has lines directed at Jeru the Damaja and DJ Premier: "Nas said that record was for him, but when Big said, 'Son, I'm surprised you run with them/I think they got cum in them, 'cause they nothin' but dicks,' he was talking about Jeru the Damaja to Premo 'cause Jeru was going at Big and Puff and all them. The subtle messages have been speculated on by listeners and confirmed by artists on several occasions, including XXL magazine's April 2003 edition, "The Making of: Life After Death". The track "Kick in the Door" is directed at Nas, Jeru the Damaja, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and even the track's producer DJ Premier. Numerous songs contain references to B.I.G.'s rivals, some subtle and some obvious. was shot four times in a drive-by shooting and was later pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.įeud references and subliminal disses Ĭonflict with other rappers is a major theme throughout the album. īiggie traveled to the West Coast in February 1997 to promote the album, and shoot the video for the lead single, "Hypnotize." Two weeks before its release, on March 9, the Notorious B.I.G. The beat was later used for A Tribe Called Quest's song "The Love", from their 1998 album The Love Movement. Q-Tip also submitted a beat for the album Biggie enjoyed the beat when it was played for him, however, the album had already been completed and turned into Bad Boy. Production for the album was handled by DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Havoc, RZA, Stevie J and other members of Bad Boy's in-house production team, The Hitmen. A record with Bay Area rapper E-40 was not included on the final track listing. In addition to Bad Boy Records labelmates Mase, The LOX, 112, and label owner Puff Daddy, guests include Jay-Z, Angela Winbush, Too Short, Lil Kim, & Bone Thugs N Harmony. It was pushed back to 1997.Īs he explained on BET's Rap City, Biggie aimed to reach a wider audience with Life After Death, collaborating with a wider variety of artists than his debut. The album was supposed to be released on Halloween in 1996, but Biggie was involved in a car accident in September 1996 which delayed the finalizing of the album. Two and a half years before the album's release, the Notorious B.I.G., who had married Faith Evans, became East Coast's icon in the East Coast–West Coast rivalry and made guest appearances on albums by Jay-Z and Luther Campbell amongst others.
Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. " Sky's the Limit" / " Going Back to Cali".