This is a serious must-have. Somebody raided Puff’s vault and got the original and alternate versions of all the tracks on Ready to Die. So many gems.
There’s the uncensored version of “Gimme the Loot” (all-time favorite song?) which contains the cringe-worthy line, “I wouldn’t give a fuck if you’re pregnant” without the little rewind over “pregnant”. Reminds me of the “Stack chips like Hebrews” line that got taken out of “It’s All about the Benjamins”. There’s the DJ Premier version of “Machine Gun Funk” which I don’t like quite as much as the album version. There’s the version of “Ready to Die” with the original beat, which I’d say is better than the album version (nerd note: this was previously on Mister Cee’s Best of Biggie Part 2 mixtape, another must-have). There’s “Me and My Bitch” with the original beat, which definitely pales in comparison to the sinister beat on the album version.
There’s the “The What” with Biggie’s original verses. According to legend (and by legend, I mean Easy Mo Bee on the Bigger Than Life DVD), Biggie thought Method Man outdid him on the track. On this version, Biggie’s first verse is different and when Meth comes on after him, his flow pretty much annihilates Biggie’s. It’s obvious that Biggie went back and redid the first verse to be on par with Meth. I’m thinking Biggie was referring to this version when he said Meth outdid him. Method Man respectfully dodged the question when I asked him about it.
Other included tracks are the original version of “Whatchu Want,” which is far grimier than the Danja-produced version that appeared on the Duets album and the original version of “Come On” which is also a lot grimier than its counterpart on Born Again. Also there’s “Mac’s N Dons,” Biggie’s Pepsi freestyle and a radio cut of “Biggie Got that Hype Shit”.
I’m not one of those who thinks Puff Daddy ruined Ready to Die, but this is a hint of what it would’ve sounded like without him. Now I want the songs Biggie supposedly recorded with Fat Joe, if Joe’s comments on Juan Epstein are to be believed. Somebody get Puffy on the phone!
Download: The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die (The O.G. Edition)
Bonus: The Notorious B.I.G. – Queen Bitch (reference track for Lil’ Kim)
[The Hip Hop & Vinyl Giant via GRANDGOOD]
good review. i agree: this is interesting, but by no means superior to the official version. it ought to put to bed any suggestion that puffy ruined it.
What are these .7z files? Seem to be having a bit of trouble opening it…
that’s an archive just like a .rar or .zip file.
the program you use to open those should work on 7z files as well. otherwise try winrar (http://www.rarlab.com/) or 7zip (http://www.7-zip.org/).
[…] Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die (The O.G. Edition). | Metal Lungies The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die (The O.G. Edition). | Metal Lungies Source: metallungies.com This is a serious must-have. Somebody raided Puff’s vault and got […]
I lost my biggie version of “Queen Bitch” in the Great Hard Drive Crash of 2006, thanks, man. Kim used to be that chick back when biggie wrote for her. You need to hear Kim’s “Money Talks” off the Money Talks soundtrack, it’s all Frank White and it’s lovely.
Ok, I listened to Money Talks again. She mentions “The late Frank White”. Big oops. Maybe Jay-Z wrote it, but it sure as hell ain’t her.
Thanks for the album.
Who’s that clown shouting over Biggy on Queen Bitch? …as if having one guy shouting over your tracks wasn’t enough.
[…] Best of Biggie Part 2 mixtape, which contains most, if not all, of Biggie’s collaborations, the recently released “O.G. Edition” of Ready to Die, and countless other tracks and such that are floating around and continue to pop up on rare […]
[…] Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die (The O.G. Edition). | Metal Lungies The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die (The O.G. Edition). | Metal Lungies Source: metallungies.com This is a serious must-have. Somebody raided Puff’s vault […]
Puff Daddy ruined this album with his constant “uh bad boy nigga” over almost every track…