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. A double album, it was released sixteen days after his murder. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort, Angela Winbush, D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C., R. Kelly, the Lox, and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits the Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. The album is a sequel to his first album, Ready to Die, and picks up where the last song, "Suicidal Thoughts", ends.
Life After Death sold 690,000 copies in its first week, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It received widespread critical acclaim upon release and was nominated for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance for its first single "Hypnotize", and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for its second single "Mo Money Mo Problems" at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards. The album is widely considered to be one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. In 2020, it was ranked at No. 179 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Background
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 CoastWest Coast rivalry and guested on albums by Michael Jackson and R. Kelly amongst others. The album had numerous planned release dates: one was supposed to be on Halloween in 1996, but Biggie was involved in a car accident in September 1996 that delayed the finalizing of the album. It was pushed back to 1997.
As 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 on his debut. In addition to Bad Boy labelmates Mase, the LOX and 112, and label owner Puff Daddy, guests include Jay-Z, Angela Winbush, Too Short, Lil Kim, & Bone Thugs N Harmony. A record with Bay Area rapper E-40 was not included on the final track listing.
Production was handled by DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Havoc, RZA, Stevie J and other members of Bad Boy's in-house team, the Hitmen. Q-Tip submitted a beat, which Biggie enjoyed; however, the album had already been completed and turned into Bad Boy. The beat was later used for A Tribe Called Quest's song "The Love", from their 1998 album The Love Movement.
Biggie 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, he was shot four times in a drive-by shooting and later pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Feud references and subliminal disses
Conflict with other rappers is a major theme throughout the album. Numerous songs contain references to B.I.G.'s rivals, some subtle and some obvious.
"Kick in the Door" The track "Kick in the Door" is directed at Nas, Jeru the Damaja, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and even the track's producer DJ Premier. 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".
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 [with the Premier-produced 'One Day' in Jeru's album Wrath of the Math]."
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 which Raekwon raps.
The lines on the final verse are directed at Nas as a reference to Nas challenging the Notorious B.I.G. for the title of "King of New York" in the song "The Message" from the album It Was Written in which Nas raps:
Biggie struck back with the lines:
In "The Making of: Life After Death" article Lil' Cease explains, "Big talked about Nas a little bit in that shit. It was the King of New York part, the last verse: 'This goes out for those that chose to use disrespectful views on the King of NY.' That's when Nas had that freestyle out, where he was like, 'I'll take the crown off the so-called King and lock it down.' That's when Big had the cover of The Source, and it said, 'The King of New York.