Life After Death

For other uses, see Life After Death (disambiguation).

Life After Death
Studio album by The Notorious B.I.G.
Released	March 25, 1997
Recorded	September 1995 – January 1997
Genre	Hip hop
Length	109:12
Label	Bad Boy
Producer	Sean "Puffy" Combs (exec.), The Hitmen, Buckwild, Clark Kent, Easy Mo Bee, Havoc, Daron Jones, Kay Gee, DJ Premier, RZA
The Notorious B.I.G. chronology
Ready to Die (1994) Life After Death (1997) Born Again (1999)
Singles from Life After Death
"Hypnotize" Released: April 21, 1997 "Mo Money Mo Problems" Released: July 21, 1997 "Sky's the Limit" Released: November 25, 1997

Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released March 25, 1997 on Bad Boy Records. A double album, it was released posthumously following his death on March 9, 1997 and serves as his final studio album. The album is the follow-up to The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album, Ready to Die (1994), and it features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Too Short, Carl Thomas, Run-DMC, Total, R. Kelly, The LOX, Kelly Price, and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits The Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre.

Life After Death was released to a significant amount of critical praise and commercial success. In 2000, the album was certified diamond in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and it has been credited as one of the best-selling rap albums of all time. It also made the largest jump to number one on the Billboard 200 chart in history, jumping from number 176 to number one in one week. Also, it spent four weeks at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and topped the Billboard Year-End chart as an R&B/Hip-Hop Album for 1997.^[1] The album was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 1998, including 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". Along with Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995), AZ's Doe Or Die (1995), Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt (1996), and Nas' It Was Written (1996) Life After Death has been considered by music writers as one of the seminal mafioso rap albums, as well as a milestone in hip hop music.

Conception

Background

Two and a half years prior to the album's release, The Notorious B.I.G. had married Faith Evans, became East Coast's icon in the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry and made guest appearances on albums by Jay-Z and Luke amongst others. The album was originally supposed to be released on Halloween of 1996, but was pushed back to 1997. Two weeks prior to the album's release, The Notorious B.I.G. was shot four times in a drive-by shooting and pronounced dead at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. The album sold 690,000 copies in its first week and was certified Diamond two years later.

Feud references and subliminal disses

Conflict with other rappers is a major theme shown throughout the album. Many songs on both discs contain subtle references to B.I.G.'s rivals.

"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 subliminal messages had been speculated 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 & DJ Premier^[2]: "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... where Raekwon raps

That's life, to top it all off, beef for white
pullin bleach out tryin to throw it in my eyesight

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 N.Y.^[3] in the song "The Message" from the album It Was Written in which Nas raps:

Yo let me let y'all niggaz know one thing
There's one life, one love, so there can only be one King

Biggie struck back with the lines:

Ain't no other kings in this rap thing
They siblings, nothing but my chil'ren
One shot, they disappearin'
It's ill when, MC's used to be on cruddy shit
Took home, Ready to Die, listened, studied shit
Now they on some money shit, successful out the blue

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.”^[2]

Nas has touched on the track on his album God's Son. Here Nas states:

Y'all don't know about my Biggie wars
Who you thought 'Kick In The Door' was for?

And finally commenting on the whole situation with Ghostface and Raekwon:

BIG was ahead of his time, him and Raekwon my niggaz
But dig it, they couldn't get along
That's when Ghostface said it on the Purple Tape
Bad Boy biting Nas album cover, wait??
BIG told me Rae was stealing my slang
And Rae told me out in Shaolin BIG would do the same thing

"Long Kiss Goodnight"

It was also speculated by many listeners that the song "Long Kiss Goodnight" contains subtle insults towards 2Pac and Death Row Records C.E.O. Suge Knight although at the time it was denied due to the sensitive nature of both rapper's recent deaths.

However, Lil' Cease, Biggie's cousin and a member of Junior M.A.F.I.A. claimed the following in XXL Magazine's April 2003 issue about Long Kiss Goodnight: "That was about ’Pac. He had some shit at the beginning of that though, nobody heard it, on the reel. We had to change it. It was a little too much. I can’t remember what Big said about him, but it was terrible. It couldn’t make it. He didn’t want to do it. He had some fire. But he didn’t want to make it too much. He just wanted to address it and to let nigga know, “I know what’s going on, and I could get wreck if I want to.” Like, “If I really wanted to get on ya niggas, I could.”

Sean Combs, however, denies these claims stating: "Naw, it was just some emcee lyrics. I know people wanna have their imagination, but it was just lyrics. You're hearing it from the horse's mouth. I would tell the truth."^[2]

In the first verse, the lyric "Laugh Now, Cry Later" is allegedly a reference to two tattoos on 2Pac’s back (one of which says “Laugh Now” and the other says “Cry Later”).^[4] A line in the first verse is supposedly aimed at Shakur:

When my men bust you just move with such stamina
Slugs missed ya, I Ain't Mad at Cha (We Ain't Mad at Cha)

The last 2 verses in particular seem to be directed towards Tupac:

I'm flaming gats, aimin at, these fuckin
maniacs, put my name in raps, what part the
game is that? Like they hustle backwards
I smoke Backwoods and Dutchies, ya can't touch me
Try to rush me, slugs go, touchy-touchy
You're bleeding lovely, with your, spirit above me
or beneath me, your whole life you live sneaky
Now you rest eternally, sleepy, you burn when you creep me
Rest where the worms and the weak be

Slugs hit your chest tap your spine, flat line
Heard through the grapevine, you got fucked fo' times
Damn that three to nine, fucked you up for real doe
Sling steal slow, as for remorse, we feel no

The lines seem to be making reference to Tupac frequently mentioning Biggie by name in his raps (a practice that was not common at the time), and allegations spread by Wendy Williams that he had been raped during his prison term at Rikers Island.^[4] Although some fans have interpreted these lines as references to Shakur's murder, XXL Magazine has stated that the song was most likely recorded before 2Pac's death.^[5]

Other references

In "Going Back to Cali" the second verse opens up with Biggie's thoughts on the inter-coastal war and his relationship with the West Coast:

If I got to choose a coast I got to choose the East
I live out there, so don't go there
But that don't mean a nigga can't rest in the West
See some nice breasts in the West
Smoke some nice sess in the West, y'all niggaz is a mess
Thinkin I'm gon stop, givin L.A. props
All I got is beef with those that violate me
I shall annihilate thee
Case Closed.

In the song "Notorious Thugs" B.I.G. refers to long time nemesis 2Pac in the line "so called beef with you-know-who.", calling the feud between him and Shakur 'bullshit', While Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (who featured 2Pac on one of their songs the same year) throw jabs towards Three 6 Mafia, Twista, Crucial Conflict and Do or Die.

"My Downfall", "What's Beef" (both of which are about the subject of feuding), and "You're Nobody (Till Somebody Kills You)"^[6] are also said to contain lyrics aimed towards 2Pac (and other rivals), according to speculative listeners. Biggie, however, stated in a Spin Magazine interview that "You're Nobody (Till Somebody Kills You)" was not about Shakur.^[7]

To this day, Bad Boy denies that Biggie ever dissed 2Pac on record in fear of heightening East Coast-West Coast tensions.

Yet, on the track Brooklyn's Finest off of Jay-Z's 1996 album Reasonable Doubt, B.I.G. raps:

The two for five dollar hits, the blue tops
Gotta go, Coolio mean it's gettin "Too Hot"
If Faith had twins, she'd probably have two-Pac's
Get it? .. Tu-pac's

The song "Can I Get Witcha", which was featured on Biggie's first posthumous album Born Again, also mentions 2Pac by name,^[8] although it was recorded before the feud (the track was originally included on his demo tape).^[9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
Robert Christgau	(A)[11]
Entertainment Weekly	(C+)[12]
Los Angeles Times	[13]
The New York Times	(favorable)[14]
Rolling Stone	1997[15]
Rolling Stone	2004[16]
The Source	[17]
Stylus Magazine	(favorable)[18]
USA Today	[19]

Since the album's release, it has been considered one of the greatest rap albums in hip hop history, and has also been a major influence on many rap artists. It is The Notorious B.I.G.'s best selling album.^{[citation needed]} Michael A. Gonzales of The Source gave the album a maximum five-"mic" rating and stated, "despite inspired raw hip-hop diatribes [...] Life After Death's finest moments are the instantly catchy, future-radio-favorites."^[17]

Accolades

• The information regarding accolades is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net^[20] except for lists that are sourced otherwise.
• (*) signifies unordered lists

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
About.com	United States	100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums [21]	2008	40
Addicted to Noise	United States	Albums of the Year	1997	7
Blender	United States	The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time	2002	25
ego trip	United States	Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98	1999	1
Face	United Kingdom	Albums of the Year	1997	20
Hip Hop Connection	United Kingdom	The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995-2005	2005	14
The New Nation	United Kingdom	Top 100 Albums by Black Artists		60
OOR Moordlijst	Netherlands	Albums of the Year	1997	87
Pure Pop	Mexico	Albums of the Year	1997	18
Q	United Kingdom	Albums of the Year	1997	*
Rolling Stone	United States	The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time	2003	483
Rolling Stone	United States	The Essential Recordings of the 90s	1999	*
The Source	United states	The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time[22]	2005	8
The Source	United States	The Critics Top 100 Black Music Albums of All Time [23]	2005	60
Spex	Germany	Albums of the Year	1997	19
Spin	United States	Albums of the Year	1997	7
Various Writers	United States	50 Years of Great Recordings	2005	*
Vibe	United States	51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement	2004	4
Village Voice	United States	Albums of the Year	1997	12

Legacy and influence

Though released in the wake of B.I.G.'s fatal shooting, Life After Death signaled a stylistic change in gangsta rap as it crossed over to the commercial mainstream. After the release of Life After Death, Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy Records continued to bring pop and gangsta rap closer together: the references to violence and drug dealing remained, as did the entire "gangsta" rhetoric, but the overall production style changed from the previously darker sound to a cleaner, sample-heavy, more upbeat sound that was directly fashioned for the mainstream pop charts, as seen in the single "Mo Money Mo Problems". The Notorious B.I.G. is often credited with initiating this transition, as he was among the first mainstream rappers to produce albums with a calculated attempt to include both gritty and realistic gangsta narratives as well as more radio-friendly productions. Much of the album is produced by Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Carlos "July Six" Broady, Nigga Squintz, Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence, and Nashiem Myrick. However, other notable hip-hop producers such as Easy Mo Bee, Havoc (Mobb Deep), DJ Premier and RZA contributed beats to the album as well.

Various artists were specifically influenced by several songs on Life After Death. Evidence's "Down in New York City" is essentially "Going Back to Cali" from the perspective of a West Coast artist. Jay-Z borrows four bars from "The World Is Filled..." in his song "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", as well as the chorus from his song "Squeeze 1st" from "Hypnotize", a line in "The Ruler's Back" from "Kick in the Door" and "You're Nobody ('Til Somebody Kills You)" on "D.O.A." Ice Cube borrows the chorus from "Kick in the Door" for his song "Child Support". Monica uses "I Love the Dough" beat and a verse from B.I.G. as featured, on her 2010's "Everything to Me" official remix. On their RCA album, Release Some Tension, R&B trio SWV sampled the song on as the opening track, "Someone" which features B.I.G's friend and protege Combs which was released five months later.

Track listing

Disc one

#	Title	Time	Songwriters	Producers	Featured Artists	Samples[24]
1	"Life After Death (Intro)"*	1:39	C. Wallace, S. Jordan, Sean Combs	Sean "Puffy" Combs & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen, co-produced by The Notorious B.I.G.		Contains a sample of "Suicidal Thoughts" by The Notorious B.I.G. Contains a sample of "This Masquerade" by George Benson
2	"Somebody's Gotta Die"*	4:26	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, A. Hester, Nasheim Myrick, Carlos Broady	Nashiem Myrick, Carlos "6 July" Broady & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen		Contains a sample of "In the Rain" by The Dramatics
3	"Hypnotize"	3:50	C. Wallace, R. Alpert, D. Angelettie, Andy Armer, Sean Combs, Ron Lawrence	Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	Pamela Long	Contains a sample of "Rise" by Herb Alpert Interpolates "La Di Da Di" by Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh
4	"Kick in the Door"*	4:47	C. Wallace, J. Hawkins, Chris E. Martin	DJ Premier for Works of Mart Productions,Inc.		Contains a sample of "I Put A Spell On You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins Contains a sample of "Unbelievable" by The Notorious B.I.G. Interpolates "Get Money" by Junior M.A.F.I.A. Contains a sample of "Wash Yo' Ass" by Martin Lawrence Contains a sample of "Robby, The Cook, And 60 Gallons Of Booze" by Louis & Bebe Barron
5	"Fuck You Tonight"	5:45	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, D. Jones, R. Kelly	Daron Jones & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	R. Kelly
6	"Last Day"*	4:19	C. Wallace, Kejuan Muchita, J. Phillips, Dorothy Stiles	Havoc, co-produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs & Stevie J for The Hitmen	The LOX
7	"I Love the Dough"	5:11	C. Wallace, S. Carter, O. Harvey, R. Moore, Angela Winbush	Easy Mo Bee for Bee Mo Easy Productions,Inc.	Jay-Z & Angela Winbush	Contains a sample of *"I Love You More" by Rene & Angela Synth lead based on "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart
8	"What's Beef?"*	5:15	C. Wallace, Carlos Broady, Nasheim Myrick	Nashiem Myrick & Carlos "6 July" Broady for the Hitmen, co-produced by Paragon		Contains a sample of I'm Glad You're Mine by Al Green Contains a sample of Close To You by Richard Evans
9	"B.I.G. Interlude"	0:48	C. Wallace, D. Angelettie	The Notorious B.I.G. & Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie for The Hitmen		Contains a sample of *"P.S.K. What Does It Mean?" by Schooly D
10	"Mo Money Mo Problems"	4:17	C. Wallace, M. Betha, Sean Combs, B.H. Edwards, S. Jordan, Nile Rodgers	Steven "Stevie J" Jordan & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	Puff Daddy, Mase & Kelly Price	Contains a sample of *"I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross
11	"Niggas Bleed"*	4:51	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, S. Jordan, Nasheim Myrick	Nashiem Myrick, Carlos "6 July" Broady & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen		Contains a sample of "Hey Who Really Cares" by The Whispers
12	"I Got a Story to Tell"*	4:42	C. Wallace, A. Best	Buckwild for Kurrup Money Entertainment, co-produced by Chucky Thompson & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen		Contains a sample of *"I'm Glad You're Mine" by Al Green

Disc two

#	Title	Time	Songwriter(s)	Producer(s)	Featured Artists	Sample(s)
1	"Notorious Thugs"	6:07	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, A. Henderson, S. Howse, S. Jordan, Bryon McCane	Steven "Stevie J" Jordan & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	Bone Thugs-N-Harmony	Contains a sample of "More Than Love" by Ohio Players
2	"Miss U"	4:58	C. Wallace, Kaygee Gist, Lionel Richie	Kay Gee	112	Contains a sample of "Missing You" by Diana Ross
3	"Another"	4:15	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, N. Ingram, K. Jones, S. Jordan	Steven "Stevie J" Jordan & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	Lil' Kim	Contains a sample and interpolation of "Another Man" by Barbara Mason
4	"Going Back to Cali"	5:07	C. Wallace, O. Harvey, Roger Troutman	Easy Mo Bee for Bee Mo Easy Productions,Inc.		Contains a sample of "More Bounce To The Ounce" by Zapp
5	"Ten Crack Commandments"	3:24	C. Wallace, Chris E. Martin	DJ Premier for Works of Mart Productions,Inc.		Contains a sample of "Valantra" by Les McCann Contains a sample of "Shut 'Em Down" by Public Enemy
6	"Playa Hater"	3:57	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, W. Hart, S. Jordan	Sean "Puffy" Combs & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen		Contains a sample of "Hey! Love" by The Delfonics Contains a sample of "Basketball Jones" by Cheech and Chong
7	"Nasty Boy"	5:26	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, S. Jordan	Sean "Puffy" Combs & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen		Contains a sample of "Cavern" by Liquid Liquid
8	"Sky's the Limit"	5:29	C. Wallace, Bobby Caldwell, Hubert Eaves, Clark Kent, J. Williams	Clark Kent	112	Contains a sample of "Keep On" by D. Train Contains a sample of "My Flame" by Bobby Caldwell
9	"The World Is Filled..."*	4:54	C. Wallace, D. Angelette, Sean Combs, T. Shaw, K. Walker	Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	Carl Thomas, Puff Daddy & Too Short	Contains a sample of "Space Talk" by Asha Puthli Contains a sample of "The What" by The Notorious B.I.G.
10	"My Downfall"*	5:26	C. Wallace, Carlos Broady, Sean Combs, Darryl McDaniels, Nasheim Myrick	Carlos "6 July" Broady, Nashiem Myrick & Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	DMC	Contains a sample of "You're All I Need To Get By" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Contains a sample of "For The Good Times" by Al Green
11	"Long Kiss Goodnight"*	5:18	C. Wallace, Robert Diggs	RZA for Wu-Tang Productions		Contains a sample of "The Letter" by Grant Green
12	"You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)"	4:52	C. Wallace, Sean Combs, Gary Johnson, S. Jordan, E. Lopez, B. Preston	Sean "Puffy" Combs & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen, co-produced by DJ Enuff & Jiv Poss	Faith Evans

Songwriter(s) information taken from CD case.

( * ) song is not present on edited version of CD.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[25] 59 Canadian Albums chart 3 UK Albums chart 20 US Billboard 200 1 US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 1 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard 200[26] 96

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (CRIA) 2× Platinum 200,000^ United States (RIAA)[27] Diamond 10,000,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Silver 60,000^ *sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by Nine Lives by Aerosmith

Billboard 200 number-one album April 12 - May 9, 1997

Succeeded by Share My World by Mary J. Blige

Personnel

Barry White - Hair Stylist Kit Walker - Sampled Keyboards The Notorious B.I.G. - Performer, Songwriter, Producer, Liner Notes Karen Anderson - Vocals (background) Too Short - Vocals Easy Mo Bee - Producer Michael Ciro - Guitar Sean "Puffy" Combs - Producer, Mixing DJ Premier - Producer Ben Garrison - Engineer Rich July - Engineer Marvin Scandrick - Vocals, Vocals (background) (112) Quinnes Parker - Vocals, Vocals (background) (112) Daron Jones - Producer, Vocals, Vocals (background) (112) Michael Keith - Vocals, Vocals (background) (112) Clark Kent - Producer Paul Logus - Mixing Manny Marroquin - Engineer Tony Maserati - Mixing Axel Niehaus - Engineer Michael Patterson - Engineer, Mixing Herb Powers - Mastering RZA - Producer Eddie Sancho - Mixing Richard Travali - Mixing Doug Wilson - Engineer DJ Enuf - Producer Faith Evans - Vocals (background)

Carl Thomas - Vocals Pierre Retrayt - Producer Rasheed Goodlowe - Engineer Nasheim Myrick - Producer Michael Lavine - Photography Camilo Argumedes - Engineer Deric Angelettie - Producer Stevie J. - Producer Prince Charles Alexander - Engineer, Mixing Carlos Broady - Organ (Hammond), Producer Lane Craven - Engineer, Mixing Krayzie Bone - Vocals Deborah "Portia" Neeley Rolle - Vocals (background) Jiv Pos - Producer Jleon6 - Executive Producer Stephen Dent - Engineer Lynn Montrose - Engineer Steve Jones - Engineer Bizzy Bone - Vocals John Meredith - Engineer Layzie Bone - Vocals Diana Pedraza - Engineer Mike Pitts - Assistant Producer Kay Gee - Producer Groovey Lew - Stylist Ron Grant - Guest Appearance Keanna Henson - Vocals (background) Justin Cortinas- Producer

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of number-one albums of 1997 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1997 (U.S.)
• Billboard Year-End

References

1. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Top+R%26B/Hip-Hop+Albums&g=Year-end+Albums&year=1997
2. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=405
3. ^ http://www.king-mag.com/online/?p=5357
4. ^ ^{a b} http://rapgenius.com/lyrics/The-notorious-b-i-g/Long-kiss-goodnight
5. ^ http://www.xxlmag.com/homepage-highlight/2010/11/8-subliminal-diss-records-that-no-one-claims/4/
6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhHAB73e9yA/
7. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=I4irI6O3Ko8C&pg=RA1-PA68&lpg=RA1-PA68&dq=biggie+spin+magazine&source=bl&ots=5UDdjWWca3&sig=-cWps0osw7sI-4QU9JkAWCobYLQ&hl=en&ei=FuNYTYuFCYT78AaJiKiEBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&sqi=2&ved=0CE4Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=biggie%20spin%20magazine&f=false
8. ^ http://www.lyricsfreak.com/n/notorious+big/can+i+get+witcha_20101833.html
9. ^ http://mixtapetorrent.com/biggie-demo-tape
10. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. Review: Life After Death. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
11. ^ Christgau, Robert. Consumer Guide: Life After Death. The Village Voice: July 22, 1997. Archived from the original on 2009-11-08. Note: Christgau revised the original rating of (A-) to (A).
12. ^ Browne, David. Review: Life After Death. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
13. ^ Coker, Cheo Hodari. Review: Life After Death. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
14. ^ Pareles, Jon. Review: Life After Death. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
15. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony. Review: Life After Death. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2010-07-27.
16. ^ Hoard, Christian. Review: Life After Death. Rolling Stone: November 2, 2004.
17. ^ ^{a b} Gonzales, Michael A (May 1997). "Notorious B.I.G., Life After Death...Till Death Do Us Part (Bad Boy/Arista)". The Source (The Source Enterprises) (92): 79. http://thimk.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/life-after-death-5-mics.jpg. Retrieved 2011-10-14. 
18. ^ McGarvey, Evan. Review: Life After Death. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
19. ^ Jones, Steve. Review: Life After Death. USA Today: 01.D. March 26, 1997. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
20. ^ http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A1008.htm
21. ^ http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Top100RapAlbums_7.htm
22. ^ http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/source.htm
23. ^ http://www.trevornelson.com/nonflash/top100.asp
24. ^ The Notorious B.I.G. Search the-breaks.com.
25. ^ "Australian-charts.com – The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death". ARIA Top 50 Albums. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
26. ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. http://books.google.com/?id=9w0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=RA1-PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 15, 2010. 
27. ^ "American album certifications – Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death". Recording Industry Association of America. January 6, 2000. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Life+After+Death%22. Retrieved July 2, 2011.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
28. ^ "British album certifications – Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved July 2, 2011.  Enter Life After Death in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go

External links

• Life After Death at Discogs
• The Making of Life After Death at XXL
• Playing God: Life After Death at Stylus Magazine