#The lox filthy america zip how to#

Big easily had more than one album's worth of material to talk about. art that spread from the music industry to the public, whispers of motives and allegiances ran from the streets to the urban criminal underworld. It was a struggle between N.Y.'s Bad Boy and L.A.'s Death Row records that surpassed label affiliation to become about coastal loyalty, arguments about commercialism vs. Beginning with the 1994 Quad Studios shooting of Tupac Shakur in New York City, the Notorious B.I.G-along with Combs, Shakur, and Suge Knight-was at the center of a multifaceted rivalry. When pressed by his friends as to the identity of the cuckold, he brushes it off: Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўOne of them 6' 5Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ niggas-I don't know.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™Р В РІР‚СњР вЂ™Р’Вouble albums tend to be overblown, self-indulgent cash grabs, but Life After Death warranted the approach. No names, no states, no boroughs, or other signifiers are mentioned. For his fictional tales, names and locales are doled out like characters in hardboiled pulp fictions: Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўArizona Ron from Tuscon,Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўGloria from Astoria,Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ and Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўDarkskin JermaineР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ who Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўnearly lost half his brain over two bricks of cocaine, getting his dick sucked by Crackhead Lorraine.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ But, when it comes to the truth, he's shy on specifics. Inside his braggadocio, cars are colored with verve: a Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўcherry M3Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ BMW, a Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўmarine blue 6 coupeР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ Mercedes, a Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўchampagne RangeР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ Rover. Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўStoryР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ highlights BiggieР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s gifts as a raconteur.

ItР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s a tour de force-a time-shifting tale that devotes a whole verse to the backstory of a murderous misfit straight from an Elmore Leonard short who substitutes kerosene for gasoline because Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўfuck it, it's flame-able.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™Р В РІР‚СњР вЂ™Р’В«ut Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўI Got a Story to Tell,Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ the recount of an after-hours creep with an NBA playerР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s girlfriend that culminates in physical assault and robbery, may be the most absurd tale of the bunch, because it's reportedly true. He decides to call up his friend-a flashy and hard-hearted cutthroat from the Southwest who was once featured on America's Most Wanted-to partake in a heist that involves a female Puerto Rican hotel worker who used to be drug boss, and a Jamaican with long dreadlocks and a taste for Asian women. On Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўNiggas Bleed,Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ Big is a bagman sent to secure a large drug transaction, but his greed has him thinking about a double-cross: Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўI kill them all, I'll be set for life,Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ he imagines. This feat of storytelling is repeated two more times on the first disc of this double album alone. Big's reaction is immediate: Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўIs he in critical? Retaliation for this one won't be minimal Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›cause I'm a criminal way before the rap shit, bust the gat shit-Puff won't even know what happened.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ WeР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›re settling into a bloody noir, complete with well-developed minor characters harboring demented pathos and subtle foreshadowing-all this before any hints of a radio single.

#The lox filthy america zip how to#

It begins sometime within the last recordР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s timeline, with Big Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўsittin' in the crib dreamin' about Learjets and coupes, the way Salt 'shoops', and how to sell records like Snoop,Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ when a fellow small-time drug dealer and jailmate informs him that a mutual friend has been shot for robbing a crack dealer in a most ruthless manner (Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўpistol whipped his kids and taped up his wifeР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™).

The proper arrival of this album comes on Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўSomebody's Gotta Die,Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ a pure revenge tale. But where the first album started with a feeling of hope arising from the muck and mire of urban poverty, Life After Death announces itself in much starker fashion. Ready to Die, BiggieР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s previous album, also began with heart-pulling cinematic flourishes, featuring a decade-spanning montage that played as a mini saga telling the tale of a small-time street thug who was raised in a dysfunctional home and turned into a formidably successful rapper.