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The a-side is the bit hit "Big Poppa", making good use of the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets" sample. But the real gem here is "Warning", which uses a sample from Isaac Hayes' amazing version of "Walk On By" and the eerie ending where Biggie gets shot. Produced by Easy Mo Bee, on "Warning" Biggie's flow sounds a lot like Craig Mack (or is it Craig Mack that sounds like Biggie...).

With the promo-only "Dreams", better known as "Dreams Of F*cking An R& B B#tch", that was never released because they couldn't clear the James Brown sample. The verses have Biggie rhyming about, well, what the title says. Typical line: "I'd f*ck RuPaul before I'd f*ck them ugly Exscape b*tches."

Biggie's masterpiece – remastered! There's very little we could possibly say about this east coast landmark that isn't already etched in stone in the annals of hip hop history. Biggie's a master storyteller, whether he's spinning tales of violent street nihilism, his skills beneath the sheets, or blistering sadness and regret. This thing sounds as great in the new millenium as it did at the end of the previous one. All the classics: "Things Done Changed", "Gimme The Loot", "Machine Gun Funk", "Ready To Die", "Warning", "Ready To Die", "Juicy", "Big Poppa", "Respect", "Friend Of Mine", and the Premier-produced "Unbelievable". This remasted re-release of the album includes two bonus tracks – the legendary, oft-bitten track "Who Shot Ya" and "Just Playing (Dreams)".

Biggie's second LP, and while the production on some of the tracks features a fair bit of Puff Daddy's gloss, they'll still get your head nodding along to Biggie's incomparable flow. It was definitely hard to follow up Ready To Die, but the best cuts here manage to live up to the promise of his debut album. 24 tracks, including "Hypnotize", "Kick In the Door", "Mo Money Mo Problems", "Miss U", "Ten Crack Commandments", 'What's Beef?" and "Nasty Boy".

The classic "Who Shot Ya?" and allthe classicsare here, with beats by Easy Mo Bee and Premier, amongst others: "One More Chance", "Juicy", "Big Poppa", "Warning", "Machine Gun Funk", "Unbelievable", "Gimme The Loot" and "The What". 16 tracks plus 2 interludes, in all.

The one-and-only full length by Ann Arbor, MI combo The Rationals! The group comes from that fertile regional rock scene that also spawned The Stooges & MC5 – and while The Rationals rock out with primal abandon in moments, they also carry a much more soulful R&B influenced vibe than some of their more notorious peers. There's bits of bluesy psych in the mix, too, and it's most certainly a worthy gem from a prime period for the outlying Motor City scene. Includes "Barefootin'", "Temptation 'Bout To Get Me", "Guitar Army", "Deep Red", "Sunset", "Glowin'", "Handbags And Gladrags", "Ha Ha" and more. This Big Beat UK edition has 4 bonus tracks: "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah", "Wang Dang Doodle", "Guitar Army (Single Version)" and "Sunset (Single Version)".

The full 9-minute version of the posse cut from the "Panther" soundtrack, plus remixes. Includes verses from Notorious Big, Redman, Doodlebug of Digable Planets, Busta Rhymes, Buckshot, Helter Skelter, Ill All Scratch, Jamal, Coolio, Menace Clan, Bone Thugs N Harmony.

Dope first single from Notorious BIG, released under the name BIG (after the dispute over the name Biggie Smalls, with the long-forgotten Miami Bass MC, and before adding Notorious to his name).