Ready to Die
Respect
The Notorious B.I.G.
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
38
End
195
Internal
93
Multi
228
Slant
10
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus: Diana King]
Me holla✦ respect,✦ to all the gun men dem
Gun men alone,✦ keep gun men friend (Watch me)
Fire bun, fi all the informer✦ dem (Have mercy)✦
Informer✦ lone keep informer✦ friend (Do it)
[Verse 2: The Notorious B.I.G.]
Now I'm thirteen,✦ smoking blunts, making✦ cream
On the drug scene, fuck a football team
Risking ruptured spleens by the age of sixteen✦
Hearing the coach scream ain't my lifetime dream
I mean, I want to blow up, stack my dough up
So school, I didn't show up, it fucked✦ my flow up
Mom said that I should grow up and check myself✦
Before✦ I wreck myself,✦ disrespect✦ myself✦
Put the drugs on the shelf? Nah, couldn't see it (Uh)
Scarface, King of New York, I want to be it
Rap was secondary,✦ money✦ was necessary✦ (Uh)
Until✦ I got incarcerated, kind of scary✦
C74-Mark 8 set me straight
Not able to move behind✦ the great steel gate
Time to contemplate, damn, where did I fail?
All the money✦ I stacked was all the money✦ for bail (Uh)
[Chorus: Diana King]
Me holla✦ respect✦ to all the gun men dem
Gun men alone,✦ keep gun men friend (Have mercy,✦ mercy,✦ mercy)✦
Fire bun, fi all the informer✦ dem
Informer✦ lone keep informer✦ friend
Me holla✦ respect,✦ to all the gun men dem
Gun men alone,✦ keep gun men friend
Fire bun, fi all the informer✦ dem
Informer✦ lone keep informer✦ friend
[Verse 3: The Notorious B.I.G.]
'94, now I explore✦ new horizons
Mama✦ smile when she see me, that's surprising
Honeys is tantalizing,✦ they freak all night
Keep ducking cops on the creep all night
As I open✦ my eyes and realizing✦ I changed✦
Not the same deranged✦ child stuck up in the game
And to my niggas✦ living✦ street life
Learn to treat life to the best, put stress to rest
Still tote your vest, man, niggas✦ be tripping✦
In the streets without a gat? Nah, nigga,✦ you're slipping✦
If I'm dipping✦ on The F with weed on my breath
Original hustler with the muffler on the TEC (Uh)
Respect✦ to the macks in the Ac's
To the freaks in the Jeeps, (Buck, buck, buck) lick shots to my peeps
[Chorus: Diana King]
Me holla✦ respect✦ to all the gun men dem
Gun men alone,✦ keep gun men friend (Have mergy,✦ mercy,✦ mercy)✦
Fire bun, fi all the informer✦ dem
Informer✦ lone keep informer✦ friend
Me holla✦ respect,✦ to all the gun men dem
Gun men alone,✦ keep gun men friend
Fire bun, fi all the informer✦ dem
Informer✦ lone keep informer✦ friend
[Post-Chorus: Diana King]
Now this is Diana✦ King doing a Yankee thing
In a Biggie Smalls thing, do it, Ja
Have mercy!✦
The gunman✦ in all de party✦
And everybody✦ feel irie
And everybody✦ just follow✦ me, follow✦ me, follow✦ me
Have mercy✦
The wul ah we in ah de party✦
And everybody✦ look irie
Now di man dem sexy,✦ sexy,✦ sexy✦
Do it
[Outro: Diana King]
No mercy✦ fuh nuh big up unnu✦ self
Cuh we nuh watch nuh this girl seen?
The hardcore✦ thing we ah deal with
Oh yes, we are the best
No other guy can test
[Skit: The Notorious B.I.G. & Faith Evans]
Shit, Mami,✦ damn, why you actin'✦ like that, man?
'Cause I don't be doin' this
I'm sayin', you know it ain't nothin'✦
It's just part of sex, ya know'm saying
But you know I don't do this
I don't even✦ know how to do this
I'm just sayin', jus— just a little peck Mami,✦ for daddy✦
Just a little peck
Like that?
That's what I'm sayin', yeah
You know I don't be doin' this though
You know that
Whatever, bitch!
Technical Breakdown
8.6
Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres7.5
Clever language, metaphors, punchlines
Cadence / Rhythm9.0
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity7.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control9.0
Performance and control
Computed Score8.64
Production
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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Biggie utilizes a masterclass in internal rhyme density and narrative progression, transforming a standard 'struggle-to-success' biography into a percussive, rhythmic experience that defines 90s storytelling.
A
8.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
9
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
7.5
Wordplay
9
Delivery
Multisyllabic internal rhymingSequential narrative architectureSyncopated breath controlRhythmic enjambment
Rhyme Architecture: The verse relies on a dense, consistent -eem/eam rhyme scheme that carries through the first half of the verse, providing a foundational anchor before shifting into more complex multisyllabic chains (secondary/necessary/incarcerated/scary).
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"fuck a football team"
① A dismissive rejection of organized team sports as a viable career path compared to the drug trade.② A play on 'team' as a group of people; he prefers the autonomy or the specific hierarchy of the streets over the rigid, communal structure of athletics.
"All the money I stacked was all the money for bail"
① A literal recount of his criminal life where liquid assets were diverted to legal defense.② A structural punchline on the futility of 'stacking dough,' as the illicit success he sought directly bankrolled his confinement rather than his luxury.
Exceptional rhythmic consistency
Textual clarity in narrative pacing
Integration of multisyllabic rhymes without sacrificing conversational flow
Occasional reliance on colloquial tropes prevalent in 1994
Limited metaphorical abstraction compared to his later, more surrealist work