LAD debuted at 176?

[Reggie]

Or do I have things wrong. I just read where it had the biggest jump ever from 176 to number 1 in April 97. Does that mean it debuted that low or do I have something messed up?

 

[jaguar paw]

Stores were selling it before its release date.

 

[Harry B]

It's funny cause I've heard both biggest jump to #1 and first week sales of 700k.
Maybe it was released on a Monday in a small store in BK .

 

[Burger King]

record label must have bought them all to increase sales

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

It was all a plot to create interchart movement, just to not be wiped out by 2pac

 

[Rapmastermind]

Nope according to Billboard Historians. "Life After Death" was so anticipated that stores were selling it illegally before street date at a rate that Billboard had to report it. That's why it had the Largest Jump in Billboard History. It charted at 176 off street date violations. So Basically Biggie was the 1st artist to chart before their street date. I believe they changed the rules after. It was certified Platinum after it's 1st week as it sold close to 700k. It was the highest selling opening week for Arista Records until Usher's "Confessions". So today 16th Anniversary of it's release. Here are some more "Life After Death" facts:

*Largest Jump in Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart History, 176 to #1
*2nd Rap album to be certified Diamond after MC HAMMER "Please don't hurt em".
*Guinness Book of World Record Entry 2000, 1st Hard Core Hip Hop album to be certified Diamond
*15 Million Record Sold Worldwide
*"Hypnotize" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems" made Biggie the only artist in Hot 100 History to have two Posthumous #1 songs.
*"Notorious Thugs and F*ckin U Tonite" both charted on the RnB charts off airplay alone.
*"Hypnotize" went Platinum, "Mo Money Mo Problems" Went Platinum and "Sky's The Limit/Goin Back To Cali" went Gold.
*After a Record Breaking 11 Weeks at #1 for "I'll be Missing You" which was a Biggie tribute. "Mo Money, Mo Problems" ended it's reign and stayed #1 an additional 2 weeks.
*The album finished the Year as the Top RnB/Rap album of the year on Billboard.
*Life After Death has been featured on over 50 Greatest albums of all time List including Rolling Stone and The Source Magazine.
*According to Who Sampled.Com "Life After Death" has been sampled over 200 times from it's production and lyrics.

Happy 16th Birthday "Life After Death" 3/25/97-3/25/13


*LOL @ "It's Not Classic"

 

[intilectual recipricol]

It was all a plot to create interchart movement, just to not be wiped out by 2pac

I remember that wipe out in retail interchart movement like it was yesterday

 

[No1]

Nope according to Billboard Historians. "Life After Death" was so anticipated that stores were selling it illegally before street date at a rate that Billboard had to report it. That's why it had the Largest Jump in Billboard History. It charted at 176 off street date violations. So Basically Biggie was the 1st artist to chart before their street date. I believe they changed the rules after. It was certified Platinum after it's 1st week as it sold close to 700k. It was the highest selling opening week for Arista Records until Usher's "Confessions". So today 16th Anniversary of it's release. Here are some more "Life After Death" facts:

*Largest Jump in Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart History, 176 to #1
*2nd Rap album to be certified Diamond after MC HAMMER "Please don't hurt em".
*Guinness Book of World Record Entry 2000, 1st Hard Core Hip Hop album to be certified Diamond
*15 Million Record Sold Worldwide
*"Hypnotize" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems" made Biggie the only artist in Hot 100 History to have two Posthumous #1 songs.
*"Notorious Thugs and F*ckin U Tonite" both charted on the RnB charts off airplay alone.
*"Hypnotize" went Platinum, "Mo Money Mo Problems" Went Platinum and "Sky's The Limit/Goin Back To Cali" went Gold.
*The album finished the Year as the Top RnB/Rap album of the year on Billboard.
*Life After Death has been featured on over 50 Greatest albums of all time List including Rolling Stone and The Source Magazine.
*According to Who Sampled.Com "Life After Death" has been sampled over 200 times from it's production and lyrics.

Happy 16th Birthday "Life After Death" 3/25/97-3/25/13


*LOL @ "It's Not Classic"

I think it's better than Ready to Die

 

[Rapmastermind]

Someone on Instagram said they were in a studio and Saw Biggie's Diamond Award:

Photo by still_fukkin_up • Instagram

 

[mobbinfms]

Nope according to Billboard Historians. "Life After Death" was so anticipated that stores were selling it illegally before street date at a rate that Billboard had to report it. That's why it had the Largest Jump in Billboard History. It charted at 176 off street date violations. So Basically Biggie was the 1st artist to chart before their street date. I believe they changed the rules after. It was certified Platinum after it's 1st week as it sold close to 700k. It was the highest selling opening week for Arista Records until Usher's "Confessions". So today 16th Anniversary of it's release. Here are some more "Life After Death" facts:

*Largest Jump in Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart History, 176 to #1
*2nd Rap album to be certified Diamond after MC HAMMER "Please don't hurt em".
*Guinness Book of World Record Entry 2000, 1st Hard Core Hip Hop album to be certified Diamond
*15 Million Record Sold Worldwide
*"Hypnotize" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems" made Biggie the only artist in Hot 100 History to have two Posthumous #1 songs.
*"Notorious Thugs and F*ckin U Tonite" both charted on the RnB charts off airplay alone.
*"Hypnotize" went Platinum, "Mo Money Mo Problems" Went Platinum and "Sky's The Limit/Goin Back To Cali" went Gold.
*The album finished the Year as the Top RnB/Rap album of the year on Billboard.
*Life After Death has been featured on over 50 Greatest albums of all time List including Rolling Stone and The Source Magazine.
*According to Who Sampled.Com "Life After Death" has been sampled over 200 times from it's production and lyrics.

Happy 16th Birthday "Life After Death" 3/25/97-3/25/13


*LOL @ "It's Not Classic"

Powerful post. Facts are always nice. Shocked that All Eyes On Me didn't go diamond.

I wonder if there is a list of all albums certified diamon?

 

[Rapmastermind]

I think it's better than Ready to Die

I'm torn. I go back in forth. I think "Ready To Die" is more cohesive and tells a complete story from beginning middle and end. But "LAD" had so much fire. I mean "Kick in the Door, My downfall, Your nobody" the list is just endless. Even the so called "Weaker" songs still had artistic value. I think "Ready To Die" is like a classic for Old School rap fans and "Life After Death" is a Classic for new school fans. Big dropped two Classics for different eras. If you an old school boom bap head. "RTD" is for you. If you into crisp production and sound quality, "LAD" is for you. As an Emcee though, Big clearly improved from RTD-LAD. It may have been the best improvement from debut to sophomore for an emcee ever.

 

[Tuling]

Nope according to Billboard Historians. "Life After Death" was so anticipated that stores were selling it illegally before street date at a rate that Billboard had to report it. That's why it had the Largest Jump in Billboard History. It charted at 176 off street date violations. So Basically Biggie was the 1st artist to chart before their street date. I believe they changed the rules after. It was certified Platinum after it's 1st week as it sold close to 700k. It was the highest selling opening week for Arista Records until Usher's "Confessions". So today 16th Anniversary of it's release. Here are some more "Life After Death" facts:

*Largest Jump in Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart History, 176 to #1
*2nd Rap album to be certified Diamond after MC HAMMER "Please don't hurt em".
*Guinness Book of World Record Entry 2000, 1st Hard Core Hip Hop album to be certified Diamond
*15 Million Record Sold Worldwide
*"Hypnotize" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems" made Biggie the only artist in Hot 100 History to have two Posthumous #1 songs.
*"Notorious Thugs and F*ckin U Tonite" both charted on the RnB charts off airplay alone.
*"Hypnotize" went Platinum, "Mo Money Mo Problems" Went Platinum and "Sky's The Limit/Goin Back To Cali" went Gold.
*The album finished the Year as the Top RnB/Rap album of the year on Billboard.
*Life After Death has been featured on over 50 Greatest albums of all time List including Rolling Stone and The Source Magazine.
*According to Who Sampled.Com "Life After Death" has been sampled over 200 times from it's production and lyrics.

Happy 16th Birthday "Life After Death" 3/25/97-3/25/13


*LOL @ "It's Not Classic"

you know your shyt

 

[No1]

I'm torn. I go back in forth. I think "Ready To Die" is more cohesive and tells a complete story from beginning middle and end. But "LAD" had so much fire. I mean "Kick in the Door, My downfall, Your nobody" the list is just endless. Even the so called "Weaker" songs still had artistic value. I think "Ready To Die" is like a classic for Old School rap fans and "Life After Death" is a Classic for new school fans. Big dropped two Classics for different eras. If you an old school boom bap head. "RTD" is for you. If you into crisp production and sound quality, "LAD" is for you.

That was the thing the first time I played that album for myself outside of just listening to my cousins bump Big when I was younger. A lot of the sound didn't necessarily appeal to me. The bars kept me listening. I mean, don't get me wrong. you've clearly got some tracks that musically are great to listen to even today. But it sounds like an an album from that era musically, which appeals more to people who were probably teenagers or pre-teens or older when that dropped. Not bars, but that sound. That's what East Coast hip hop was. Life After Death featured what I believe was a superior Biggie lyrically, flow-wise and the album was just better musically. His mic presence on songs like "Sky is the Limit" was just greatness. Plus it was just real.

They don't make emcees like that anymore.

 

[mobbinfms]

Looked it up. 50, Em (twice), Outkast and PAC went diamond (but for PAC it was the greatest hits).

Salute to 50 and Em for doing it with single disc albums.

 

[Rapmastermind]

Powerful post. Facts are always nice. Shocked that All Eyes On Me didn't go diamond.

I wonder if there is a list of all albums certified diamond?

Honestly I think ALL EYES ON ME is Diamond but they are slow on the updating. They recently updated "Greatest Hits" by Pac so that's Officially Diamond but for some reason All eyes on me isn't. Here is Pac 9x Platinum award: