Ready to Die: Where Are They Now?

Catch up with the makers of a masterpiece.

The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die - The Notorious B.I.G's debut, which dropped five months after Illmatic in 1994, also featured a picture of a child (though in this case it was a baby with a resemblance to Big, not an old pic of the rapper himself). Ghostface later criticized Biggie for "biting" the Illmatic cover in a skit on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...  (Photo: Bad Boy Records)

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Ready to Die: Where Are They Now? - Nineteen years ago today (Sept. 13), the Notorious B.I.G. debut album, Ready to Die, hit shelves with timeless songs including "Warning," "Juicy" and "Big Poppa." Hip hop would never be the same. The album's delicate balance between the streets and the mainstream became rap's blueprint going forward, followed to the letter by Jay Z, Nas, Lil Wayne and many others. The hugely influential album launched several careers to new levels — from the performers to the producers. Others didn't fare so well. Here, BET.com takes a look at what happened to the players who helped make Ready to Die a masterpiece. —Alex Gale(Photo: Bad Boy)

Jam Master Jay Tribute (2003) - The 2003 BET Awards honored slain Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay with an all-star mix-off, which included Kid Capri, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Grandmaster Flash and DJ Premier, who opened the set with a scratch-tastic mix of the classics “Sucker MCs” and “Jam Master Jay.” (Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

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DJ Premier - DJ Premier's patented sample chops helped make "Unbelievable" one of the illest cuts on an album full of them. It's one of the main reasons that Primo is to this day the go-to producer when rappers want a traditional East Coast boom-bap. Most recently he's produced and scratched for DJ Khaled, Game and Mac Miller — not to mention the Cypher at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. (Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

Method Man - In an episode from Season 9 titled "Snitch," SVU cast Method Man in the role of a gangster by the name of Dennis King. (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

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Method Man - Method Man is the only other rapper to spit a verse on Ready to Die, passing the mic back and forth with Big on "The What." He released several solo albums and joint projects with Wu-Tang and Redman in the years since, and built a strong filmography as an actor as well. His last album was Wu-Massacre with Ghostface and Raekwon, and his last film was 2012's Red Tails. He's currently working on a new solo LP and a third installment of Blackout with Redman, and will be starring in Lucky N#mbr.   (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Describing Crack’s Impact on “Things Done Changed” - If I wasn't in the rap game / I'd probably have a key knee-deep in the crack game / Because the streets is a short stop / Either you're slingin’ crack rock or you got a wicked jumpshot / S**t, it's hard being young from the slums / Eatin’ five cent gums, not knowin' where your meals comin’ from / And now the s**t's gettin' crazier and major / Kids younger than me, they got the Sky Grand Pagers / Goin’ outta town, blowin’ up / Six months later all the dead bodies showin’ up / It make me wanna grab the nine and the shotty / But I gotta go identify the body / Damn, what happened to the summertime cookouts / Every time I turn around, a n***a gettin’ took out(Photo: Everett Collection 271379A)

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Diddy - Diddy executive produced Ready to Die and co-produced the hit singles "Juicy," "One More Chance" and "Big Poppa" as well as several skits. Nowadays, it would be hard to not know what Diddy's been up to: still making music (Future's "Magic" remix, French Montana's "Shot Caller" remix, will.i.am and Britney Spears' "Scream & Shout" remix, and much more), running Bad Boy, Ciroc and Sean Jean and making a whole lot of money. (Photo: ERIK PENDZICH / Rex USA, courtesy Everett Collection)

Lord Finesse - Rapper-producer Lord Finesse concocted the dreamscape-like beat for album closer "Suicidal Thoughts." Later, he produced for Big L and Dr. Dre and ran with the DITC crew. Today, a new generation of fans are discovering his music after Mac Miller and Joey Bada$ rhymed over old beats of his on recent mixtapes. He sued Mac for copyright infringement.(Photo: Courtesy of Lord Finesse/Facebook)

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Lord Finesse - Rapper-producer Lord Finesse concocted the dreamscape-like beat for album closer "Suicidal Thoughts." Later, he produced for Big L and Dr. Dre and ran with the DITC crew. Today, a new generation of fans are discovering his music after Mac Miller and Joey Bada$ rhymed over old beats of his on recent mixtapes. He sued Mac for copyright infringement.(Photo: Courtesy of Lord Finesse/Facebook)

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Jean-Claude Olivier aka "Poke" - Jean-Claude Olivier aka Poke co-wrote and co-produced the album's closer, "Be Happy," one of Mary's signature hits. Along with his partner Tone, he was one half of the Trackmasters production duo, whose beats anchored massive hits from Nas ("Hate Me Now"), LL Cool J ("I Shot Ya") and Destiny's Child "Independent Women Pt. 1"). The duo went on hiatus for a few years while Poke dove into TV production, but after reconvening in 2008, they've landed new credits with Game, Keyshia Cole and LL Cool J.     (Photo: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)

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Poke - Poke — one half of hit-making production duo the Trackmasters — co-produced "Juicy" and "Respect." In the years to follow, him and Trackmasters partner, Tone, became one of the most successful beat-making crews of all time, working with Mariah Carey, Jay Z and 50 Cent and earning over 20 platinum plaques. After disbanding in 2005, the two recently reunited, landing beats for Lil Kim and Wiz Khalifa. (Photo: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)

Lord Digga - Digga co-produced "Me & My B---h," "Everyday Struggle" and "One More Chance" as half of the Bass Brotherz beat-making crew. He went on to rap and produce for Masta Ace before releasing several indie solo LPs — 2008's The High Plains Drifter, most recently.    (Photo: Digga/Myspace)

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Lord Digga - Digga co-produced "Me & My B---h," "Everyday Struggle" and "One More Chance" as half of the Bass Brotherz beat-making crew. He went on to rap and produce for Masta Ace before releasing several indie solo LPs — 2008's The High Plains Drifter, most recently.    (Photo: Digga/Myspace)

Total - R&B trio Total sung the hook on "Juicy" and the original album version of "One More Chance," their first taste of success. They released their platinum self-titled debut in 1996 and a gold follow-up two years later before disbanding around 2001. Group member Pamela Long is gearing up to release her debut solo album, and she tweeted that Total was recording new material.    (Photo: Bad Boy)

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Total - R&B trio Total sung the hook on "Juicy" and the original album version of "One More Chance," their first taste of success. They released their platinum self-titled debut in 1996 and a gold follow-up two years later before disbanding around 2001. Group member Pamela Long is gearing up to release her debut solo album, and she tweeted that Total was recording new material.  (Photo: Bad Boy)

DJ Mister Cee on rumors that he’s gay because of being arrested for allegedly soliciting a male sex worker:  - “I am not gay. I have not engaged in homosexual activity. Out of the three incidents that happened in the past with me, there was only one person’s name brought up that was a male.”  (Photo: PNP / WENN)

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Mister Cee - Brooklyn's DJ Mister Cee helped discover Big and served as associate executive producer on the album. He's gone on to become one of New York's biggest party and radio DJs, holding down the must-listen Throwback at Noon on Hot 97, a post from which he resigned in 2013 amid controversy surrounding his soliciting fellatio from prostitutes and a transvestite blogger. (Photo: GlobalGrind)

Photo By PNP / WENN

Diana King - Dancehall queen Diana King sang the reggae-inspired hook on "Respect." She later had a successful solo career, highlighted by the single "Shy Guy," which sold 5 million copies worldwide. Her last album was 2011's Agirlnameking, though she made more noise with her announcement this past July that she was a lesbian — she was the first major Jamaican artist to publicly come out.  (Photo: Diana King/Facebook)

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Diana King - Dancehall queen Diana King sang the reggae-inspired hook on "Respect." She later had a successful solo career, highlighted by the single "Shy Guy," which sold 5 million copies worldwide. Her last album was 2011's Agirlnameking, though she made more noise with her announcement this past July that she was a lesbian — she was the first major Jamaican artist to publicly come out. (Photo: Diana King/Facebook)

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Nashiem Myrick - Nashiem Myrick got a random production credit for "K. Murray Interlude," which features Keith Murray rhyming over a snippet of Myrick's beat for Biggie's "Who Shot Ya." Myrick was an integral part of Diddy's Hitmen production team, so it's probable he helped out elsewhere on the album as well. He and the Hitmen landed hits with Nas, Jay-Z and many more in the years to follow. More recently, Myrick helped score the 2009 film Notorious, and also produced for Queensbridge vet Cormega.   (Photo: Nashiem Myrick/Facebook)

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Nashiem Myrick - Nashiem Myrick assisted with production and drum programming throughout much of the album, though he only received credit for "Big Poppa." He found fame soon after as part of Bad Boy's Hitmen production team, landing hits with Diddy, Nas, Jay Z and many more. In recent years, Myrick helped score the 2009 film Notorious and also produced for underground vet Cormega and Diddy's Last Train to Paris.  (Photo: Nashiem Myrick/Facebook)

Chucky Thompson - Chucky Thompson created four tracks for TLC with Diddy as a key member of his Hitmen production team. Chucky's built an impressive discography in the two decades since, producing hits for Nas, Mary J. Blige and, most recently, Faith Evans's 2010 album, Something About Faith.  (Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images)

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Chucky Thompson - Chucky Thompson produced and played instruments on "Me & My B---h," "Juicy" and "One More Chance." He later found platinum success behind Nas and Mary J. Blige. In the past few years, he's produced several songs for Faith Evans, Leela James and Raheem DeVaughn. (Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images)

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Notorious B.I.G. - Biggie only got to enjoy the success of his masterpiece debut for three years. He was gunned down on March 9, 1997. We can only imagine the new classics he would've made if not for that fateful day.  (Photo: Courtesy Bad Boy Records)