"Make it hot." No, it's not Call Me, Ishmael. But those three words start the song that would become The Notorious BIG's lone Bay-Area Mobb music attempt from a major East Coast artist. It was a completely different era, obviously. Pac was trying to convince the world that his paranoid fantasies were actually becoming reality, with mixed results; as was his campaign to sour the taste of Biggie Smalls in the mouths of Bay Area residents whenever the rappers' music or name was even mentioned. Yes, everyone here knew the narrative of Tupac Shakur, and how he (and to a larger extent, the American Media) was trying to make everyone choose between the two emcees, and to a greater extant, entire coasts. But the Bay Area wasn't having it. And neither was BIG. 'Ready To Die' had been an 100% East-Coast affair, but Biggie wanted to expand his resume. He also wanted to put this bullshit with Pac behind him, regardless if the feelings weren't mutual. So, for BIG's 2-disc opus, 'Life After Death', he went with a little more California-esque flavor. On certain tracks, that is. Hip-hop was still divided by coasts in terms of sound & influence back in the 1990's, and Bad Boy Records' executive and final-say-having record producer, Puff Daddy was no different in strategy at this point in time. But Puff realized where rap was going, and wanted to steer the commercial ship's course as much as possible. Hence Puff's soon-to-be-successful strategy of mixing well-known hits of the 80's with the simple rhymes of excess of rappers such as Mase and himself (after Biggie's early demise, that is, or it'd have been BIG all the way...). If Puffy was actually self-conscious of what he planned to with the direction of his Bad Boy Ent. label at the time of 'The World Is Filled...' may never be known. But the fact remains that Bad Boy, and The Notorious BIG, were in a transition. James Brown samples were on the way OUT, and George Clinton was IN.
Southern California had received most of the shine the West Coast was receiving from the media in the early 90's, and rightfully so. The biggest artists to break during this time-period were most-always from LA and its surrounding counties. But the Bay Area wasn't to be counted out just yet. Tupac was a monumental force to be reckoned with. And with all the light being shown on Pac, it was only a matter of time before that light started to cast itself on the artists surrounding him. Digital Underground had already broke with Shock G's Humpty Hump character (and broke Pac himself in the process), and E-40 and Too $hort had already established themselves locally as strong independent artists viable to major labels, so they were prepared more than anyone to make the jump to a national music platform. $hort had himself been puttin' in work with cohort Freddy B since the mid-80's at the tender age of fourteen and was now leading a successful music career. But more than viable commercial success, Too $hort had the undeniable respect of his peers. Everybody loved Too $hort. And Biggie was no different. An infamous tense encounter between BIG and E-40 around this time (which is explained in multiple sources including YouTube) actually started in part because of an interview The Notorious BIG had done at a Sacramento radio station (or in a local magazine, the direct source isn't concrete apparently) where he rated local Bay Area emcees and gave Forty Fonzarelli a "zero" on a 1-10 scale. He gave Too $hort a perfect ten. So it was only natural when Too $hort showed-up on the credits of one of the finishing tracks of 'Life After Death'. The lone West-Coast artist on the album, Too $hort gave Biggie major appeal to his West-Coast and Southern listeners (Short is a legend in the South maybe more than the Bay Area...), as well as being a neutral third-party in the somewhat-coastal beef between BIG and Pac. BIG also had an infatuation with the "player lifestyle" so prevalent in the 90's (and thankfully, put to rest years ago in terms of lingo usage), and Too $hort was the direct Godfather of the style. He gave BIG even more street cred than Biggie Smalls already had, too. Apparently, the original version of the song included another OG Oakland rap legend, Richie Rich. At the peak of his career in 9-6, Richie Rich originally appeared on the track alongside of BIG and Short. For reasons never given, Puff Daddy replaced Double-R with himself. And it's not bad, Puffy's flamboyant personality already blended well with this 90's version of the pimp lifestyle. Richie Rich also had been associating himself more & more with 2pac during this time (with Pac even appearing on RR's 1996 release 'Seasoned Veteran' and it's stand-out track, 'Niggas Done Changed'), and Puffy possibly saw this as bad for business and left Richie Rich off the record. Either way, Too $hort more than makes-up for RR's absence. His Oakland shit-talking ad-lib for 30-seconds-or-so at the track's end is classic Short. The record was produced by soon-to-be Kanye West mentor, D-Dot Angeletti, as well as Puffy himself. Angeletti sampled primarily the record 'Space Talk' by Asha Puthli, as well as the infamous "Make It Hot" vocal sample of Biggie himself, from his 'Ready To Die' track, 'The What'. Then-unsigned R&B artist Carl Thomas is responsible for delivering the hook. 'The World Is Filled...' remains today a staple of every West-Coast DJ's "classic 90's hip-hop" setlist, and it probably always will. Because it makes shit hot. And keeps it there for four-minutes and fifty-four seconds. Biggie says it right there in the beginning of the track, y'all. And always remember, you can never make a hoe into a housewife. 'The World Is Filled...' might be a regional favorite, but that shit's universal.
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