Doggy Style by Snoop Doggy Dogg- 
Biggie was such a big fan of Snoop’s raps over Dr. Dre beats. Biggie was so obsessed with West Coast rap music that he often recorded freestyles over some of Dre’s most famous beats. Biggie always wanted to sell as much as Snoop did, and often times tried to study “Doggy Style” to see if there was anything that he could learn about the music that made it sell so well that he could translate into his own music.
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) By Wu-Tang Clan- 
Even though Biggie had a few year long beef with Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, he was actually a huge fan of their music. He even stayed a fan of their music during the beef! Biggie loved the Wu-Tang and did mention being a fan of their debut, “36 Chambers”. That album was released during the recording sessions of “Ready To Die” and Biggie definitely listened to the album trying to pick up whatever tips he could from the group.
Illmatic by Nas- 
Biggie was a huge fan of Nas’ debut album released in 1994. Biggie loved the Illmatic album so much, that he was upset that it was only 8 tracks with an intro. That fact did play a small role in Biggie releasing 17 tracks on his debut “Ready To Die” which was released months later. In a few interviews conducted before “Ready To Die” was released, Biggie did speak that he loved the production of Nas’ Illmatic and wanted to record with Large Professor in the future.
Whut? Thee Album By Redman- 
Biggie knew that by the time he signed with Bad Boy Records, that his raw rapping skills were better than 99% of the rappers his age from New York. He knew that there were very few MCs’ (record deal or not) that could match his level of talent. One of them was Nas and another one was Newark emcee Redman. Biggie was a huge fan of Redman’s 1992 album “Whut? Thee Album” and often tested just how good his own rhymes were against Redman’s from that album.
The Show, The After Party, The Hotel by Jodeci- 
Biggie was not just a huge of rap music (which he was, he knew everyone who was any good including underground artists from all over the map) but Biggie was also a big R&B listener. Biggie often listened to Mary J. Blige, the Isley Brothers, but one of Biggie’s all time favorite groups was Jodeci. Biggie said that after he got famous, there were some night that he would unwind in the bathtub listening to blasted Jodeci.
Picasso Baby 