Review Summary: The most realistic Hardcore Hip-Hop album ever made, packed with some of the most bone chilling lyrics and beats ever put on an album.
Mobb Deep is a name that anyone even interested in Hip-Hop has heard. The Infamous is seen by many as their true debut album, since their first album Juvenile Hell was so rushed, and generally poor in quality. This album however is the definition of Hip-Hop quality. Havoc's production is deeply atmospheric; when paired with Prodigy's detailed first person narratives the result is an extremely realistic portrayal of New York City's crime ridden Queensbridge. Guest spots are phenomenal, including Nas, Raekwon, and Ghostface Killah. The album as a whole is so atmospheric that it makes me feel as if I am in another place, specifically a dark, rainy urban environment. There aren't very many lighthearted moments on this album, neither in the production nor the lyrical content. Prodigy's and Havoc's tone is emotionless, giving the image that they really are murdering and selling crack, among other crimes. I believe it. Neither Prodigy nor Havoc have complex lyrics or rhyme schemes but they do have a smooth, cold flow, only adding to the realistic nature of this album.
1. Start of Your Ending
Eerie chimes and a steady synthesizer, accompanied by a short distorted piano loop introduce us to the fantastic opening track. Mobb Deep takes no time in letting us know what kind of material is going to be on this album. Packed with imagery and first person narratives,
"I'm pullin' out strippin' niggas just like a porno flick/I'm sick the Mobb rolls thick/Cross paths with my clique and get vic" This track is far from a disappointment, the Mobb shows their trademark style. A perfect intro, but the most hardcore is still to come. 5/5
2. Infamous Prelude
The first prelude of the album, Prodigy lets people knows that he just does not *** around. There's not much to say about this, so I'll post a small section of Prodigy's speech.
Yo, I'll let ya'll niggas know right now yaknowwatimsayin you aint gotta waste yo time or yo money on ya hospital bills. If you step to me on a personal level, I don't back down easy knowatmsayin there's a good chance ya ass is either gon' get shot, stabbed, or knuckled down, one out of the three. So don't gamble wit ya life, du'. Word up. And believe me, I know very well I can get shot, stabbed, or ***ed up too, whatever. I aint super-nigga I'm a lil skinny motha***er. It's all about who gets who first though.
3. Survival of the Fittest
Coming in with the creepiest piano sample on the whole album, the feel of this track is just apocalyptic. Prodigy may be his strongest on this track, reciting the famous first lines, "There's a war goin' on outside, no man is safe from/You could run but you can't hide forever/from these, streets, that we done took/You walkin with ya head down scared to look/You shook, cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks" The track features subtle horn samples throughout, giving it a dark, depressing feel. Prodigy and Havoc both drop some of their best lines ever on this track. Prodigy, "I'm goin out blastin, takin my enemies with me/and if not, they scarred, so they will never forget me" and Havoc, "My crew's all about loot/*** lookin cute, I'm strictly Timb boots and army certified suits/Puffin L's, laid back, enjoyin the smell/In the Bridge gettin down it ain't hard to tell" Havoc is one hell of a producer, inducing a rainy, dark atmosphere with this beat. Standout track. 5/5
4. Eye for a Eye
A dark, gritty piano loop introduces us to the song; the beat is perfected with sinister, echoing drums and an equally sinister synthesizer in the background. This is a DRUG song, and it is about the murder, the need for partnership and general troubles that come along with this business territory. Prodigy's verse is next to perfection and I wish I could post the whole thing without taking up too much space, but I'll just throw some highlights in here.
Another war story from a thirsty young hustler/Won't trust ya, I'd rather bust ya/and leave your corpse for the cops to discover
Niggas try to creep on the side of my jeep/Stuck the heat through the window rocked they ass to sleep/Over a 3-pack, it was a small thing really yeah/but keep lettin them small things slide and be a failure
The way in which Prodigy says these lyrics, and nearly everything on this album, strikes fear into the listener because it is so believable. Nas makes his debut of his rap persona, Nas Escobar, which would be well known for his feature on Raekwon's "Verbal Intercourse" and of course he uses this persona throughout his album "It Was Written". Both Nas's and Raekwon's guest spots are short and sweet. Nas flows with his multi syllabic rhyme structures he is so well known for and Raekwon comes on point with his stream of consciousness style lyrics. 5/5
5. Just Step Prelude
A freestyle prelude, nothing much to say but Prodigy and Havoc display their rhythmic styles without a beat. Pretty enjoyable, but not needed.
6. Give Up the Goods
The stick-up anthem. One of the more lighthearted beats on the album is provided by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest. There are so many things happening in this beat it's hard to get to everything. The hard hitting snare goes perfectly with the synthesizers that sound so wavy they could have just jumped out of an ocean. A couple electric guitar notes accompanied by some chimes drift in and out. One of the strongest beats on the album. First person narratives are given by Prodigy, and Big Noyd makes a legendary appearance that apparently landed him a $300,000 record deal. The lyrical content in this song matches the beat very well, sticking kids up and killing them is about as light hearted as this album gets. 5/5
7. Temperature's Rising
This song takes its form in a letter that Havoc and Prodigy have written to their friend that is on the run from the police, wanted for murder. It's pretty obvious to me that this song was highly influenced by Nas's "One Love" which to my knowledge was the first Hip-Hop song to take letter form. The beat is once again provided by Q-Tip, and is in my opinion of the weaker beats on the album. It's much simpler compared to "Give Up the Goods" and the samples didn't quite fit the themes of the song. Paranoia is thrown all over this song, "From windows, I see lights flashin and maybe/somebody's takin pictures - and you know who that be/Police lovers, and neighborhood snitches/They put up your sheet so everybody's pointin fingers" and the beat just doesn't match it. A good song, but not up to par with the rest of the album. 4/5
8. Up North Trip
The first thing that comes to my mind when this track comes on is how smooth it is. Yeah, it's dark but it sure is smooth. The bassline on this track stands out from the rest of the tracks, and the samples, some sort of string instrument, fits in perfectly. This song is about going to Attica, the infamous prison in upstate New York where they put the worst. Prodigy's first verse is about arriving, and making comparisons to weapons and prisons to weapons on the street. The next two verses, one by Havoc and the other by Prodigy are your typical Mobb Deep hardcore lines, but Prodigy's stands out. He comes across as intelligent and at times philosophical, very reminiscent of Nas in this verse. He sounds as intelligent as anyone could while they are talking about making crack. Prodigy drops one of his best verses on the album, here.
I got the powder, combine wit the powder, and water/It oughta, drop in a half an hour/In the, form of oil, watch the cocaine boil/Keep my eye on it so the *** won't spoil/Then I pause... and ask God why/Did he put me on the serve, just so I could die/I sit back and build on, all the things I did wrong/Why I'm still breathin, and all my friends gone/I try not to dwell on the subject for a while/Cause I might get stuck in this corrupt lifestyle/But my, heart pumps foul blood through my arteries/And I can't turn it back it's a part of me
5/5
9. Trife Life
One of the darkest tracks on The Infamous, a dark synthesizer sets the mood for this song. A sinister string sample jumps in on beat, and brings the emotion fear with it. Prodigy recites one of his best storytelling verses almost in a spoken word style. Paranoia is a key theme in this song while Prodigy talks of a possible set up that comes from an ordinary request to get together with a girl and her crew.
Then I hung up the horn/And I thought to myself that it might be on/Cause this trick ain't pick up the phone to call me in years (Why?)/Ever since I left the hoe lonely in tears/Ain't no tellin what her friends puttin up in her ears/Ideas of settin me up, I'm not tryin ta hear
Havoc drops an equally impressive verse, taking the first person view of someone sticking another up. The detail in which Prodigy and Havoc put into their verses and the extremely atmospheric production make this song one to remember. This is a song where if I lay down and am very attentive I can see the scenes play out in my head. Extremely cinematic. 5/5
10. QU Hectic
Production wise this track does not stand out, there's a good use of the horn sample and in the background you will hear the famous sample that is used in Shook Ones Part II. Nothing else in the beat makes it different from anything else we've heard on the album so far. The lyrics in this song however, are some of the most hardcore from both Prodigy and Havoc. Havoc, "As I walk around the streets/Son I got mad beef, I'ma blast you before you blast me/That's my philosophy cause nowadays you gotta be relentless/Grab my Mac and slap a nigga senseless/Don't try to play me if you do you better D.O.A. me/Son I got em shook grab a little baby for shields" and Prodigy,"My man Havoc put the bug in my ear/On the real, for real, but wait it gets realer/Real like an innocent child that turn killer/It's thing like that that only makes things iller" Great first person narratives from both MC's but not a standout track as a whole. 4.5/5
11. Right Back at You
Standout track alert! Everything about this track is utterly evil, and creates one of the most negative atmospheres I've ever heard on a record. I couldn't tell you what instrument plays those three sinister chords, but god damn does it ever create an atmosphere when paired with the pulsating bass line and echoing snare. Prodigy, along with Havoc both drop cold, cold verses. Prodigy comes through with lines like "Now run for your life or you wanna get your heat, whatever/We can die together/As long as I send your maggot ass to the esscense/I don't give a *** about my presence". Guest spots on this track are fantastic, Ghostface and Raekwon do a unique verse where they trade lines off, and it works wonderfully. Big Noyd drops a verse that almost matches his verse on "Give Up the Goods". 5/5
12. Grave Prelude
A great introduction into the song to come. Gunshots, and I'm pretty sure Big Noyd meets his end in this prelude.
13. Cradle to the Grave
A dark atmosphere is mustered up with this track. Nothing standout about the production, the good old Mobb Deep dark synthesizers, standard drums and an eerie bassline, but it definitely works. Havoc and Prodigy trade off short verses, and it works very very well. First person narratives of gun battles and runaways from police men keep this song moving along quite nicely.
Kid you ain't lyin!/I went to stash the murder weapon,plus I'm relyin/On a door to be open, goin in the building, it’s a trap!/Police buckin at me, they try to twist my dome back/Jetted up the staircase to the third floor/Reached behind the sink, throw the heater on the floor
4.5/5
14. Drink Away the Pain
Another Q-Tip beat and it definitely does not disappoint. A jazzy bass line dances over smooth horn samples, this track is definitely a departure from the rest of the album. This track is filled with some spectacular imagery and it retains an extended metaphor throughout. This is definitely some of the finest metaphor storytelling I have ever heard. If I'm not paying attention to this song it is very easy to get lost in the metaphor and just think that they are rapping about women, when in reality they are making comparisons of alcohol to women. Q-Tip morphs his style for this guest feature, he makes a break from his chill style and makes himself a bit of a gangster persona. His high pitched, fast spoken verse is definitely a highlight of the album. Great track. 5/5
15. Shook Ones Part II
This song is right up there with "Right Back at You", and "Survival of the Fittest" as the grittiest, darkest, most evil track on the album. Mobb Deep does dark songs in a way no one else ever could and has not done since. The piano loop on this track is sinister, gothic, and reminds me of atmospheres that are attempted to be created in some horror films even. The sample from "QU Hectic" comes back, but this time it's not subtle, it's in full force and it brings a sense of aggression to the track. Prodigy once again proves that he does not *** around with this verse, starting off with the famous lines,
I got you stuck off the realness, we be the infamous/you heard of us/official Queensbridge murderers/the Mobb comes equipped with warfare, beware/of my crime family who got nuff shots to share/for all of those who wanna profile and pose/rock you in your face, stab your brain wit' your nosebone
This is violent, hardcore hip hop at its finest. This track got me shook. 5/5
16. Party's Over
Isn't this a little dark for a party song? OH. It's the AFTER party song. The samples are distorted to the point where I couldn't put a finger on the instruments but they sure are creepy. There's a really nice, crumbling bass line in this song. Makes me think I'm in a dark, abandoned house. The subtle sound of rainfall in the background really adds to the feel of this track. The lyrics do not stand out from the rest of the album regardless of Prodigy not using his normal, point of view narratives. 5/5
Final score: 5/5
