The mid-90s was when the rap genre proved itself and showed it was here to stay. These times were highlighted by albums like “Illmatic” by Nas, and “Ready To Die” by Notorious B.I.G. The Infamous by Mobb Deep is right up there as well. The pairing of Prodigy and Havoc cemented themselves as East Coast hardcore rap figureheads with the release of this album in 1995. I am excited to review this album as I have been meaning to listen to this for a while. I have been familiar with and listening to Mobb Deep since I was 6 years old, as their most popular song, “Shook Ones Part II” was featured on the NBA 2k13 soundtrack, which I played a lot of. I had listened to this album once before, but it was at the end of a 4-hour drive, so I wasn’t able to comprehend much. There are 16 tracks on this album to last for an hour and 6 minutes.
“The Start of Your Ending”- 9.0/10 Really cool drum loop that keeps you entertained throughout the song, paired with a harp sound. Great start to the album.
“(The Infamous Prelude)”- solid Prelude, Prodigy and Havoc letting everyone know they aren’t to be played with, we also get our first couple of “word up’s” from Havoc of the album.
“Survival of the Fittest”- 10/10 This song made me make a stank face. The deep piano paired with the high hats are incredible. Mobb Deeps flow on this song is perfect. Even the hook is perfect.
“Eye for a Eye” (feat. Nas & Raekwon)-8.5/10 I was the most excited for this song just reading the track list because Nas is featuring on it, the piano beat got a little tiring by the middle of the song, but Nas’s verse was awesome and the transition from Nas to Raekwon was really good. I also really liked the hook, so far Mobb Deep is 3 for 3
“(Just Step Prelude)”- decent prelude, just prodigy and havoc freestyling for a minute.
“Give Up the Goods” (feat. Big Noyd)- 10/10 I had this song on my playlist prior to this review already. Listen to this song with headphones and you might just shed a tear. The bass in the background, the drum loop, the feature, all of it perfect.
“Temperature’s Rising” (feat. Crystal Johnson)- 9.5/10 nasty drums that you can feel in your soul to start the song, the beat overall is incredible. The feature is some beautiful singing that makes the hook of this song very good, the only reason it isn’t a 10 is I thought the flow didn’t fit the beat as best It could, and the song dragged on a bit at the end.
“Up North Trip”- 9.5/10 good drum loop, really good beat overall. One of the best rapping performances so far, with perfect flow and a bit of storytelling. Also, a nice hook.
“Trife Life”- 10/10 this might be the best beat of the album so far, a really good bass in the background. This song is almost haunting to listen to, the story Mobb Deep tells of gang violence, paired with an intense sound I can’t even explain breaking up the drums every 10 seconds is great.
“Q.U. – Hectic”- 9.0/10 pretty cool beat, a saxophone comes in breaking up the drum loop every once in a while, again an incredible rapping performance.
“Right Back at You” (feat. Ghostface Killah. Raekwon & Big Noyd)-8.0/10 pretty good beat but it does get tiring by the end of the song, the features were on point once again.
(The Grave Prelude)- My favorite prelude of the album for sure, super cool.
“Cradle to the Grave”- 9.5/10 The prelude transitions really nicely into this song, the song elaborates on the story we were introduced to in the prelude. The only problem is the drum loop rides out solo for a bit too long at times.
“Drink Away the Pain (feat. Q-Tip)”- 9.8/10 the really cool drum sound from Give Up the Goods, and the saxophone from Q.U. come back on this song. A very nice change of pace for this album as this song is about a breakup. Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest is on this song which is awesome. It isn’t perfect like Give Up the Goods or Survival of The Fittest but still very good.
“Shook Ones Pt.II”- 10/10 This song captured my heart and had me rapping along as a 6 year old and still holds up 11 years later. An iconic beat used in 8-mile for Eminem’s rap battle. Not much else to say that hasn’t been already.
“Party Over (feat. Big Noyd)”- 9.5/10 this song has the type of drum loop you could listen to for an hour and not get bored of, Big Noyd comes with a really good feature once again, really good rap performance from Mobb Deep again, the beat complimenting the drums can get a bit boring near the end of the song, but a really nice way to wrap up the album.
Final rating Strong 9
This album was honestly better than I thought it would be, an album with no misses. Didn’t quite hit the 10 mark that I give to albums like Illmatic by Nas or MM..Food by MF DOOM but still a must listen if you’re a fan of rap. I plan to do more album reviews in the future and would appreciate some suggestions. I think I can give a good review for all genres. Please E-Mail me your suggestions at [email protected].
Scoring Criteria
10= “GOAT’s”
9= All Time Classic
8=Amazing
7=Great
6=Good
5= Mid
4 or under= Bad