After unleashing their okay but rather forgettable debut album Juvenile Hell into the world of hip-hop, Queens duo Mobb Deep were promptly dropped from their label (4th & Broadway) due to them making absolutely no money whatsoever. Now, most acts would probably take this as a sign, and split apart to pursue other endeavours - perhaps baking or knitting - but not Havoc and Prodigy, who instead decided that, as a big "fuck you" to their ex-label, they were going to record and release arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time, a project heralded by many as a legendary moment in the history of the genre, containing some of the most celebrated songs the art form had ever seen. They had a producer, and they had two rappers (Havoc counts for both, of course), and so all they needed now was a platform to release their new music on, and that's when Loud Records came into the picture.
Having seen success with their first group Wu-Tang Clan, Loud thought it was worth taking the gamble on another group, and Mobb Deep were the act they selected. The Mobb recorded a single for the label almost immediately, releasing "Shook Ones" mostly to the crickets, but nonetheless receiving positive reception from the small group of people who did hear the track. Since people seemed to like their new, slower-paced, darker, grittier sound, Havoc and Prodigy set about recording an album of songs to sound just like that, with a bit of help from members of the aforementioned Wu - Raekwon and Ghostface Killah - , fellow Queensbridge artist Nas, legendary producer/rapper Q-Tip, and the inevitable weed carrier, Big Noyd. The blueprint was set then, but would this set up end up working as well in the real world as it did on paper?
Well, when The Infamous was released in April of 1995, people (especially those who heard Juvenile Hell) were stunned. These two Queensbridge chaps who most people had never heard of before had come out and created a masterpiece, an album that redefined the sound of the genre, and managed to stand out on top in a year when we got classics from Pac, GZA, Raekwon, The Roots, AZ and more. From Havoc's atmospheric and haunting production to Prodigy's airy and sinister vocals, everything about this disc was nothing short of absolute perfection. I mean, is there even any use introducing this thing? Everyone knows this album! And, if you don't mind me spoiling the finale of this review, there's a very good reason for that.
It's incredible.
All tracks produced by Mobb Deep (or rather just Havoc), except where noted.
1. The Start Of Your Ending (41st Side)
Not only does this have arguably the best song title of all time, but it may well be the best opening track in hip-hop history (well, top five - "The Message" and "Time 4 Sum Aksion" would have to be ahead for me). Wisely deciding to leave out the spoken rap album intro, Havoc and P get straight to the rhymes, and any doubts you may have had about this album going into it are immediately washed away, to be replaced with a haunting wonder that comes from the terrifying instrumental, and brilliantly aggressive lyrics. You know those rappers that couldn't sound convincingly aggressive if they held a glock to your eyeball? Yeah, that's not these guys. "You better off buckin' yourself, you need to stop frontin'" is my favourite line, but there are countless others that you could take from this song that will still implement fear and horror into you via a tremble through your spine. This song is absolutely fantastic, and the fact that it isn't even the best song here shows just how great the music we're about to get into really is.
2. [The Infamous Prelude]
Ahhhhh, they almost did it. Seems like the duo did succumb to making a rap album intro, but they put a whole song before it to soften the blow. Prodigy disses Keith Murray and Redman on here, which I don't like, but still at least he's self aware - "I'm a little skinny motherfucker".
3. Survival Of the Fittest
4. Eye For a Eye (Your Beef Is Mines) (feat. Nas & Raekwon the Chef)
Prodigy, Havoc, Nas and Raekwon rapping together on a track in 1995. Just let that sink in for a second. We got four of the greatest MCs of all time in their primes rapping together on a track. And what makes it even better is that this song is everything we could have hoped for and more. Havoc provides a beat that could have been painstakingly extracted out of an ancient granite cliff it's so tough, and all of the MCs deliver some of the hardest, most aggressive verses of their entire careers. In my opinion, the best verse here belongs to Nasir Jones, who really exaggerates his Nas Escobar persona on here with some brutal rhymes that would have probably had the Illmatic Nas shot up just for setting foot in his neighbourhood. That said, there isn't a single verse on here that wouldn't land in a list of "best verses of the '90s" - it's that good. This track is fantastic.
5. [Just Step Prelude]
Big Noyd and Prodigy provide some acapella freestyles that are surprisingly entertaining for what they are. Who said rap songs needed a beat to sound interesting? Also, Big Noyd actually kills this one.
6. Give Up the Goods (Just Step) (feat. Big Noyd) (prod. The Abstract)
While this might well be a disturbingly scorching take (it could also be perfectly normal - I don't really know), this song right here is my favourite on the whole album. Q-Tip (under pseudonym The Abstract) hands our hosts the first of three instrumentals he'll eventually provide, and it's easily the best of them, providing incredibly upbeat energy that makes for a much more positive listen than the bleak and disturbing atmosphere of the previous tracks. Of course, Prodigy and Havoc don't do much to switch up their lyrical content here, but they do deliver some of their thoughts and musings on how they go about robbing motherfuckers in a more excitable way. If I'm perfectly honest, though, the best verse on here belongs to guest star Big Noyd, who manages to steal the show with his incredibly memorable delivery and fun bars - "Don't make me buck ya, 'cause I'm a wild motherfucker" being one of my favourites. I also love the incredibly catchy hook towards the end (and the beat switch up that goes along with it) on here, and the outro with just Prodigy rapping over drums also made for an interesting touch. This song is an undisputable classic.
7. Temperature's Rising (feat. Crystal Nicole) (prod. The Abstract, co-prod. Mobb Deep)
8. Up North Trip
Havoc finally gets back behind the boards, only to make an instrumental that has exactly the same vibe as Q-Tip's work on here - not that I'm complaining, as it just makes the transition between the two producers a lot less jarring. "Up North Trip" is a song about doin' yo' dirt in the street without getting caught by the police - "up north" refers to the fact that most New York State prisons are located North of the city. The song, despite the production being fun and groovy, has a rather paranoid nature to it, as Prodigy and Havoc speak on how they fear constantly for their lives, and Prodigy's final verse is especially brutal and depressing. Sure, the beat isn't as incredible as the others, but these incredible lyrics absolutely make up for it.
9. Trife Life
Asides from the iconic song that everyone knows appearing later on, this is, in my opinion, the best beat on the whole entire album. That bassline is nicer than a hot sunny day in England, and the haunting sound effects throughout just make the atmosphere so heavenly and wonderful. And while the flows are a little less calculated and more formulaic on here compared with the rest of the album, the content is actually really interesting. Prodigy spends his verse talking about a potential set up that the girl he's meeting up with is about to lead him to, meanwhile Havoc plays his role as a Queensbridge resident who will be the guy to set you up - "the side where niggas don't give a fuck. The side where if you come through fronting, kid, you gettin' bucked!!" This song was so good that it even warranted a sequel that appeared on their next record - this might well be the best non-single on the whole album.
10. Q.U.-Hectic
This track is most famous for using the same metallic screeching sound from "Shook Ones Pt. II" in its chorus, but if justice counted for anything then this would be just as known as that infamous (get it?) track. "Q.U.-Hectic" doesn't stand out on first listen as much as most of the other tracks on this record, but on subsequent listens this song slowly but surely grows on you until you love it just as much as the other fantastic songs on here. After the sounds of random people chatting away plays out for a while (seriously, why does it seem that all mid '90s rap albums do that?), Havoc's lowkey and vibey production enters, and it is fantastic, especially when the jazzy horns come in. The rapping, meanwhile, is about on the level of quality you can expect and demand by this point in the album. Dope stuff.
11. Right Back At You (feat. Ghostface Killer, Raekwon the Chef & Big Noyd) (prod. Mobb Deep, co-prod. Schott Free)
A peaceful and reflective moment where the rappers reflect on how they are looking forward to getting back home to their loving wives after a long and tiring month of charity work. Oh, wait, hold on a minute. This song is actually one of the most aggressive and brutal on the entire disc, with Prodigy dropping a harsh, aggressive verse that Havoc follows up with similar content, only more profanity. My favourite verse, however, is the third, in which Ghost and Rae go back and forth with a chemistry to rival David Mitchell and Robert Webb on their best day. Big Noyd's contribution at the end was alright, but everything else here (including Havoc's haunting instrumental) is perfection.
12. [The Grave Prelude]
The only interlude on the album that feels a bit unnecessary - this probably could have been chucked on the front of the next track. Still, the extended build up does increase the hype, meaning this has some kind of purpose - more than can be said for most skits (looking at you, Redman).
13. Cradle to the Grave
Finally, P and Havoc decide to go back and forth on the verses, rather than taking a whole one each for themselves, and the results are (as we, let's be honest, should expect) utterly fantastic. The first long verse tells a story of P and Havoc attempting to escape from the police after a murder, and the second verse illustrates the inner workings of their mind having realised one of their friends double crossed them and snitched. Cynical listeners would probably hear the lyrics of this one and retch at the violence and profanity, but when I listen to it, I only hear horror, paranoia, and a clear message within the pair's tales that what they are doing is absolutely not the right way to live. It's a horrifying song, and Havoc's beat (which features a crackly record sound effect) fits the lyrics by being the darkest on this whole entire LP. I absolutely love this song.
14. Drink Away the Pain (Situations) (feat. Q-Tip) (prod. The Abstract, co-prod. Mobb Deep)
Q-Tip is back, and this time for a jazzy affair that he actually bothers to rap over, so that's good. Unfortunately, this song does sound kinda out of place on this album, being that this instrumental just sounds so happy, and Prodigy and Havoc's love raps come across as pretty mean spirited all in all. Funny how on its own, this song is bloody great, but when put into context with the rest of the album it's the worst song. Just goes to show how phenomenal the rest of this record is.
15. Shook Ones Pt. II
I don't care if it's overplayed, I don't care that it was in 8 Mile, and I most certainly don't care that it's a fucking TikTok song. This is one of the best hip-hop songs of all time, with arguably the best instrumental I have ever heard, and it being used on the shittiest app there is isn't going to stop me from bumping this masterpiece to high heaven. Everything about this song is perfect. The memorable hook. The haunting and mesmerising instrumental. The verses packed with one liners. "The next rhyme I write might be about you". There isn't much more about this song that hasn't already been said, and if you somehow haven't heard this track, then please go and listen to it now. But not before you uninstall TikTok. Seriously, fuck that bullshit.
16. Party Over (feat. Big Noyd) (prod. Mobb Deep, co-prod. Matt Life)
For some reason I feel like people think this is the worst song on the album, and while it does seem a slightly anticlimactic and bleak way to finish things off, that doesn't mean it's bad - in fact, it's a unique and interesting way to end the record. The calm following the storm, if you will. Havoc's percussion heavy beat on here is head noddin' all the way through, and the three rappers illustrate themselves as dope ass MCs to the fullest here - Big Noyd also redeems himself after his merely okay performance on "Right Back At You". This is a pretty great closer if you ask me.
The word "perfection" gets thrown around a lot these days, but when it comes to The Infamous, I think the term just about fits in nicely. This album is the simple, unfiltered perfect rap album. Nowadays, whenever I read something that mentions or discusses the genre of hip-hop without bringing up names, I think of Mobb Deep, and specifically the music on this album. Every moment of this record is a simply a wonder to behold, and there's so little I would change that it's actually astonishing - it's like this was made for me. Let's start off with the production, which is not only incredibly varied, but uniformly phenomenal. Every single beat on here does exactly what it intends, whether it's the grimy and haunting "The Start Of Your Ending", the upbeat "Give Up the Goods" or the depressing and mesmerising "Cradle to the Grave" - I could go on. Each one of the beats brings a different feel, and yet the album feels so cohesive, and flows so well through the different moods. Havoc really proved himself as one of if not the best producer in the game at the time, and Q-Tip's work was also incredibly potent. Now onto the features. We could have expected Tip, Nas, Rae and Ghost to be as excellent as they were, but Big Noyd? He absolutely murders three of his four verses on here, and his performance on "Give Up the Goods" surely cements him as one of the top weed carriers of all time. Really, though, this is about Prodigy and Havoc, and what they did on this album should really be taught to every single person who thinks rap is purely about glorifying violence and misogyny. Throughout this record, violence and street life are the main themes, but not once do Prodigy and Havoc come close to making that sort of life sound appealing - they consistently show through paranoia and manically aggressive outbursts that the lives they lead are awful, and their example should not be followed to any extent. Of course, I could highlight the fantastic one-liners, or the brilliant lyricism, but I think the standout about this whole thing is just how it manages to turn the listener away from lives of drugs and crime, and manages to, amongst the misery and brutality, unearth a positive message to be taken from it - don't do this. Don't get into this life. It's not worth it. This is not only a classic rap album, but it is one of the strongest and most impactful pieces of media ever released, and serves to make all those hip-hop haters eat their own words like so many vegan sandwiches. Should you give it a listen? I'll let you work that one out for yourself.
Best Tracks: Every. Single. One.
Worst Tracks: No. Just no.
More Mobb Deep to be found over here
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