Mobb Deep - Infamous (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

Mobb Deep- The Infamous

Constant | Vancouver, BC Canada | 07/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mobb Deep's 2nd album "The Infamous" (1995) is excellent. This was the first Mobb Deep album I got and to this day remains my favourite Mobb Deep album, though there next album "Hell on Earth" is not to be missed either. Mobb Deep (Prodigy & Havoc), Matt Life & Schott Free executive produce, with additonal track production coming from Abstract (aka Q-Tip). Guest appearances come from: Nas, Raekwon, Big Noyd, Q-Tip, Crystal Johnson & Ghostface Killer. Thirteen tracks plus three preludes, album starts off with "The Start of your Ending" a track where Mobb Deep represents Queensbridge and the 41st side. The next track is "Survival of the Fittest" a truly banging track with P starting off with "There's a war goin on outside, no man is safe from You could run but you can't hide forever..." and in between verses the addictive chorus of "Yo, yo We livin this til the day that we die Survival of the fit only the strong survive(We still livin it)", track has wicked piano rifts, and P & Hav drop memorable verses. This is followed up by "Eye for an Eye (Your Beef is Mines)" Feat. Raekwon and Nas, everyone comes out well on this one. Mobb Deep comes out hard on "Give up The Goods" Feat. Big Noyd a track about moneymaking and survival. "Temperature's Rising" is a more relaxed track which features R & B chorus from Crystal Johnson, and a story about a man on the run. Next comes "Up North Trip" which is about getting locked up, beat to this song is sick. Followed up by two grimy tracks, "Trife Life" a story of a setup and "Q.U. Hectic" an even darker track about streetlife. "Right Back at You" feat. Big Noyd, and Wu-Tangs Ghostface & Raekwon is another good collabration track. Q-Tips produces "Drink Away the Pain" a more upbeat track where P and Hav show love for the shorties, Q-Tip drops in for a verse too, and the background use of saxophone sample makes this another standout track. "Shook ones PT. II" which is the albums lead single,is a banging hardcore track, where Mobb Deep comes out blazing, this track really turned heads, no surprise that its been remixed and sampled many times over, I love the chorus of "they shook...'cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks, scared to death and scared to look". This track never gets old for me. Albums closes with "Party Over" feat. Big Noyd a track where Mobb Deep talks about taking out and taking on all contenders. Unique, Dark, Grimy, Jazzy (yes jazzy check track 1 & 14) Real, Hardcore, Memorable a few words that come to mind when I think of this album. What makes this album real to me is Mobb Deep drops thirteen tracks dark & grimy (for most part) about street life, while doing it in a way that keeps the listner entertained throghout. Theres no Collabs with 112 (Infamy), no R & B hooks on lead singles, just hardcore hiphop at its best. Highly recommend Mobb Deep's "The Infamous" for the collection."

Cradle to the Grave

Matt | NJ | 10/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a classic album. The beats are true East Coast, mid-90s style at its best and the rhymes are timeless. From beginning to end, this album hits all points and does not disappoint. It remains solid throughout.

The singles off this album were "Survival of the Fittest" and "Shook Ones Part II". These were both great tracks, but each track on this album is equally impressive - each telling a different story.

Havoc does some notable sample-work and arrangement on this album. The beats are as good as it gets and Prodigy and Havoc play off each other very well when it comes to rhyming.

I still feel this is Mobb's best album to date. CLASSIC!"

Aint No Such Things as Halfway crooks

Enlightened | Atlanta Georgia | 06/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THis cd is amazing. THe production is tight. Packs some Street anthems like a champ. Nice diverse sound with Q-tip and Havoc handling most of the production this cd never gets boring. Although they are not the best of rappers( even Prodigy says he aint super n..... he skinny) they know how to flip they stuff and make it work. This album is for deep in the streets. Guest appearances are kept to a minimum but when they do appear they put in classic perfomrances. Artists like Raekwon, Nas, Ghostface, Q-Tip, and Big Noyd make the cd that much more enjoyable. This is their best album to me even better than Murda Music. The standout cuts include Start of Your Ending, Survival of Tthe Fittest, Temp is Risign, Trife Life, Right Back at You, Drink Away the Pain, Shook ones part 2, give up the goods, Up North Trip. An essential if you like Northern Rap, or any kind of rap for that matter. havocs production is on point. Pick it up cus you will definitely be bumping this for a long time."

HIP HOP'S DARKEST MASTERPIECE...

? | United Kingdom! | 06/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Similar to Smif - N- Wessun's "Dah Shinin'" and Black Moon's "Enta Da Stage", Mobb Deep's (second album) "The Infamous" reigns supreme as NY's darkest and most eerily "street" album, period. With this release, Prodigy & Havoc really set themselves apart from the rest, and not only furthered QB's position in HipHop, but laid their foundation for what would be a very respected career. It's unfortunate that it would be their second release that got them noticed, as in my opinion, their debut; "Juvenlie Hell" displayed raw talent, but quite clearly, still has nothin' on this. Dropping one year after arguably the greatest hiphop album of all time (Nas': Illmatic), "the infamous" became undoubtedly one of few releases to immediately receive praise, from whoever gave it a try.

Now, try & ask any self-proclaimed Hiphop fans whether they have ever heard "Shook Ones part 2", and what you should encounter is a response that should lead you to think you have, unknowingly, just thrown a direct insult! It's a straight fact; it is one of the most influential and groundbreaking tracks of all time!. It is impossible to count just how many times P & Hav have been sampled on that, timeless classics have sampled that track. It's a STRICT, untainted, masterpiece. Similarly, "Survival of the fittest" and "Give Up The Goods" are regarded as two of the greatest tracks ever to emerge from the Gutters of the East, with bass-heavy & perfectly flipped samples courtesy of Havoc & The abstract. BUT YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOWWW THAT!

Despite these being the significant highlights of the album, it has to be said that the album is VERY consistent and their are alot of other tracks which are almost on par with such classics. Most notably "The Start of Your Ending" produced by Hav, which is for me, one of Mobb's best tracks peroid, and a great intro to the album "I'm in this to win this, you're gonna take a fall...". "Up North Trip" gives a captivating narration over one - hell of a beat, check the vibe. Not to mention the eery classic "QU Hectic", if that doesn't get you ready to lace up your timz n hoods then I don't know what will! "When you're outta town represent your ground..." and the cut "Right Back At You" featuring Ghostface & Raekwon at their peak. And that's just to name a few, take it from me, there is not one bad track on the whole thing...you can stick it on and take a journey through QB's dark side, without wanting to help it along by grippin' the remote. Along with Ghost & Raekwon, Legends; Q-Tip, Nas, an unknown Big Noyd & crystal johnson fortunately come along for the ride! Aaaah There is just too much to say about this album.

Now, if you've read this review, took a peep at the other 5 star reviews and still hesitating to buy it, you should just straight close this window, turn your computer off, throw it off a cliff, and -well- follow it. Have no doubts, cop this right now (and it's always cheap) there's no exscuses, DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT, just buy it. You're only cheating yourself, enough said. ONE OF THE GREATEST HIPHOP ALBUMS OF ALL TIME!

Lyrics - 10/10

Beats - 10/10

Originality - 10/10

Replay Value - 10/10

If you found this helpful, check out my other reviews"

Possibly the most sadistic hip-hop album

liveon14887 | 12/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Infamous... falls short of classics like Illmatic and Strictly Business but definitely upholds their tradition. It proved to the suckers that Queensbridge heads don't play.

Prodigy's thugged out entertainment and Havoc's spine-chilling and sonic production on cuts such as the dark and gritty Shook Ones, pt. II and Right Back at You and the stick-up kid anthem Give Up the Goods proved to be timeless street-joints in the same vein as Life's a B*tch and I'm Housin'.

Their Right Back at You, featuring the demon-like figures Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Big Noyd, would for sure scare the kids back to sleep. The album was a staple for all hardheaded fools coming up in the game. This is one hell of a CD for all the true hardknock heads in rap, definitely not for the faint ear.

Personal favorite= Shook Ones, pt. 2

Honorable mentions= Survival of the Fittest, Right Back at You and Drink Away the Pain"

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