Mobb Deep - The Infamous (April 25, 1995)

The former Poetical Prophets were in a tight spot. Juvenile Hell was a considerable flop, and Havoc and Prodigy were without a record label. Their careers were seemingly over before they started. They were granted a rare second chance to get their message across by the mighty Loud Records, where they would ultimately stay for several albums, and the duo did the one thing that nobody could have expected from them.


They released one of the best songs in hip hop history.


Then they released another one.


Then they released a classic fucking album, which was hard to do in 1995, since hip hop actually sounded great back then.


The Infamous is considered by most as their "true" debut album, and it completely wipes the memory of the gimmick of two kiddie rappers rhyming about robbing, stealing, and fucking, as if they were Kris Kross on meth. With this album, Havoc and Prodigy pulled off the image reinvention that eluded even MC Hammer: you believe that these guys have been around some shit and will fuck you up if they need to. Musically, Havoc slowly becomes the monster behind the boards that we would eventually know him to be, and Prodigy's lyrical game takes a dramatic step forward, with his visceral storytelling and imagery that burns into your brain. And, of all people, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, a fellow drinker of the Queensbridge water supply, comes with the production assist (on a handful of tracks) and the guest vocal, although he's credited as 'The Abstract' in the CD booklet, which is just about as gangsta a name as 'Q-Tip'.


The Infamous has since appeared on "Essential Albums" lists from magazines as diverse as Rolling Stone, The Source, and Highlights For Children. Along with Biggie and the Wu, Mobb Deep is credited for shifting hip hop's focus from Dr. Dre's G-funked West Coast back to where it all started, on the East Coast. When brought up in conversation, nobody can dispute its classic status, by penalty of you putting your foot into their ass. Havoc and Prodigy pulled off an impossible feat, one which I'm sure we probably won't ever see again, unless we find out later that The Game originally played 'Mathman' on Square One, bumped his head (oh, and got shot), switched it on us, and reinvented himself as a name-dropping Blood.


Does it still hold up? I'm guessing yes, but I haven't started listening to it yet. So let's find out.


1. THE START OF YOUR ENDING (41ST SIDE)
Rap album intro? What rap album intro? Havoc's flow has already advanced beyond his Juvenile Hell antics, and the beat is the perfect way to advise listeners that this isn't your little brother's Mobb Deep. Oh, and Prodigy's on here, too.


2. THE INFAMOUS PRELUDE
Oh, here's the intro. Should I give it a pass since it's not the first track? Fuck no!


3. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Single number two. Havoc's beat lends this song (and the whole album, actually) a grimy authenticity, as if he recorded the album in some alley late at night while robbing a guy. Prodigy becomes one of Queensbridge's best rappers with this song.


4. EYE FOR AN EYE (FEAT NAS & RAEKWON)
For the record: the Nas Escobar moniker made its debut here, NOT on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... True story: I once convinced a friend of mine to buy The Infamous by playing this one song in the car. Nas sounds great on here, and Raekwon would build upon a friendship with the Mobb that would pay off in later collaborative efforts.


5. JUST STEP PRELUDE (FEAT BIG NOYD)
Still not a big fan of acapella rhyming on rap albums, but this is passable.


6. GIVE UP THE GOODS (JUST STEP) (FEAT BIG NOYD)
Q-Tip provides one of my favorite songs on The Infamous, mainly due to the Big Noyd feature, with a scene-stealing verse that reportedly scored him his record deal with Tommy Boy Records for that Episodes Of A Hustla EP that I reviewed a few months back.

7. TEMPERATURE'S RISING (FEAT CRYSTAL JOHNSON)
Hav and P recite their letters to friends who are in hiding or recently incarcerated, respectively. In his letter, P mentions that he disposed of a gun used in a murder and did away with the man who snitched on his friend. Later on that day, Prodigy was arrested for destroying evidence and for the murder of the snitch, all based on his 'confession' in his letter. Oh well. This song rocks; the beat is simple yet effective, and the rhymes prove that Havoc and Prodigy can make shit up with the best of them.


8. UP NORTH TRIP
This album, so far, has a timeless quality. You know how you'll be sick of the beat to "This Is Why I'm Hot" by tomorrow? Well, Havoc made these beats back in fucking 1995, and they still sound great. The Infamous is one of the only hip hop albums where I feel comfortable calling nearly every song a 'composition'.


9. TRIFE LIFE
Prodigy and Havoc describe set-ups that have been attempted on them. This song still sounds good, but truthfully, after the first five songs, this is the weakest one here so far. I like the instrumental fake-out at the end, though.


10. Q.U. - HECTIC
Like "Living In The World Today" off of The Genius's Liquid Swords, this is one of those badass songs that you will only hear if you let the CD play straight through. The chorus features what sounds like the same sample used on "Shook Ones Part II", which forever links that seminal track with this song in my mind.


11. RIGHT BACK AT YOU (FEAT BIG NOYD, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, & RAEKWON)
I once convinced a different friend to buy The Infamous when he heard this song in my car. This was no small feat, because (Wu blasphemy alert!) the tag-team of Ghost and Rae does not work on this song. I love Ghost and Rae, but I want to hear full verses from them, not the two of them sharing less than 16 bars with an annoying back-and-forth. Luckily, Big Noyd and the Mobb more than make up for the weak guest spot.


12. THE GRAVE PRELUDE
Skit. Meh.


13. CRADLE TO THE GRAVE
Good news, "Trife Life"; this song is the weakest song on the album. I guess they can't all be winners.


14. DRINK AWAY THE PAIN (SITUATIONS) (FEAT Q-TIP)
Rumor has it that Q-Tip had to snatch twelve chains, fuck that bad chick from that pizzeria on Lexington and provide photographic proof, steal exactly thirteen gold bars from Fort Knox, and take a balloon away from a small child, all in order for Havoc and Prodigy to even allow him to record his verse on this song. Can anyone provide any clarification, please?


15. SHOOK ONES PT. II
The first single. One of the best rap songs, nay, one of the best songs ever made. Ever. That's all I need to say.


16. PARTY OVER
A great way to end the album.


In 2004, The Infamous was remastered and re-released with the following two bonus tracks:


17. SHOOK ONES PT. I
A much darker, grimier, and, oddly, sluttier vision of life in the ghetto, than "Part II" provided. Great song if you ever hear it.


18. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST (REMIX)
Doesn't sound as good as the original. But really, there's no way that it could.


FINAL THOUGHTS: The Infamous is one of the best hip hop records in history, and it still holds up today. Even people who don't like rap should have a place for this album in their collection, just as proof that any genre of music can provide listeners with a surreal soundscape for you to get lost in. Well played, Poetical Prophets. Now don't do anything stupid like sign with Curtis Jackson, and your careers will forever be cemented in the annals of hip hop history. What? You mean...? Goddammit!


BUY OR BURN? If you read this entire review, which I admit turned into some weird lovefest for The Infamous, and you're questioning if you should buy this album, then I don't know how to help you.


BEST TRACKS: This may sound ridiculous, but I mean this with every fiber of my being: every song EXCEPT for "Trife Life" and "Cradle To The Grave".


(Disagree with the above review? If you do, then we'll all question your taste in hip hop, and you probably shouldn't even be on this blog, but your comments are always welcome anyway!)


-Max


RELATED POSTS:
Mobb Deep - Juvenile Hell
Big Noyd - Episodes Of A Hustla
Nas - I Am...
Nas - It Was Written
Nas - Illmatic
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
Ghostface Killah - Ironman

THE TEASER: