Mobb Deep - Murda Muzik (August 17, 1999)

Queensbridge rappers in residence/fair housing advocates Havoc and Prodigy, better known by their birth names of Mobb and Deep, were coming off of two classic albums, and were ready to give the streets more of the same. However, just like Nas's I Am, the bootleggers were out in full force to fuck everything up.

Murda Muzik, their fourth full-length (and their third for the used-to-be-mighty Loud records), had the shit bootlegged out of it. The ironic part is that the bootlegged version actually garnered some pretty decent reviews. However, why would anyone purchase a legitimate copy of your album when they can pay three bucks for a CD-R from the guy on the corner? Havoc and Prodigy, sensing a way to make more of a profit, rushed several new tracks onto the official pressing, making the official Murda Muzik different enough to justify fans spending even more money.

The key word in that last sentence is rushed.

1. INTRO

The Infamous duo have resorted to using a rap album intro. This is not a good sign.

2. STREETS RAISED ME (FEAT BIG NOYD & CHINKY)

This beat is not what you would expect from the guys who brought you The Infamous and Hell On Earth. This is a horrible way to introduce your album.

3. WHAT'S YA POISON (FEAT CORMEGA)
For those of you who were lucky enough to hear the original bootlegged version of Murda Muzik, this song was originally called "Deer Park". This is closer to what I was expecting. Cormega is decent, but Havoc steals the show. Oh, and Prodigy is on here, too.

4. SPREAD LOVE
It's almost as if Havoc used up all of his good beats on the last two albums, and used his MTV Music Generator to whip up some awful shit. And Prodigy's lyrics on this album are just fucking lazy. It's obvious that P reached his lyrical peak with Hell On Earth. Too bad there's like seventy more Mobb Deep albums in their goddamn catalog.

5. LET A HO BE A HO
From the Nicolas Cage film of the same name.

6. I'M GOING OUT (FEAT LIL' CEASE)
One of the "rushed" tracks. I find it hard to believe that the Mobb would want to work with Junior M.A.F.I.A. cohorts Lil' Cease and Lil' Kim (you'll see her later) under normal circumstances. But then again, Havoc worked with Foxy Brown on her debut, so what do I know.

7. ALLUSTRIOUS
As a writer, I get pretty ticked off when words are blatantly misspelled with no cause or explanation. (You may conclude that hip hop isn't really the best fit for me then, but you'd be dead wrong.) Anyway, this song isn't even worth a mention otherwise, so I decided to complain about the spelling error in order to fill space. And now I'm done.

8. ADRENALINE
I can understand the complaints about this album. How many different ways can you rhyme about life in QB, hustling, killing, and sleeping around occasionally? Apparently, not many. Artistic growth has escaped the Mobb as of Murda Muzik.

9. WHERE YA FROM (FEAT 8-BALL)
This is an awkward collaboration between Houston (by way of Memphis) and New York. The beat is from (what it seems from the liner notes) an in-house Suave House producer, which was the label 8-Ball (and partner MJG) was signed to at the time. As such, 8-Ball sounds much more comfortable here than either Havoc or the newly lyrically handicapped Prodigy. And in the liner notes his name is listed as 8-Ball; I thought it was 'Eightball'?

10. QUIET STORM
Witness the slow, painful death of Prodigy's lyrical prowess on this track. This song is arguably the only opportunity P gets to paint his vivid pictures, so I'm led to believe he recorded this during the Hell On Earth sessions. Havoc's masterful sampling of "White Lines" proves that you can actually use elements of a song when creating a new composition, as opposed to the Puff Daddy/Trackmasters schools of sampling.

11. WHERE YA HEART AT
I understand that expectations were probably through the roof upon this album's release, but the inconsistency in the Mobb catalog is going to make me punch a hole through a wall in frustration. And yes, I get the sentiment of the song, but it's been done before, and it's been done better.

12. NOYD INTERLUDE
Wow, this was fucking pointless.

13. CAN'T FUCK WIT (FEAT RAEKWON)
Sure, Hav and P sound out of place over an awful double-time bounce beat, but I feel sorry for the Chef. I picture that he had previously agreed to appear on the revamped Murda Muzik and was shocked to hear the beat when he arrived at the studio, but since the check had already cleared...

14. THUG MUZIK (FEAT INFAMOUS MOBB & CHINKY)
The fruitful relationship between Mobb Deep and production maestro The Alchemist officially started on this album. This beat is the best one presented on the entire fucking album. The lyrics, of course, suck, but the Mobb weed carriers are featured guests, so you shouldn't expect much.

15. MURDA MUZIK
I'm tired of writing that the beats are weak and the lyrics are uninspired. So, if I write "...", just assume the worst.

16. THE REALEST (FEAT KOOL G RAP)
Kool G Rap gets all of my accolades here. As for Hav and P's lyrics and Al's beat: ...

17. U.S.A. (AIIGHT THEN)
Hav and P give us a song that sounds like they want to party. A precursor to their eventual crossover attempts, both with and without Curtis Jackson? Perhaps. Not horrible, but shouldn't these guys be out robbing people instead of dancing at the club?

18. IT'S MINE (FEAT NAS)
The theme from Scarface is all over this song. Seems like Havoc didn't learn from his own sample lessons (see "Quiet Storm"). I think this song was the second single; while it's hilarious to hear Nasir Jones interpolate Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine", it's also really fucking sad.

19. QUIET STORM (REMIX) (FEAT LIL' KIM)
Incredibly unnecessary remix. At least they gave us new lyrics, but there's no topping the original version. By "original", I, of course, mean "White Lines". Or even fucking Liquid Liquid's "Cavern". If anyone actually gets that reference, please leave a comment below.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Murda Muzik is another one of those albums that the artists were forced to deviate from their original vision, all because some bootleggers (on the Interweb and otherwise) wanted to make a quick buck. Well, I've heard the original version, and I gotta tell you: it's so much better than this shit. The tracks are sequenced better, flow a lot more smoothly, and it even features one of my all-time favorite Mobb Deep non-album tracks, "Thrill Me", featuring Big Noyd. The retail version is fucking weak. Havoc, possibly in an effort to diversify his sound, ended up polishing the beats to the point that they fucking sparkle when light reflects off of them. As for P? I didn't know that it was possible for one man to fall from grace in the short timespan between albums, but here's proof, all on a plastic disc.

BUY OR BURN? You don't want to buy this. Burn it if you must, but then you'll realize that the Mobb have now been relegated to the category of "Artists Who Have Maybe One Or Two Good Songs On Their Albums, But That's All".

BEST TRACKS: "Quiet Storm" (original, not the remix); "Adrenaline"; "What's Ya Poison"

(Agree/disagree with the above review? Leave some comments below! Otherwise, I'll just assume that all two of my readers agree with everything I write!)

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Mobb Deep - Hell On Earth
Mobb Deep - The Infamous
Mobb Deep - Juvenile Hell
Big Noyd - Episodes Of A Hustla
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
Nas - I Am
Nas - It Was Written
Nas - Illmatic
Cormega - The Realness

THE TEASER: