Mobb Deep, the Queens, New York collective consisting of Havoc and the late Prodigy, has teamed up with Mass Appeal Records for their ninth and final album. The debut album “Juvenile Hell” on Island Records was released to mixed reviews, and “The Inknown…” and “Hell on Earth” released on Loud Records and RCA Records will both go down as some of the greatest LPs of all time on the East Coast. Murda Muzik, released on Columbia Records, was also popular, but their final Loud album, Infamy, as well as Amerika’z Nightmare, supported by Jive Records, and Blood Money during the G-Unit Records/Interscope Records polarization, divided fans in the 2000s. However, it’s been over a decade since Notorious…Gangster Abyss, and the fourth installment of Mass Appeal’s ongoing Legend Has It saga is now here to keep the gang’s boundless legacy alive.
“Against the World” opens with Havoc sampling jazz and soul, echoing the sentiment of former rival 2Pac’s hit “Me Against the World,” ending with Hav telling Bandana P he’ll see him on the other side by the end, while The Alchemist-produced “Gunfire” takes a booming beat, spitting lyrical bullets at their competition. Stay in the Basement’s “Easy Bruh” hints at getting things rolling, while “Look at Me” featuring Clipse unites one of the greatest gangster rap duos of all time.
Big Noyd joins forces with “The M. The O. The B. The B.” A sinister devotion to the band itself, resulting in Nas’s composition “Down for You,” which featured a trio of string samples, showed the trio a romantic side on their own. “Taj Mahal” is another good single choice, although it’s almost Uncle Al remixing the leaked 2011 Prodigy track “Night Life” by flipping “Uncle Al”[The Infamous Prelude]” & Havoc added his own verse, but then “Mr. Magik” vividly compares himself to a magician.
“Score Points” locks in with Alchemist for the second and final time, a process that will hopefully make you disappear like a rabbit in a hat trick, a reference to the previous song; “My Era” marks Uncle Al’s final contribution to Infinite, recalling 36 years ago when “Enter the Wu-Tang” (36 Chambers) and “The Inknown…” defined the East Coast. “Pour My Henny,” starring Nas, links to each other and is an ode to whiskey, while “Clear Black Nights,” featuring Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, talks about being with them or against them.
The song “Discontinued” closes out the record, showing that they no longer have the original boom-bap instrumental that made them like Mobb; unfortunately, the Nas-featuring “Love the Way” is a blatant remix of the last single, “Down for You,” which was released yesterday. “We the Real Thing” make up for it, however, giving the idea of rap beef a middle finger as they stage real drama, like having people in the streets plotting to put a bounty on their heads.
To date, Infinity surpasses Victory, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Supremes 2 as the greatest entry in the Legends series, as a batch of unreleased Prodigy verses “Havoc” and “The Alchemist” used in Infinity create a full-circle moment. It also recaptures the classic raw, dark and authentic Mobb Deep energy and sound that shaped the beloved Queensbridge duo’s live shows that I had the pleasure of seeing a decade ago, while addressing the current cultural state of things.
Rating: 9/10
