Mobb Deep Album: “Infamy [Clean]”

I'm a Mobb Deep fan. The Infamous . . . is a hip-hop classic. Infamy, however, is not. The Edgar Allan Poe of hip-hop, Mobb Deep created a following who loved their macrabe imagary and all too real story telling. They would manage create reality rap while adding a human side to tales project life and gangbanging.

Now is sounds as if my favorite fight rhymers are tired, they live in the 'burbs now and there's probably not a lot of action out there. Their lyrics are repetitive and uninspired. Havoc hasn't written a decent rhyme since Hell on Earth, and he seems to by enamored by the concept of the refrain because he has on in every song. Prodigy's lyrics are lame also as he must be saving his good material for his next solo album. Even his disses on Jay-Z are uninteresting.

The only consistent thing on this album as compared to previous Mobb Deep albums is the production. Havoc does a decent job. All of the other elements of a good MD album: the awesome guest rappers, the story telling, and the all-to-real skits are all gone. Oh, but there is a song with 112 . . .GIVE ME A BREAK!

Like I said, I'm a fan and I bought Infamy. There are 3 good songs on the album . . . but this will be the last MD album I'll ever buy again.

Not sure what was going on with Mobb Deep at the time when this came out. Around this time this album came out, I was 16 and was basically loving everything that they were putting out, since I got into them with Prodigy's "H.N.I.C.". Especially with the whole ordeal with Jay-Z who took a few shots at them (i.e. "Takeover") I couldn't wait for them to respond.

Back when I was a teenager, I thought this was an excellent album, but when I listen to it today, I just see it as very good. If I recall correctly, the lead single was "Burn" featuring Big Noyd (BET might have played the video a total of two times), in which I thought the song was dope as hell. Their second single was more radio/pop friendly with "Hey Luv (Anything)" featuring 112 that was okay to be honest. Another great song was "Clap" where Havoc comes off stronger than ever. Infact he outshines Prodigy in a lot of the songs like on "My Gats Spitting" and "Get Away". Prodigy does come correct on some songs, but don't expect him to blow you out like he was on "The Infamous" or "Hell on Earth". He does drop a few dope verses, like on "Get At Me" and on "There I Go Again" as well as "I Won't Fall". But there were some that you expected more from him, like "Crawlin'" where he drops some weak lines dissing (if you want to call it that) Jay-Z.

Other inferior moments on this album include the song "Bounce" and "Live Foul" where both Havoc and Prodigy sound weak, making those songs skip material.

Overall, Havoc and Prodigy drop a very good LP back in late '01. It could have been better, but it's still good. You have some strong moments that outweigh the weak ones. If I were to review this 4 years ago, I would have given this a higher score. If you're a fan of Mobb Deep, this should be in your collection. Peace!

Lyrics: B+

Production: B

Guest Appearances: B

Musical Vibes: B

Top 5 Favorite Tracks:

1. Burn (featuring Noyd and Vita)

2. I Won't Fall

3. Clap

4. Get At Me

5. My Gats Spittin' (featuring The Infamous Mobb)

Favorite Mobb Deep Albums that I own (best to worst)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Haven't heard: (amazon wouldn't let me link all their albums)

i think this is a great cd to listen and ride to. it has great beats and serious flow! i love prodigy and havoc. buy this cd if you love non commercial rap! every last song is great!

True this album has some 2 or 3 hot joints, but the majority of this is that watered down electronic style that we had to deal with since Murda Muzik. Mobb Deep has kissed the concrete beats and the intricate "reality rap" style that they had mastered goodbye. Now they kick basic "thug rap" and use experimental electronic (synthy) beats. "Get Away" and "Burn" are my favorite joints on here. But make no mistake, the Infamous/Hell On Earth Mobb Deep will never be back.

Plus the old Prodigy is dead, so we have to listen to his new super simple (and super slow) rhyme style once again. After taking a heavy beating from both Jay-Z and Nas, be prepared to throw a rose on their career's casket.

This was Mobb Deeps 5th album released in 2002. They have had 3 scense them. It is there most comercial album ever. "Pray for me" has an excellent beat but Lil Mo should not be on a Mobb album. "Get Away" is smooth and has a excellent beat to it and is also soulful."Bounce" kind of feels like a party type track and you can tell. "Clap" has a completely underground style beat as do the previous 2 or 3 and is one of the best beats on a Mobb album. "Kill that N****" has a bad beat but it is of

good quality. "My gats spitting" sounds like a good song a little experimental to other beats. "Handcuffs" has another underground style beat. This music is definantly different."Hey Love" is always dissed but 112 does okay on it this one is a little experimental not typical beats. "Burn" does have a typical beat and I just do not like it that much. "Live Foul" has a dumb chorus but has a Nas Stllmatic era beat to it. "Hurt N*****" does have a experimental beat but sounds different. "Get at me" also has a weird beat in a good way sounds a little like ESPN Football beat. "I Wont fall" also sounds like maybe an alchemist beat. "Crawlin" he raps a little mainstream the beat is not. "Nothing like home" has a soulful type beat to it. "There I go again" has another good type beat that sounds increddible. "So Long" has a nice beat. This is Mobb Deeps most unsettling, most experimental, most mainstream all at the same time. When it works it is excellent when it does not it does so very badly. I don't know it's hard.

Lyrics 7 Production 8 X Factor 5 Classic 7 Replay 6

Total=6.5 out of 10 Fingers

1.Clap

2.Get Away

3.I won't fall

4.Hey Love

5.There I go again