Disco de Mobb Deep: “Murda Muzik [PA]”

Descripción (en inglés) :

Mobb Deep: Havoc, Prodigy. Additional personnel: Kool G. Rap, Big Noyd, Eightball, Cormega, Chinky, Lil' Cease, Raekwon, Nas, 8-Ball, Lil' Kim (vocals); Def Jam Blaster (scratches). Producers include: Havoc, The Alchemist, Epitome Shamello Buddah, Prodigy, Jonathan "Lighty" Williams. Engineers include: Steve Sola, Jonathan Williams, T-Mix. Recorded at Soundtrack Studios and The Cutting Room, New York, New York; Urban House Studios, Houston, Texas. MURDAH MUZIK is the forth album from Queensbridge (Queens NY) natives Mobb Deep. Known for street anthems like "Shook Ones Pt. II" and "Survival of the Fittest," Havoc and Prodigy seem every bit as inspired here as they do on earlier recordings. Tracks like "What's Ya Poison (featuring Cormega)," "I'm Going Out (featuring Lil' Cease)," and "Can't Fuck Wit (featuring Raekwon)" show why Mobb Deep's street reputation is as good as it gets. The album also features "Quiet Storm," both the regular and remix versions of which feature Lil' Kim; and an appearance from Kool G Rap on "The Realest," where G Rap shows why he's long been known as a supreme lyricist. Other standouts are "Thug Muzik," "U.S.A. (Alright Then)," and "Let a Ho Be a Ho."

Back in the mid-late 90's, Mobb Deep was dropping heat after heated albums. I remember back in late '99, I first heard of Mobb Deep on "Quiet Storm (Remix)" that featured Lil' Kim. Back then, Mobb Deep was pushing their music towards the mainstream with their street singles, along with the origonal version of "Quiet Storm", and "It's Mine" with features Nas. As you can tell, Mobb Deep was changing with hip hop music back in '99, as an answer to the southern popularity with their QB style that everybody who was on the east at the time enjoyed doing (ie rocking Tims, driving SUV's, etc.).

First and formost, if you're expecting something along the lines of

, be ready for a dissapointment when it comes to the lyrics. Yes, Havoc and Prodigy rhyme about the same things as they did four years before this album came out, but on this album one would believe that it was starting to be predictable. At the same time, the songs here are so well made, that they still sound good at times. "Streets Raised Me" featuring Big Noyd, would sound like something you heard before, but would work out. "Spread Love" would also fall into this category. The dark sounding "Thug Muzik" would feature The Infamous Mobb and singer Chinky is another, but at the same time they allow their extended family members to get their shine on a track.

The songs that are even better would be the ones when they break away from their gangsta topics. Havoc tells a funny song on "Let A Ho Be A Ho" (that voice mail is hilarious). The editorial reviewer thinks that they colab with Nas and Raekwon too much, but I find that to be a good thing (both artists colabed on the two previous albums as well). Rae comes in on "Can't F Wit", which sounds good. Nas drops in towards the end of the album. Other artists comes in and drops a nice verse would be Kool G. Rap on "The Realest". Eightball seems to flow without a problem with Havoc and Prodigy on "Where Ya From". Lil' Kim drops a verse (where everybody speculated that she was dissing Foxy) on "Quiet Storm (Remix)".

The production here is great too. Some of the best songs would be "Thug Muzik" which The Alchemist produced before he became popular. Havoc provides some great beats on "Quiet Storm" and "Allustrious".

Murda Muzik is a great album. It catches Mobb Deep back when they were running the rap game, and moving the same direction as everybody else. It's no

(although it might be closer to the latter album), but the album still bangs. Go ahead and add this to your collection if you want to have memories when the east was dropping radio friendly albums that were still great (like Jay-Z, DMX/Ruff Ryders, Ja Rule, etc), but at the same time, don't set your expectations too high. Peace.

Lyrics: B

Production: A-

Guest Appearances: B

Musical Vibes: A-

Top 5 Tracks:

1. Quiet Storm (remix) (featuring Lil' Kim)

2. It's Mine (featuring Nas)

3. Thug Muzik (featuring The Infamous Mobb)

4. Quiet Storm (origonal)

5. Where Ya From (featuring Eightball)

Honorable Mention:

1. Let A Ho Be A Ho

2. Spread Love

3. The Realist (featuring Kool G. Rap)