Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous”: A Review, A Retrospective

Mark McCutcheon

Music Journalist

I must’ve been 14 or 15 when I first heard “Shook Ones, Part II,” appearing at random on my Spotify shuffle. Instantly, I was hooked by its haunting yet melodic beat and the rap duo’s incredible killer verses.

While I had always fashioned myself a West Coast rap fan, I never really explored the East Coast’s flavor of hip-hop beyond Wu-Tang Clan and Nas. I took it upon myself to explore more Black media, particularly in movies and music, hunting down albums considered hallmarks. This brought me to “The Infamous,” Mobb Deep’s second studio album from 1995. Often hailed as one of the greatest rap albums of all time, I’m almost ashamed to say I had never listened to it in full.

And make no mistake, everything you’ve heard about “The Infamous”… is true.

For my first listen of the 1995 album, and as I do with all full album listens, I gave it my full attention; wired headphones in for the highest quality and vibed out on my balcony. From the jump, I can feel the grittiness of the whole production. “The Start of Your Ending” is an excellent opener, with a catchy, almost positive beat underlying dark lyrics. This opening track is a call, a warning. Following up is an interlude featuring Prodigy, one-half of Mobb Deep, opposite lead producer Havoc, who lays out what you’re about to hear for the next hour. Prodigy keeps it real. This is not a flowery story. There’s no one dancing all up in the videos, as Suge once said. This is a raw, gritty glimpse into hood life in the Queensbridge projects.

“Survival of the Fittest” is another track I was familiar with before listening to the album. This is where Havoc’s genius as a producer shines, a dark beat with an immaculate flow and hook by Prodigy. If there’s any song more renowned than Shook Ones, it’s Survival. A track that perfectly encapsulates the themes of the album. Life in the hood is a fight for survival every day, and Mobb Deep illustrates this perfectly.

“Eye for an Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)” features surprise cameo verses from Nas and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon. A surprise because, at the time, Wu-Tang did not perform features for anyone. Another nasty beat layered with a phenomenal verse by Nas, who hands it off to Raekwon perfectly. Following a spoken word prelude, “Give Up the Goods (Just Step)” draws a picture of the criminal life: robbery and shootouts, and drug deals. One could say this glorifies the criminal lifestyle, but the album feels like a warning, as if they’re telling the listener, “You don’t want this life.”

“Temperature’s Rising” features a surprising and welcome feature from Crystal Johnson, providing angelic female vocals to a very masculine and gangsta-dominated album. “Up North Trip” explores the consequences of this life, and as Prodigy says, “make one false move its an up north trip [to jail].” “Tribe Life” dives into the air of paranoia that permeates life on the streets. These three tracks all have a dreamlike quality to them. They feel ethereal, yet the duo speaks of a Hell on Earth.

Rounding out the last half hour of the album are perhaps the strongest tracks. “Right Back at You” features verses from Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and Big Noyd, the latter playing a major role in the construction of “The Infamous.” “Cradle to the Grave” opens with a grim prelude that lays the foundation for a dark story of a dead man walking. What I have yet to mention throughout this retrospective is Mobb Deep’s use of samples throughout the album. Good hip-hop knows how to use a sample, and “The Infamous” is no stranger to this fact.

Like many tracks on the album, “Drink Away the Pain” is dripping with jazz-spired beats. No surprise, given Q-Tip produced and featured on this. This combination of ill beats and jazzy saxophones creates a truly unique experience. Following this track is none other than “Shook Ones, Part II.” What else needs to be said about this legendary classic? An infectious beat layered by bars where not a single breath is wasted. If any track encapsulates the record in five minutes, it’s this one.

Finally, the album’s last track, “Party Over,” is yet another classic. Once again featuring a genius verse from Big Noyd, the track feels like a nice reprieve from the rest of the record, despite the dark subject matter. This final track feels like a declaration. And immediately, it makes you want to hit play all over again.

This album turns thirty-one this year and has undoubtedly stood the test of time. I feel that despite being universally praised by critics and listeners alike, in my opinion, this album is undersung. Perhaps because Prodigy is no longer with us, whereas many of their legendary NYC contemporaries, such as Nas, are alive and delivering bangers to this day. If you ask your favorite rapper today, odds are they’ll point to this album as an inspiration. I highly recommend listening with lossless audio or a good pair of headphones (I wanted to purchase the CD, but my local record stores hadn’t carried this one in weeks). Allow Havoc and Prodigy to transport you to the grim world of the Queensbridge projects and tell their story of violence, crime, drugs, se, and survival. This is not a glamorous tale; it is a message. As Havoc says so eloquently, “Take these words home and think it through, or the next rhyme I write might be about you.”

If you never have, or if you’re like me and only knew Shook Ones because of 8 Mile, give “The Infamous” a listen, and witness why this has cemented itself as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.