eMusic Features

Mobb Deep’s Prodigy

By Jayson Greene, International Editor

"I used to be cold and emotionless. I think my disease, sickle cell anemia, made me that way. I now know that good is the correct way to be. You have to choose a side." This flat, affectless statement, made early on in Albert "Prodigy" Johnson's My Infamous Life, sets the tone for his memoir, which takes us on a tour through the recesses of one of rap's darkest minds. As Prodigy, one half of… more »

06.30.09 Six Degrees 0

Six Degrees of Illmatic

By Jayson Greene, International Editor

It used to be easier to pretend that an album was its own perfectly self-contained artifact. The great records certainly feel that way. But albums are more permeable than solid, their motivations, executions and inspirations informed by, and often stolen from, their peers and forbearers. It all sounds awfully formal, but it's not. It's the very nature of music — of art, even. The Six Degrees features examine the relationships between classic records and five… more »

They Say All Music Guide

After a three-year hiatus and numerous release date pushbacks, Mobb Deep got on their job once again with the punishing release of Murda Muzik. The duo, well-known for their lethal realism both in their infinitely dark yet moving beats and their stark and ruthless crime-rhyme lyrics, continued their grim odyssey with this, their fourth effort. Released amid so much watered-down product, Murda Muzik is an arguable masterpiece in the Puffy and Master P era. Mobb Deep once described their music as the sound of hypnotic thug life. An accurate description, for their music is more than just guns and herb smoking, it taps into the collective sense of fear and horror, the evil in men’s hearts, and the struggle for good in the gardens of waste. Mobb music can make you cry, can make you scared, can amplify your inner rage; its depth allows for the gamut of emotional reactions. On this album, primary producer Havoc reached a high level of mastery in his production efforts, a truly signature style of deep bass grooves, piercing organs, ice-cold snare pops, melodic samples, and haunting orchestral snippets. Each song creates its own mood, whether it be a call to stop the violence on “Spread Love” or a call for full-throttle livin’ on “I’m Goin’ Out.” Guest appearances by Raekwon, Lil’ Kim, Lil’ Cease, Cormega, Kool G. Rap, Eightball, and Infamous Mobb add texture to already bangin’ tracks. The album overall can best be described as pure ear- and mind-twisting pleasure and pain. The album will affect you, get under your skin, make you rash up, and then salve you. Murda Muzik is a complete album and a renewal of the truly hardcore movement. – M.F. DiBella