Mobb Deep-Infinite (Coming 10/10) Official Thread

[Piff Perkins]

I actually think it's the exact opposite.

His verse on "Temperature's Rising" and "Q.U. Hectic" is really P at his best. '95-'96, he was one of the dopest MC's in the game. But the OG's he was around during The Infamous had P digging a little deeper to paint pictures in a way he never did again, after that album.

Havoc said it best, The Infamous was "do or die" for them, and they felt it was their last chance to make it. So he said the energy and their hunger turned into them making their best music ever, on that album. And in real time back then, you could hear that they really wanted to make a classic. HOE is dope AF, but it ain't The Infamous. On any level, production, lyrics, direction, etc. That's why it's their favorite album they ever made.

If anything I'd argue Havoc is a much better rapper on HOE than he was on The Infamous. He leveled up. With P....it's close. You could probably only name a handful of better rappers than Prodigy in 1996/1997. The Infamous has more personal and better written verses but when I think about the last verse on HOE or Shinin....he reached the apex of shyt talking on that album.

 

[Awesome Wells]

If anything I'd argue Havoc is a much better rapper on HOE than he was on The Infamous. He leveled up. With P....it's close. You could probably only name a handful of better rappers than Prodigy in 1996/1997. The Infamous has more personal and better written verses but when I think about the last verse on HOE or Shinin....he reached the apex of shyt talking on that album.

Really?

I always thought that Hav was the closest he's ever been to P, on The Infamous.

But on The Infamous, they both got way more personal and in-depth with the rhymes. It was like they were more introspective and mature on certain tracks on there. The production was perfect too. Which is why I think Hav always says that's their "masterpiece". I think HOE was more of them just talking their sh*t and having that victory lap because people slept on them right before The Infamous.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Really?

I always thought that Hav was the closest he's ever been to P, on The Infamous.

But on The Infamous, they both got way more personal and in-depth with the rhymes. It was like they were more introspective and mature on certain tracks on there. The production was perfect too. Which is why I think Hav always says that's their "masterpiece". I think HOE was more of them just talking their sh*t and having that victory lap because people slept on them right before The Infamous.

Oh for sure. My brother, who is the most asinine rap critic I know, always makes me laugh because he downgrades Shook Ones because Hav rhymes "life" with "life" right out the gate on his verse lol. I def think he just sounded more comfortable in his flow on HOE, and from there the lyrics kinda just came easier. In fact...I don't know exactly when the Street Life track came out but that must have been after The Infamous because it's arguably his best verse from a flow/pocket perspective.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Oh for sure. My brother, who is the most asinine rap critic I know, always makes me laugh because he downgrades Shook Ones because Hav rhymes "life" with "life" right out the gate on his verse lol. I def think he just sounded more comfortable in his flow on HOE, and from there the lyrics kinda just came easier. In fact...I don't know exactly when the Street Life track came out but that must have been after The Infamous because it's arguably his best verse from a flow/pocket perspective.

LOL!! I noticed that with Havoc's verse too.

The "Street Life" joint with ACD? That was out during the spring of '96. So they probably recorded that right after The Infamous. P couldn't lose during that era. Like at all.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Oh for sure. My brother, who is the most asinine rap critic I know, always makes me laugh because he downgrades Shook Ones because Hav rhymes "life" with "life" right out the gate on his verse lol. I def think he just sounded more comfortable in his flow on HOE, and from there the lyrics kinda just came easier. In fact...I don't know exactly when the Street Life track came out but that must have been after The Infamous because it's arguably his best verse from a flow/pocket perspective.

Street Life with ACD? It came out 96. Same year as HOE. One of my favorite Mobb songs ever.

 

[drugxglory]

Prodigy was a better emcee on HOE than The Infamous. More refined and sharper pen. A lot of his best rapping performances are sprinkled throughout the album.

Totally agree. I personally like HOE better than Infamous. P got better lyrically and Havoc fined tuned the boards something serious wit the beats, sounds like they recorded it on a dark cold night in QB projects

 

[Xtz23]

Not gona listen gona wait for the album.

 

[MoneyBags]

P was a monster period, but his peak IMO was on Noyd’s first album/EP, his best verses are his features on there. It was a perfect blend of his style on the Infamous and HOE.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Really?

I always thought that Hav was the closest he's ever been to P, on The Infamous.

But on The Infamous, they both got way more personal and in-depth with the rhymes. It was like they were more introspective and mature on certain tracks on there. The production was perfect too. Which is why I think Hav always says that's their "masterpiece". I think HOE was more of them just talking their sh*t and having that victory lap because people slept on them right before The Infamous.

I think both of them were technically sharper on some emcee shyt on HOE, by a little bit. Not on subject matter, but just on rhyming abilities and peak level shyt talking. In my mind, HOE takes the "Mobb Deep Stereotype" and turns it up to 11. Like, if you just think of Shook Ones 2 and Survival of the Fittest...the ultra grimy shyt, and you make an album full of shyt like that...

It's less well-rounded. There aren't concept joints like Take Away the Pain, or as many storytelling joints like Temp Rising, etc (although More Trife Life story is fire).

It just comes down to preference. I absolutely get why some people prefer it. I think The Infamous is a better album overall, but there really has never been an album like HOE before or since it came out, and it's just unrelenting and oppressively dark the entire time, and never lets you come up for air. I do think Hav was better as a producer on HOE as well, even if some of the individual beats on The Infamous are better. His bag of tricks was deeper, and he has some stupidly creative flips on HOE, and it was all him, and not him sharing duties with Q-Tip on the album.

 

[T.H.E. Goat]

Yeah when I think of Havoc's signature sound it's more HOE than Infamous

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Yeah when I think of Havoc's signature sound it's more HOE than Infamous

I don't entirely disagree but it's also kind of crazy at the same time, since only 1 of their top 5 most popular songs are from HOE.

Shook 2, Survival, Hell on Earth, Quiet Storm, and Give Up The Goods are the top 5 most streamed. I'm surprised that the HOE title track has a almost 2x as many streams as Quiet Storm, too.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

This fact I keep trying to tell some friends that Hell on Earth was Mobb at their peak. I personally even like it better than the Infamous in certain aspects.

Nah; way less substance on Hell On Earth. It's one-note superthug music without a motive; still dope, but The Infamous is like The Wire in music form

 

[hex]

There is better songs on "The Infamous", there is better single verses on "Hell On Earth".

Fred.

 

[T.H.E. Goat]

I don't entirely disagree but it's also kind of crazy at the same time, since only 1 of their top 5 most popular songs are from HOE.

Shook 2, Survival, Hell on Earth, Quiet Storm, and Give Up The Goods are the top 5 most streamed. I'm surprised that the HOE title track has a almost 2x as many streams as Quiet Storm, too.

When I listen to The Infamous I can hear the Q-Tip influence in Havoc's beats, which isn't a bad thing at all. It's just Hell On Earth production from the snares to drum patterns is where I feel Havoc became his own producer.

 

[Whips-n-Chains]

The Infamous was the peak.

With Q-Tip overseeing everything.

Lyrically HoE was better. Overall infamous is the better project