"Mobb Deep and all dat!"
November 15, 2013 at 4:13pm
Via @Jahari Pittman
Artist(s) I was given: Mobb Deep
Do I like them? Like is a gross understatement. I LOVE Mobb Deep. Or used to I should say. To this day, "The Infamous" is one of my favorite albums ever. Top 5.
When did I first hear them? Sometime in 1998/99. I was living in Saudi Arabia at the time. I was surfing an 'underground playlist' on someone's Angelfire page, which was my go-to place for dope hip hop (Whoever that person was, he/she really held me down for at least 2 years when it came to rap stuff. Impeccable taste). There was no MTV, definitely no radio or anything like that in Saudi at the time. 90% of rappers I love, I heard them in Saudi and had no idea what they looked like. It was strictly about whether their music grabbed me or not. That's probably why I'm really picky about what hip hop I choose to listen to - image/hype doesn't mean shyt to me. The music has to speak for itself. A lot of rappers in hip hop now - you gotta get into their persona FIRST before the music. It's not always a bad thing and sometimes the music is good but usually it's weak because the music is there to service the persona, instead of the persona servicing the music.
Anyway, I saw the song "Hell on Earth" on this playlist. Had no idea who "Mobb Deep" were. So I downloaded it and played it in RealOneplayer (damn remember that?!) and I was just blown away. I thought the beat was AMAZING and I instantly fell in love with Prodigy's final verse. The part from "I'll tell you what Black, here's the issue - it's a package deal" to "Sometimes I test myself to see if I still GOT IT!" was so engrained in my mind I used to listen to the track constantly for at least a year just to get to that part. Something about it stuck and still sticks with me. Stop me on the street and I can quote that word for word despite having not heard the song in years (maybe because I overplayed it back then). I guess it stuck with me because it was the first time I'd heard something so raw and contemplative.
A friend of mine at the time told me that Mobb Deep had the nicest beats PERIOD. For whatever reason, I didn't rush to check out their album. Back then, it wasn't really about the albums. It was about singles. And there were tons of great singles. I only started going back to albums later in life, around 2003/2004.
I heard "Shook Ones" for the first time through 8 Mile. I was blown away! Still didn't check out their catalogue. Then "Got It Twisted" came out (which is MY shyt!). I used to love hearing that in the club. After that, I said "Aight, I really gotta listen to these guys' albums. I'm sleeping on them like crazy!"
I started with The Infamous because it had Shook Ones. I'm listening to the album for the first time... the intro "Start of the Your Ending." and it's coo.... then "Survival of the Fittest" comes on... and I was gone! That beat! and the opening line: 'There's a war going on outside no man is safe from!" It was a wrap. I knew I was on to something incredible. From there the next track that really hit me was "Temperature's Rising." and finally... UP NORTH TRIP. That is my favorite song on the entire album. Something about that beat...it's happy, but not really, and the subject matter's depressing, but kind of uplifting... crazy!
Soon after, I heard "Hell On Earth" the album. I 'borrowed' it from a student at Concordia and never returned it. At first listen I didn't really like the album. It's very dark. Now as a filmmaker I appreciate it more. In fact, I listen to Mobb Deep instrumentals while I write. Particularly from that album. Actually, when it comes to writing, I can't listen to hip hop when I write, with the exception of Hell on Earth and Liquid Swords. Both of them are major inspirations.
Have I seen them live? YES. At Rock the Bells 2011(?) in New York. One of the best hip hop live shows I've ever seen. The crowd was really into it and it felt amazing. No hypemen, just Havoc and P. They paused at the right times to let the crowd fill in the words and the sound was great. None of that live band bullshyt. P did Shook Ones at twilight. Really gave the concert an eerie, cool feel.
Favorite track? impossible to say. It really depends on where I am emotionally. At one point I was obsessed with GOD Part 3, then when I heard "Get Away", I couldn't stop listening to that. Though I've listened to Shook Ones Pt 1 (particularly the instrumental) more than any Mobb Deep track over the last couple years. It always helps me write. "More Trife Life" is an underrated instrumental. Havoc should have gotten into movie soundtrack producing, particularly for horror films. His stuff is very vivid. I think he's one of the greatest hip hop producers ever (not high on the list, but he's there)
Ironically, I haven't heard their later albums despite being such a huge fan. Partly because I've heard they're weak, (and I've already heard the strong tracks/singles) and I don't want to be disappointed. Prodigy's decline from great rapper to utterly terrible (That Jay-Z diss hit him hard?) is one of the most frustrating things to happen in hip hop from the 90s into the 2000s. I'll get around to it eventually.
Like this post and I'll give you a musician to talk about. Or not.
Was it one big ducktale?
