Queens, New York duo Mobb Deep consisting of Havoc & the late Prodigy teaming up with Mass Appeal Records for their 9th & final album. Releasing their debut Juvenile Hell under Island Records to mixed reception, The Infamous… & Hell on Earththrough Loud Records & RCA Records would both become amongst the greatest east coast LPs ever. Murda Muzik distributed by Columbia Records would also be well received, but their final Loud offering Infamy as well as the Jive Records-backed Amerika’z Nightmare & of course Blood Money during a polarizing tenure on G-Unit Records/Interscope Records all left fans divided in the 2000s. Over a decade since The Infamous…Mobb Deep however, the 4th entry of Mass Appeal’s ongoing Legend Has It saga is now here preserving the Mobb’s Infinite legacy.
“Against the World” starts with Havoc sampling jazz & soul echoing the sentiments of former rival 2Pac’s magnum Me Against the World ending with Hav telling Bandana P that he’ll see him on the other side during the outro whereas “Gunfire” produced by The Alchemist takes the boom bap route to spit lyrical bullets at their competition. “Easy Bruh” stays in the basement instrumentally suggests to take things smoothly while “Look at Me” featuring Clipse unites 2 of the greatest gangsta rap duos of all-time.
Big Noyd joins forces with “The M. The O. The B. The B.” for a sinister dedication to the group itself leading into “Down for You” featuring Nas works in a string sample for the trio to show a romantic side to all 3 of them individually. “Taj Mahal” was another great single choice even if it’s pretty much Uncle Al remixing the 2011 leaked Prodigy track “Night Life” by flipping “[The Infamous Prelude]” & Havoc adding his own verse, but then “Mr. Magik” vividly compares themselves to magicians.
“Score Points” locks in with Alchemist for the 2nd to last time taking a luxurious approach to the beat trusting the process promising to make y’all disappear like rabbits in hat tricks referring to the previous song & “My Era” marks Uncle Al’s final contribution to Infinite, reminding that Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) & The Infamous… defined the east coast 3 decades ago. “Pour My Henny” featuring Nas links back up with each other for an ode to whiskey while “Clear Black Nights” featuring Ghostface Killah & Raekwon talks about being either with them or against them.
The song “Discontinued” winds down the LP’s final act by flexing that they don’t make ‘em like the Mobb anymore over a raw boom bap instrumental & unfortunately, “Love the Way” featuring Nas is a blatant remix of the final single “Down for You” that dropped yesterday. “We the Real Thing” however makes it up for it with them giving a middle finger to the idea of rap beef since they got real drama going on such as having people out in the streets plotting to put bounties on their heads.
Infinite thus far surpasses Victory, The Emperor’s New Clothes & Supreme Clientele 2 as the greatest entry of the Legend Has It series by making a full circle moment out of the batch of unreleased Prodigy verses Havoc & The Alchemist used all over Infinite. It additionally recaptures the classically raw, dark & genuine Mobb Deep energy & sound that shaped the beloved Queensbridge duo I was thankful to see live a decade ago whilst addressing the current state of the culture.
Score: 9/10
