The Infamous

by Mobb Deep

Overview

One of the cornerstones of the New York hardcore movement, The Infamous is Mobb Deep's masterpiece, a relentlessly bleak song cycle that's been hailed by hardcore rap fans as one of the most realistic gangsta albums ever recorded. Given Mobb Deep's youthful age and art-school background, it's highly unlikely that The Infamous is drawn strictly from real-life experience, yet it's utterly convincing, because it has all the foreboding atmosphere and thematic sweep of an epic crime drama. That's partly because of the cinematic vision behind the duo's detailed narratives, but it's also a tribute to how well the raw, grimy production evokes the world that Mobb Deep is depicting. The group produced the vast majority of the album itself, with help on a few tracks from the Abstract (better known as Q-Tip), and establishes a spare, throbbing, no-frills style indebted to the Wu-Tang Clan. This is hard, underground hip-hop that demands to be met on its own terms, with few melodic hooks to draw the listener in. Similarly, there's little pleasure or relief offered in the picture of the streets Mobb Deep paints here: They inhabit a war zone where crime and paranoia hang constantly in the air. Gangs are bound together by a code of fierce loyalty, relying wholly on one another for survival in a hopeless environment. Hostile forces -- cops, rivals, neighborhood snitches -- are potentially everywhere, and one slip around the wrong person can mean prison or death. There's hardly any mention of women, and the violence is grim, serious business, never hedonistic. Pretty much everything on the album contributes to this picture, but standouts among the consistency include "Survival of the Fittest," "Eye for a Eye," "Temperature's Rising," "Cradle to the Grave," and the classic "Shook Ones, Pt. 2." The product of an uncommon artistic vision, The Infamous stands as an all-time gangsta/hardcore classic. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/1995
Label:	Loud
UPC:	0078636648026

Tracks

1. The Start of Your Ending (41st Side)
2. The Infamous (Prelude)
3. Survival of the Fittest
4. Eye for a Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)
5. Just Step (Prelude)
6. Give Up the Goods (Just Step)
7. Temperature's Rising
8. Up North Trip
9. Trife Life
10. Q.U. -- Hectic
11. Right Back at You
12. The Grave (Prelude)
13. Cradle to the Grave
14. Drink Away the Pain (Situations)
15. Shook Ones, Pt. II
16. Party Over

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mobb Deep   Primary Artist,Co-Producer
Big Noyd   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Ghostface Killah   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Q-Tip   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Raekwon   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Nas   Primary Artist,Guest Artist
Crystal Johnson   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Matt Life   Co-Producer
Schott Free   Co-Producer
Noyd   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Abstract   Producer,Mixing
Tim Latham   Mixing,Engineer
Patrice Rushen   Composer
Matt Life   Executive Producer,Producer
Jonathan Davis   Composer
Dino Zerros   Engineer
Freddie Washington   Composer
Derrick Youman   Composer
Nasir Jones   Composer
Dewayne McKnight   Composer
Alan Maman   Composer
Albert Johnson   Composer
Paul Jackson   Composer
Paul Potyen   Composer
Corey Woods   Composer
Tony Smalios   Mixing,Engineer,Programming
Bill Summers   Composer
Kejuan Muchita   Composer
Bennie Maupin   Composer
Richard Travali   Mixing
Michael Henderson   Composer
Mike Clark   Composer
The Abstract   Mixing,Producer
Mayfield W. Small, Jr.   Composer
Tajuan Perry   Composer
Louis Alfred III   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Fal Prod   Producer
Mobb Deep   Executive Producer,Producer,Engineer,Mixing
Dennis Coles   Composer
Leon Zervos   Mastering