Long considered New York's most rugged and hardcore rap group of the '90s to ever make it big, Mobb Deep finally soften up a bit on Infamy.
The album is a turning point for Prodigy and Havoc -- and a timely one indeed.
Shortly before Infamy hit the streets, Jay-Z had blasted Mobb Deep -- as well as Nas -- on "Takeover," berating Prodigy in particular for being fake.
Nas fired back on his Stillmatic album with the cutting song "Ether"; Mobb Deep didn't.
Instead, the Queensbridge duo went about their business and released Infamy, their most accessible album yet -- the sort of album many fans never would have expected.
Granted, Mobb Deep still rep the street life here, as songs such as "Kill That Nigga," "My Gats Spitting," and "Hurt Niggas" no doubt illustrate.
However, songs such as "Pray for Me," "Hey Luv (Anything)," and "There I Go Again" sent quite a different message; the first features Lil' Mo, the second 112, and the third Ron Isley -- each there to smooth out Mobb Deep's rough sound.
And it works, particularly in the case of the thug ballad "Hey Luv (Anything)," which garnered the most exposure the duo had yet experienced and introduced Mobb Deep to a broader audience.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pray for MeKejuan Muchita, C.J. Stone | Mobb Deep | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | Get AwayKejuan Muchita, L.J. Porter | Mobb Deep | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | BounceKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | ClapKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Kill That NiggaKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | HandcuffsKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | The Learning (Burn)Kejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Live FoulScott Storch | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 9 | Hurt NiggasKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Get at MeKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 11 | I Won't FallKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | CrawlinKejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 13 | Nothing Like HomeAb Bryant, Kejuan Muchita | Mobb Deep, Littles | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 14 | My Gats Splitting | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 15 | Hey Love (Anything) | Mobb Deep | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 16 | There I Go Again | Mobb Deep | Play | 10:17 | 23 MB | 64 MB |
| 71 mins | 162 MB | |||||
| 71 mins | 449 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 112 | Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 2 | The Alchemist | Producer |
| 3 | Big Noyd | Guest Artist |
| 4 | Ab Bryant | Composer |
| 5 | L.Z. Cooper | Composer |
| 6 | Ez Elpee | Producer |
| 7 | Chris Feldmann | Art Direction |
| 8 | Trakelle Frazier | A&R |
| 9 | Jamie "S.S." Garcia | Assistant Engineer |
| 10 | Bernie Grundman | Mastering |
| 11 | Sheldon Guide | Editing, Engineer, Mixing |
| 12 | Gail Hansen | A&R |
| 13 | Havoc | Producer |
| 14 | Infamous Mobb | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 15 | Ronald Isley | Guest Artist |
| 16 | The Johnson Sisters | Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | D. Jones | Composer |
| 18 | Claudine Joseph | Production Coordination |
| 19 | Will Kennedy | Imaging |
| 20 | Michael Levine | Photography |
| 21 | Chris Lighty | A&R |
| 22 | Lil' Mo | Guest Artist |
| 23 | Littles | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 24 | Mobb Deep | Executive Producer, Primary Artist |
| 25 | Oscar Monsalve | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 26 | Monica Morrow | Stylist |
| 27 | Kejuan Muchita | Composer |
| 28 | Ronald "Gotti" Odum | Production Assistant |
| 29 | L.J. Porter | Composer |
| 30 | Halsey Quemere | Assistant Engineer |
| 31 | Steve Sola | Engineer, Mixing |
| 32 | C.J. Stone | Composer |
| 33 | Scott Storch | Composer, Producer |
| 34 | Chucky Thompson | Strings |
| 35 | Jonathan "Lighty" Williams | A&R, Engineer, Executive Producer, Mixing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |