Two Words, One Answer.
Mobb Deep
 The Safe Is Cracked $17.98 Mobb Deep returns after almost 3 years since their last group album, and this one is a very good album of previously recorded songs that thank God got released. I didn't even know about this and just happened to run into it when I was in Best Buy last week and glad I did. With 12 songs, each one has Havoc and Prodigy and only one guest on one song. A lot of the songs I do believe were recorded around 2005-2006, but don't sound dated and are very good. You have 2 classics, 2 almost classics, and the other 8 are good, and mostly real good songs. Again you get a lot of street and gangsta tales with their lyrics, but again, if the formula ain't broke, don't fix it. Production is handled entirely by Havoc, and is very good as well. A must have album from Mobb Deep and my favorite group album they've put out since "Infamy" in 2001. #2 - 10 (CLASSIC - great beat) #3 - 8 #4 - 9 (nice beat) #5 - 9.5 (tight beat) #6 - 9.5 (another tight beat) #7 - 8 #8 - 9 #9 - 9 (nice beat) #10 - 8.5 #11 - 8.5 (good beat) #12 - 8.5 #13 - 10 (CLASSIC -- f/ Big Noyd --have heard this song before on other albums but it's a good one) HAVOC -- Kejuan Muchita -- b. ~1975 -- Queensbridge, NY PRODIGY -- Albert Johnson -- b. 11/2/74 -- b. Long Island, NY moved to Queensbridge, NY Check all my reviews  Amerikaz Nightmare $8.99 Before this album, Mobb Deep (consisting of Havoc & Prodigy) were hopping record labels. From the now defunct record label, Loud Records, which they released their previous full length album Infamy in '02, as well as many albums before that, to KOCH Records where they released their mixtape Mobb Deep, Free Agents: The Murda Mix Tape in mid '03. Both solid albums, when compared to a lot of albums that they have released. In '04, they landed a deal on Jive/Zomba Records to release Amerikaz Nightmare (and then go to G-Unit a year later), which was in my opinion, one of the most anticipated albums of summer of 2004. This album is very good in my opinon. The first single "Got It Twisted" was great and really had me waiting for this album. A few of the imediate standouts to me were "Win Or Lose" with the help of that Jean Plum sample being played throughout the song. "When You Hear The..." is another standout with a beat provided by The Alchemist. "Real Gangstaz" was the second single and featured Lil' Jon, which shows that Mobb Deep can rhyme over a few crunk sounding beats every once in a while. The track that follows that is "One Of Ours II" and features Jadakiss. Other notables on this album is "Neva Change" and "Got It Twisted (Remix)" featuring Twista. Given this was a good album, there are many lackluster songs here. Both "Flood The Block" and "Dump" both suffers from wack hooks. The latter song features Nate Dogg. You can add "Shorty Wop" to the list of skippable tracks as well. To be honest, I wasn't feeling Kanye's beat on "Throw Your Hands In The Air", as he stepped out of his boundaries with a dark sounding beat. My advice to Mobb Deep is to stick with Havoc and Alchemist, because when it comes to their production, those two are their bread and butter. Overall Amerikaz Nightmare is a good album. It nowhere matches up to their classics like The Infamous or Murda Muzik. Still it holds it's own and will satisfy you craving for some music fro Queensbridge. The best thing about this is that Hav and P sticks to their formula more here than some of their other albums, but at the same time trying to attract more fans to their music. Fans of Mobb Deep should check this out, if they haven't already. Peace! Lyrics: B- Production: B+ Guest Appearances: B- Musical Vibes: B- Top 5 Tracks: 1. Win Or Loose 2. Got It Twisted 3. Got It Twisted (Remix) (featuring Twista) 4. When You Hear The 5. One Of Ours II (featuring Jadakiss) Honorable Mention: 1. Real Gangstaz (featuring Lil Jon) 2. Neva Change  Murda Muzik $7.99 This has to be the most ponderous and banal rap album I've ever heard. What a useless piece of junk.  The Infamous $9.99 This is simply their best album and in the top 20 rap albums of all time. I say this because every song on this CD was hard, there were no bad songs, they had Raekwon, Nas, Big Noyd, Q-tip, and more featured on this album. It's a classic East-Coast, hard hitting, sraight up raw and uncut album. There are no love songs on this album, a CD you should listen to when you're riding around smoking a J or with your crew. Awesome CD, a must have |
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