This album just plain BANGS. Are there harder drums in the genre than Havoc's here? If so I don't want to know because I'm not sure my ears could take it.⠀
The album's beats are top-notch, and more importantly, MEMORABLE. Yeah, we've all heard "Shook Ones Pt. II" so no need to dwell on its brilliance--it's the other beats on here that paint Mobb Deep's real picture and convey their messages best.
"The Start of Your Ending," "Survival of the Fittest" and "Eye for an Eye" are the first three songs of the album--songs layered with dark, haunting beats that sound like they were created in a basement ambience with all of the lights off and leaky pipes dripping onto concrete floors. ⠀
Mobb Deep's mentality on this album is gritty, desperate, and frustrated, which reflect the ways they felt while living in Queensbridge, NY in 1995. This album has a full feel to it, and by that I mean to say that each track, while completely unique and fresh, complements the other tracks on the album in terms of beat, feeling, and mood. It's completely fair to say that it parallels 36 Chambers in terms of continuity and adhering to a specific sound.⠀
Mobb Deep's The Infamous is as real and powerful as they come. Even Nas completely altered his sound in an attempt to achieve the grimy feeling that this album delivers--probably because it reflected the lifestyle of the times.
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