Mobb Deep - Hell On Earth (November 19, 1996)

1994. Two teen rappers from Queensbridge, New York were tossed to the wolves the previous year after their debut's sales went straight to the gutter. They somehow still wanted to pursue this path in the fickle industry of music. So, they regroup and do the impossible: The name Mobb Deep became one of the most revered hip hop music acts in the artform's history. All within the span of a single release. The Infamous, their sophomore album introduced a formula the duo came across out of necessity, for Kejuan Muchita, nicknamed Havoc by his boo-boo, had discovered he was quite apt at production. While his partner in rhyme Albert Johnson, nicknamed Prodigy by his baby son who couldn't speak at the time so it was a complete mystery as to how he managed that particular feat, (Don't ask me why. Do I look like a goddamn pediatrician to you?) found out that he had vast amounts of untapped potential as a hip hop poet. The two snots used their newfound strengths to spectacular effect, earning the respect of hip hop pundits worldwide. A respect that continues to be given to them to this very day, all of it very well deserved. So, now our protagonists face an entirely different challenge: How the fuck do you follow up such a success?

By learning from other people's mistakes, of course. The Mobb is frequently compared to a fellow QB hip hop act, one Nasir Jones. Something which Prodigy actually acknowledges as he mentions being inspired and stepping up his lyrical game after Nasir, or Nas, dropped his debut album. You might've heard of that album. A little piece of work called Illmatic? Constantly brought up in fucking useless if not detrimental debates regarding the "best hip hop album of all time"? Anyways, Nas faced a similar challenge when it was follow-up-album time and he opted to go the experimental route while channeling the mafioso rap subgenre, newly revamped and overhauled by the Wu-Tang Clan for team-member Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...  in his sophomore effort It Was Written, an album that many Illmatic fans absolutely loathe. Which is absolute bullshit, because It Was Written, while considered by some to be slightly inferior to Illmatic, remains a quality piece of mafioso rap. Furthermore, it sold a fuckload of copies, launching Nas into the mainstream as a legitimate commercial force in hip hop music and gaining him all-new fans to recompensate for the very few fans he lost at the time, seeing as Illmatic had just went gold prior to It Was Written's gargantuan release.

Mobb Deep, however, felt that they were more dependent on their now-core fanbase, since The Infamous did a hell of a lot better than Illmatic at both's beginning stages. So, they decided to choose the other path: Sticking to your guns. Which worked even better than they'd imagined. For around that time, the Mobb's head weed carrier Tajuan Perry aka Big Noyd aka Noydy aka his Noydness aka Pizza Dude, who was an instant hit following his scene-stealing verse on Mobb Deep classic Give Up The Goods (Just Step), released an awesome EP, Episodes Of A Hustla, 95% of which was produced by Havoc. It would've helped even more had the EP not been released to the sound of crickets. But the few Mobb fans who did hear it were craving more of the Mobb sound, which was apparently relayed to said Mobb. So, galloping into familiar artistic territory they went. That's not to say they didn't tweak the formula a bit.

See, even Mobb Deep couldn't ignore the powerful surge of the mafioso rap subgenre spreading like an epidemic throughout the East Coast. The aforementioned Cuban Linx and It Was Written, alongside albums like Reasonable Doubt, Conspiracy and Doe Or Die, were making a lot of headlines during that particular period, which definitely had some sort of influence on Mobb Deep's sound. So, Havoc, who was strengthened by his production experiences on The Infamous enough to produce the entirety of this entry, decided to dig into the Mobb's vast collection of classic gangster films to put himself into the right musical mindset, while Prodigy went to work on improving his rhymes even further than the massive overhaul he gave them on The Infamous, thereby fortifying his ability to write metaphorical street tales that much more.

This album repeated the feat of its predecessor of selling five hundred thousand copies, which is even rarer than The Infamous's feat for two releases on an independent record label. Let's see how the end product lives up:

ANIMAL INSTINCT (FEATURING TWIN GAMBINO AND TY NITTY)

Havoc's opening statement sets some pretty high expectations already. But, the Mobb seem ready to make good on his promise if this song is any indication. Short version: This shit rocks. This was the perfect introduction to Infamous Mobb's Twin Gambino, the collective's most skilled rapper, and Ty Nitty, its least skilled member. That is, if you were one of the hundreds of thousands who were completely unaware of Episodes Of A Hustla. Havoc's beat samples The Trammps to brilliant effect. Note: Get used to Prodigy outshining each and every rapper who shares the mic with him on this album. Just saying.

DROP A GEM ON 'EM

Ah yes, the infamous 2Pac diss (pun very much intended). Mobb Deep still have many a 2Pac fan (Quite a few of these people are some of the absolute worst fans in this genre's history, let me tell you) at their throats blaming them for this song remaining on the retail release of this album even after Lesane's murder. You should be directing your hate at Loud CEO Steve Rifkind, people. He's the one who should've handled these matters back then. I'll bet he OK'd this whoring for more sales and shit. As for the song, though? For what it was, it's a fucking smash. Havoc digs as much as his limited MC skills can into 2Pac, before Prodigy dishes out a verbal beating the likes of which is last seen on his duet with Cormega on the latter's Thun & Kicko, where he aims a venomous verse straight for a certain Shawn Carter. The beat by Havoc is a masterpiece of a Whispers loop, punctuated by a perfectly chosen audio byte from R&B legend Aretha Franklin. Yeah, this song is awesome.

BLOODSPORT

I loathed this track when I first heard it, because of the loud-as-fuck drum breaks and the accompanying violins sampled in the beat in a manner that literally shows you how worms digest dead people. Now, those very factors are my favorite aspects about the beat, which I love for how it gets under my skin. Remember that note I wrote earlier on the first song? Exactly. Prodigy violates Havoc's beat, while Hav himself doesn't sound too bad. Score.

EXTORTION (FEATURING METHOD MAN)

The Mobb scores a cameo from reluctant critical darling Method Man, who sounds really mad on here, as if he's pissed he won a Grammy. It's almost as if he regards it as a seal of wackness of sorts. Anyways, leave it to Havoc to turn a Jackson 5 sample into utter dread music. Prodigy spits with that soulless conviction that he's perfected on the previous album. This song is my shit.

MORE TRIFE LIFE

Havoc felt insecure about Prodigy lyrically tearing through shit for the past four tracks and decided this pseudo-sequel was not going to feature his partner-in-rhyme, out of fear that people may completely disregard his MCing abilities. Just you wait till 2008, 96-era Havoc. You'll get all the features that were meant for your partner because he was too much of a bonehead to manage his firearms business right. Anyways, the beat is trademark Havoc. I guess I have to relent in saying that Hav also delivered with the rhymes. I mean, he ain’t no Melachi The Nutcracker, right? Moving along.

MAN DOWN (FEATURING BIG NOYD)
Pizza Dude! Happy Release From Jail Day, and many happy returns! Havoc's beat is more of a sequel to Party Over than it is to Give Up The Goods (Just Step), which works perfectly fine as the three MCs rip shit, though I have to say that Noydy pulls ahead of his hosts by a not-so-small margin. Havoc's hook is a fucking earsore, though.

CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT (FEATURING ILLA GHEE)

This song is one where Havoc becomes the second master producer in hip-hop to flip a straight classic out of the opening notes of Gary Burton's Las Vegas Tango, the first being Cypress Hill's very own DJ Muggs. (who never seems to get the credit he deserves. Let's see if we can change that later.) I swear, those notes bring out a side of me that should be locked away in some zoo in South Africa. K bookends the song with two average 16's, while Illa Ghee & Prodigy provide the cream filling. Especially Prodigy, who sounds like he's having the time of his fucking life spitting his quite-long verse in a monotone that sounds hype as hell. May I also add that the hook might have something to do with P's elation, as it's friggin' awesome.

NIGHTTIME VULTURES (FEATURING RAEKWON)

The Chef's second showing on a Mobb outing, where he's brought in to provide that extra lyrical oomph to the project and to add more flame to the fire of comparison between this album's mafioso material and the Purple Tape's. What Cheffy here wasn't counting on was that he was going up against a Prodigy who's form was simply unstoppable. Don't be too hard on yourself, Corey: You never really stood a chance. Hav relents by sticking to the chorus, apparently giving up on lyrically competing with P at this point. His beat is where he truly shines, however, as he brings us a haunted loop that will stick in your head long after you finish the damn song.

G.O.D. PT. III

Mobb Deep's obsession with Scarface samples officially started on this song, their second single. The infernal looping of the sample by Hav brings out something in both Mobb halves that facilitates the direct transplant of their contributions into the back of your brain. Prodigy sets this off like a man possessed, taking his well-known threat game to an unheard level with imagery that forces you to view him as the monolithic MC he is. Said performance rubs off on Havoc, who cannot help but follow suit with a spirited performance by him as well. By now, this album is steamrolling its way into your favorite albums list. Trust me.

GET DEALT WITH
When will the onslaught of awesomeness end? This is the fifth song in a row that is seared into my subconsciousness, no lie. Leave it to Kejuan to bring us a simple piano loop and make it into an east coast classic. Albert's delivery of his thuggery here will sound as if he's really "standin' all up in ya cornea" with immediacy that will send a chill down your spine. Havoc rambles off for a bit at the beginning of his verse, then gets it together with a solid performance. The assault continues.

HELL ON EARTH (FRONT LINES)
Another ominous piano loop, this time for the lead single. First time I heard this, I confess I didn't like it. After listening the entire album again and again an infinite number of times, it gradually climbed into my favorite cuts from said album. This song most definitely contains a standout Prodigy verse. Not the first one, but the second one, as P bookends this song with Hav filling in the singular middle verse. Back to Prodigy: He unleashes a long-ass verse that ought to be etched in gold in my hip hop fall of fame, similar to Sticky Fingaz' verse on Purse Snatchaz, Cappadonna's verse on Winter Warz, etc. Just you wait. I'll build one, I tell ya.

GIVE IT UP FAST (FEATURING NAS AND BIG NOYD)
The mob movie sample onslaught continues with the heavily underrated Christopher Walken vehicle King Of New York (A much better movie than Scarface, in my humble opinion) now on the sample-chopping board. Nas continues his successful chemistry with the Mobb, backed by His Noydness, who frustratingly shares a verse with Havoc. I can only imagine how this would be as a Nas/Prodigy duet. It probably would be similar to the awesome Self Conscience on Nas' abysmal QB Finest. But this one's hella good, too.

STILL SHININ'
Havoc's at it again with a magnificent Willie Hutch sample, again bookended by P with Hav filling the middle. It’s really difficult finding an album cut that truly sticks out from the others on Hell On Earth, mostly because the quality exhibited is exceptional. Still Shinin’ is no different, as P torches his warpath of a verse for the jillionth time and Hav delivers a performance that just doesn’t measure up to his partner. Phenomenal song!

APOSTLE'S WARNING
Well, Havoc hasn't run out of good production ideas by the time he made this, obviously. That would unfortunately start the next year with the embarrassing beat he gave Mic Geronimo on Vendetta. Shame, that. Anyway, Michael Jackson's People Make The World Go Round was a good choice to look, although producer Minnesota flipped a much better sample from this song on Naughty By Nature's World Go Round. Havoc gets his adept sixteen in and gets the fuck outta the way of a rampaging Prodigy who rhymes his ass off until the end of the damn song, providing the second display of the night worthy of being etched in gold in my imaginary hall of fame. This was the only way the album should've ended. Alas, there's one more.

Some versions of Hell On Earth came with Shook Ones Part 1, which I already reviewed here, and one more:

IN THE LONG RUN (FEATURING TY NITTY)
This was even more of a dis track towards the Mobb's enemies at the time. More precisely, Prodigy's two enemies 2Pac and Keith Murray (who made amends with P as of this article's writing), as he's the only one doing the dissing, while Hav and Ty Nitty (who's ironically beefing with Prodigy now) provide miniscule contributions again. P’s brilliance is the only attraction here.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Talk about proving doubters wrong. Mobb Deep cement their status as hip hop icons with this album. Although a minor quibble by me is that I wish Havoc kept his pen game as sharp as it was on The Infamous, even though he delivered on a few tracks here, most notably More Trife Life. Not the case for Prodigy, obviously, as the man transforms into a lyrical monster on this record. Every verse he delivers connects. Every fucking verse. I will say something for Hav, though: His wall-to-wall production on here is his finest hour behind the boards. For some reason, nobody remembers these Hell On Earth songs, which mystifies me, as the same ingredients that were on The Infamous are present here. Not only that, but they produce even better results here most of the time, effectively landing this album alongside the OB4CLs, the Reasonable Doubts and the It Was Writtens of that time period. Hell, I haven't skipped a single song on here! This would be the last Mobb Deep album that would be released before the advent of the Internet bootleggers, who would massacre the next Mobb Deep album, for better or worse.

WORTH IT?
Mobb Deep should celebrate this work just as much as The Infamous, if not even more so. But that doesn't mean you can't. Own and enjoy this mafioso classic for what it is.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
BACK AT YOU
Off the Sunset Park OST that came out before the start of this album's promotion. This song most definitely did not belong on a soundtrack of a film featuring another legendary rap group (Onyx) and yet this OST also contains Ghostface Killah's Motherless Child, Dogg Pound's Just Doggin' among others. Had this been on Hell On Earth, we would've had another Survival Of The Fittest on our hands, as this song feels like the mafioso sequel to the more popular single's gritty hoodlum roots. Anyways, Havoc pulls another proverbial rabbit outta his hat with his sped-up loop of Isaac Hayes' Bumpy's Lament's first few seconds, transforming the notes into those of a high-energy mafioso theme, properly handled by both Havoc and Prodigy. I was amazed that Havoc represented himself well here, as he's still going for his. Prodigy, predictably, outclasses him by fucking light years, but hearing Hav actively trying to catch up with P on the same record, similar to how he did on GOD Pt. 3, brings me a warm and fuzzy feeling. And the hook's perfect. This song fucking bangs. And we're done.

Plenty of more Mobb Deep to read here...