Artist: Mobb DeepTitle: Americaz NightmareRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Matt Barone Weathering the hip-hop games always-turbulent storm for ten years, Queensbridge projects proud soldiers Mobb Deep return to their original grimy form on their sixth album, Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive). While many bickered about 2001s Infamy sounding slightly watered-down with its assists from Lil Mo and 112, this time around Havoc and Prodigy recapture the urban darkness and glorified thug music that made them one of raps most celebrated groups upon release of their classic 1995 opus The Infamous. No R&B hooks, no obvious radio single, and no weak filler are heard on Amerikaz Nightmare, as Hav and P deliver a record that easily holds its own as some of the tandems best work to date. Beginning with stormy electric guitars on the moody opener Amerikaz Nightmare, the hardcore sounds never let up. Lyrically, Hav and P remain consistently able to match the productions intensity, whether they are saluting their dogs on Real N##### or spitting violent narratives on the eerie On The Run. The Jadakiss-assisted heater One Of Ours Part II sports Havoc in top form, spitting graphic visuals like, Pick you up, off your feet like a fork lift/ But instead its the four-fifth, while Prodigy commends his Mobb music on Get Me with, Everytime they cop from somebody else, that s###s wack/ That s### there is doo doo, this s### here is crack. As far as production, Amerikaz Nightmare is one of the years most blazing audio experiences. Shorty Wop finds Havoc blasting bouncy synthesizers through the speakers, while Neva Change is an instant head-nodder courtesy of Havs frantic horns and pounding percussion. Kanye West serves his darkest instrumental in recent memory with the violin and guitar driven Throw Your Hands (In The Air), and Lil Jons abrasive crunk on Real Gangstaz fits the gully bars of Mobb Deep perfectly. Longtime Mobb collaborator Alchemist laces Amerikaz Nightmare with three incredible beats, most notably the alarming When U Hear The and the masterfully chopped-up vocal samples heard on the thumping Win or Lose. With Southern energy and soft rap ballads dominating the airwaves these days, Mobb Deep convincingly drives hip-hops flag through the concrete streets of New York City on with this collection of murda music. The careers of Havoc and Prodigy seem to have come full circle in 2004, with this scorcher of an album seeing release nearly a decade after their Infamous introduction to the world. Devoted Mobb fans will rejoice, while ignorant sleepers will wake up once Amerikaz Nightmare concludes. Dont get it twisted; the Mobb is stronger than ever.
Artist: Mobb DeepTitle: Americaz NightmareRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Matt Barone
Weathering the hip-hop games always-turbulent storm for ten years, Queensbridge projects proud soldiers Mobb Deep return to their original grimy form on their sixth album, Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive). While many bickered about 2001s Infamy sounding slightly watered-down with its assists from Lil Mo and 112, this time around Havoc and Prodigy recapture the urban darkness and glorified thug music that made them one of raps most celebrated groups upon release of their classic 1995 opus The Infamous. No R&B hooks, no obvious radio single, and no weak filler are heard on Amerikaz Nightmare, as Hav and P deliver a record that easily holds its own as some of the tandems best work to date.
Beginning with stormy electric guitars on the moody opener Amerikaz Nightmare, the hardcore sounds never let up. Lyrically, Hav and P remain consistently able to match the productions intensity, whether they are saluting their dogs on Real N##### or spitting violent narratives on the eerie On The Run. The Jadakiss-assisted heater One Of Ours Part II sports Havoc in top form, spitting graphic visuals like, Pick you up, off your feet like a fork lift/ But instead its the four-fifth, while Prodigy commends his Mobb music on Get Me with, Everytime they cop from somebody else, that s###s wack/ That s### there is doo doo, this s### here is crack.
As far as production, Amerikaz Nightmare is one of the years most blazing audio experiences. Shorty Wop finds Havoc blasting bouncy synthesizers through the speakers, while Neva Change is an instant head-nodder courtesy of Havs frantic horns and pounding percussion. Kanye West serves his darkest instrumental in recent memory with the violin and guitar driven Throw Your Hands (In The Air), and Lil Jons abrasive crunk on Real Gangstaz fits the gully bars of Mobb Deep perfectly. Longtime Mobb collaborator Alchemist laces Amerikaz Nightmare with three incredible beats, most notably the alarming When U Hear The and the masterfully chopped-up vocal samples heard on the thumping Win or Lose.
With Southern energy and soft rap ballads dominating the airwaves these days, Mobb Deep convincingly drives hip-hops flag through the concrete streets of New York City on with this collection of murda music. The careers of Havoc and Prodigy seem to have come full circle in 2004, with this scorcher of an album seeing release nearly a decade after their Infamous introduction to the world. Devoted Mobb fans will rejoice, while ignorant sleepers will wake up once Amerikaz Nightmare concludes. Dont get it twisted; the Mobb is stronger than ever.
