Mobb Deep - Infamous Streets

Having left their label of the time, Loud, Mobb Deep release the most important mixtape of their career, the sprawling Free Agents: The Murda Mixtape (2003), running over two hours. Setting aside the numerous freestyles toward the end, it's a collection that returns to the true formula of a decade earlier with “Solidified”, a manifesto from a duo determined to withstand recent hardships. Also worthy of their best songbook is the reworking of “Cradle To The Grave”, with a minimal beat and the kind of raw, hardcore style Mobb Deep do so well.

That's enough to land a new deal with Jive and release Amerikaz Nightmare (2004), more modern thanks to more electronic beats and productions also credited to The Alchemist and Kanye West.
The craft is still there, but the ideas are lacking. From the opening title track alone, it's clear what the style of the whole album will be, with no real deviations save for the occasional flourish in the production.
There's fun to be had with the nursery-rhyme cadence of “Dump” (feat. Nate Dogg), the biting synth of “Real Niggaz” and the rousing party anthem “Real Gangstaz” (feat. Lil' Jon), as well as the remix of “Got It Twisted” (feat. Twista), but it's too little from game-changers like Havoc and Prodigy.
The context has also changed, with developments that have rewarded more elaborate narratives, both in content and form, destined to define some of the dominant models of the 2000s: “Madvillainy” (2004) by Madvillain, “The College Dropout” (2004) by Kanye West and “MM FOOD” by MF DOOM (2004) are just three of the albums Amerikaz Nightmare has to compete with for mentions in year-end lists.
Hardcore hip-hop has already been pushed into new territory by masterpieces like “The Blueprint” (2001) by Jay-Z, and has gone back to racking up commercial records with 50 Cent, also from New York, while Mobb Deep seem far too uninspired to compete on equal footing.

It's precisely for 50 Cent's G-Unit that they release Blood Money (2006), another album chasing after new sounds. The fun is still guaranteed, with new tracks like "Put Em in Their Place" and "Creep" (feat. 50 Cent), with production that does everything it can to entertain and be memorable, but as soon as you turn the volume down or look for something more, you're left disappointed: there really are too many hip-hop albums to remember the ones Mobb Deep put out in these years.

Understandably, the following years see releases become sparser. Complicating matters further, Prodigy also runs into trouble with the law. After his release from prison comes "Dog Shit" (feat. Nas), in 2011.
Between the two members, things aren't going great either: they trade insults, then get back to playing together in 2013. Finally, an eighth album arrives too, The Infamous Mobb Deep (2014), more self-celebratory than ever: two discs, one of new material and one of outtakes from the sessions of their masterpiece.
Belated as it is, it's a way of making amends for their recent attempts to change and modernize themselves, forcefully returning to the raw, minimal sound of old. It's a chance to present themselves as classics, thanks to murky tracks like "Taking You Off Here", the celebratory "Legendary" and nostalgic reflections like "Timeless", "All A Dream". Barring the second and third albums, this is perhaps the best of their entire career.

It seems like the career's last gasp, because Prodigy dies at just 42 years old in 2017. Rumors circulate of a final album under the Mobb Deep name that doesn't see the light of day for years. Then, in 2025, the posthumous Infinite allows us to hear Prodigy's voice and the classic Mobb Deep sound once again.
Sweet jazz-rap beats support bitter, nostalgic and melancholy lyrics, which once again tell of life at street level. Built around the sound of their early period, this ninth studio album is both a self-tribute and a farewell, reaffirming the staying power of Nineties boom-bap, even after a couple of decades of further hip-hop evolution.

The theme of death and ending runs through the 15 tracks and is made plain by Prodigy's voice, once again trading verses with Havoc and a number of major guests, gathered for one last farewell. Having reached an ending that sounds tragically definitive, Mobb Deep have no reason to try reinventing themselves as they did attempt during a long, shaky phase of their career. Despite this, Infinite makes use of their own recognizable sound to reread some of its elements and stylistic traits, transforming it for one final chapter that also sounds respectful of their history and of the late Prodigy. A minor miracle that only true classics can pull off.