Mobb Deep Reflect On Recording "The Infamous"

Prodigy and Havoc reminisce on what the album intended to capture.

As one of the key acts on Red Bull Music Academy’s “Five Out of Five” concert series, Mobb Deep recently sat down with journalist Sacha Jenkins to discuss the making of their classic album The Infamous. During the discussion, Prodigy and Havoc broke down the LP track by track, expanding the scope to look at its overarching social implications.

"[The album] represents the struggle, the hunger, the will… to make it out of [the Queensbridge projects, where the two grew up, and which also spawned Nas and Marley Marl] is nothing short of a miracle," said Havoc. "Any situation could put you in the grave, and the album describes just that."

Havoc also spoke on the troubles faced while recording the album, and particularly touched on the cut “Temperature’s Rising” and how it addressed prison’s impact on their neighborhood. “A lot of kids see older guys going to jail, and they want to emulate that," he said. "But you don't have to do it like that... I wasn't trying to fall victim to the streets."

Mobb Deep later performed the album at New York City’s Webster Hall last night.

(hiphopdx)