Mobb Deep has been a staple of east coast Hip Hop since the early ’90s. It’s fair to say that the Queensbridge rappers have had their share of ups and downs both personally and musically. It’s hard to imagine a doper album than The Infamous being put out. Infamy a few years later hit Platinum, but for many Mobb Deep appeared to have peaked as this level of success has never been repeated.
After many years riding the wave of success, the hype died down and the pair signed to G Unit Records – with the move raising eyebrows because despite the units that the G Unit crew were pushing at the time in comparison to Mobb Deep, they were still seen by hip hop purists as being a step up from 50 Cent.
Havoc and Prodigy were then later separated by Prodigy’s brief spell in prison, and Black Cocaine is the pair’s first project since Prodigy’s release. The EP is seven tracks in total; the original five with two bonus tracks “Waterboarding” and “Streetlights.”
Kicking off with “Dead Man’s Shoes” featuring one of Jamrock’s finest, Bounty Killa, the joint is what we’d expect of Havoc and Prodigy: a hardcore beat and even harder-core lyrics.
The title track “Black Cocaine,” produced by long time friend and collaborator The Alchemist who produced four out of the seven joints, definitely has an air of the ’90s and we can also FEEL the old Mobb Deep again. Lyricism can sometimes seem like a lost art but Mobb come full throttle on this.
“Get It Forever” featuring Nas has got to be the standout track – The Alchemist is on top form here and the lyrics are blazing. If you are not bumping your head to this, something is wrong with you… seriously. And the sample in the intro and outro of the track is crazy. Peep Havoc’s first few bars – N****s know and if they don’t/ I shoot ‘em in the head, whatever rock his f*cking boat/ N****s in my face, you better leave before you can’t/ I lay shots like stamps, no FedEx/ I’m hot check the critics, call the paramedics – BOOM! It’s over!
Fans may be a tad disappointed by the length (or lack thereof) of tracks but I guess it’s better to drop something than to keep everybody waiting another several months. An offering with a sentiment similar to Lil Wayne’s Sorry 4 The Wait mixtape, bringing something substantial to quench our thirst. It certainly delivered just that an it’s definitely worth picking up this EP. A must for true Mobb fans. If this is anything to go by, the studio album will be memorable for completely the right reasons.
Mobb Deep – Black Cocaine
Released: November 21, 2011
Label: Infamous Records
Buy: iTunes UK / iTunes US / Amazon UK / Amazon US
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