Search - Mobb Deep :: Survival of the Fittest

A certified classic

Nathanial Grogan | CH, NC | 01/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first Mobb Deep song I ever heard, and still my favorite (I think it's better than "Shook Ones, Part II"). I fondly remember the very first time I ever heard this song; I was visiting a club in Memphis in 1995 and came upon a local crew freestyling to the instrumental version backstage. I had never before heard such a simplistic yet beautifully brutal beat. I asked one of them what it was and he told me. After that, I scrambled to buy a copy of "The Infamous" just so that I could hear this song again.This song's stunningly atmospheric beat is certainly its defining characteristic. Yes, the beat is fairly simplistic by today's standards - piano riffs set to a heavy bassline. However, they're some of the best piano riffs you'll ever hear. When placed against a pounding drum loop, the result is a bleak, haunting soundscape that conjures up images of gritty inner-city streets and allows you to imagine yourself in the same setting. In other words, the exact effect that a gangsta rap track should have on the listener. While modern rap tracks by producers like Lil Jon and Mannie Fresh rely upon dozens of sounds working together in concert, I think that "Survival of the Fittest" is a perfect example of how far simplicity can go. Havoc deserves major props for this track, and I wish that other rap producers would follow his lead and experiment more often with raw beats like this.Of course, a good beat needs some capable rappers to flow over it, and fortunately, Prodigy and Havoc are more than up to the task. To this day, I'm still wondering why these two are not mentioned more whenever I hear people talking about the best rap lyricists of all time. Just peep this part of Prodigy's verse:"There's a war goin' on outside, no man is safe from
You can run but you can't hide forever
From these, streets, that we done took
You walkin' wit ya head down, scared to look
You shook, cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks
They never around when the beef cooks in my part of town
It's similar to Vietnam"Word. Who else but streetwise homies like P and Hav could convey the hopelessness and unceasing violence of New York's streets? Their vivid lyrics beautifully complement the equally vivid beat. The very title, "Survival of the Fittest", suggests a place of great turmoil where only a few will manage to survive and live normal lives. If they've got the same street smarts in real life that they display in this song, Havoc and Prodigy are definitely among "the fittest". Bottom line: This is one of the greatest rap songs ever recorded. It not only stands the test of time, but also remains the epitome of musical and lyrical perfection in hip-hop. Whether you buy the album or the single, you MUST own "Survival of the Fittest". No rap fan should be without it."