Search - Prodigy of Mobb Deep :: H.N.I.C.

QB state of mind

Kuassivi Mensah | Downtown LA | 10/01/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Before there was Hollywood P, there was Prodigy aka the H.N.I.C, aka the most rugged, vicious and nihilistic voice coming out of Queensbridge.

As the most lyrical half of the infamous mobb deep, P always revolved around that sacred gangsta trinity of gunz, drugs and sex, and if anything, with this solo album, P endulges in that gangsta sound, evolving from thug to superthug, with more hood tales of everyday hustle, getting bent and pushing weight.

The surprise is the actually decent production, and though Havoc is missing, that minimal, sample-driven QB sound is present on most tracks.

U gotta love P's young black and don't give a f*** mantra, but even the most hardcore Mobb fan will feel the lack of variation. Fortunatly P was smart enough to bring heavy collabos, most of them from QB, and they do supply with a much needed diversity.

22 tracks of gangsta gangsta with above average production, some highlights ( "Genesis", "Trials of Love", "H.N.I.C", "Gun Play" ), and overall a good effort.

"

A sign of the times (2 and 1/2 stars)

Nuisance | Miami | 01/29/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Prodigy was always nice but on this solo album you would hear a side of P that shows that he can make a suspect album just like the rest of them. His flow got sloppy and he got outrapped by Noriega on his own s***(What U Rep). To add insult to injury he gets outstaged by B.G.(no offence to B.G. but come on now!) on Y.B.E. Even Cormega(this one is understandable) floors him on Three. The guest spots with Havoc are nothing to brag about either and the way that Prodigy fumbled in that freestyle with his friend turned archenemy Littles(Littles verse was nice though) is a damn shame! Keep It Thoro, Rock Dat S***, You Can Never Feel My Pain and Genesis show us the Prodigy that we are all fond of. Gunplay and Infamous Minded are good tracks even though P's verses were alright on them. Filler: Diamond(I love the beat but the song is wack), Delt With The Bulls***(beatwasters anonymous material here), Do It(wasted a good beat provided by Rockwilder with subpar rapping. Prodigy, have you no shame?), Trails Of Love(SNORE! Ms Barz should quit), Cant Complain(Infamous Mobb verses were okay but P, forgetaboutit!) etc. Bottom Line: This is the worst solo Prodigy put out. Infamy smokes this album by a longshot. The production was not the problem, its Prodigy's rhymes. He changed his whole style around and now its sad to hear him getting floored by Noriega, B.G., Infamous Mobb and Cormega. If Prodigy wants to remain relevant in the rap game then he needs to change his style back to The Infamous and Hell On Earth days because the way he is flowing now is pathetic."