Murda Muzik

The Source - Included in The Source's "Top 10 Albums of the Year [1999]." The Source - 4.5 Mics (out of 5) - "...Hav and P have done it again...the Mobb specializes in one thing, and the album's title says it all....Yeah, the tough-talk persists, but not without more of the same self-scrutiny characteristic of the thinkin' thug..." Spin - 8 out of 10 - "...Balancing somber elegy and hardened battle verse is the essence of ruffneck hip-hop art, and nobody writes 'em fiercer than the Mobb..." The Source - 4.5 Mics (out of 5) - "...Hav and P have done it again...the Mobb specializes in one thing, and the album's title says it all....Yeah, the tough-talk persists, but not without more of the same self-scrutiny characteristic of the thinkin' thug..." Muzik - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Laced with a spectacular array of spaghetti western beat, MURDA MUZIK...provides another fix of 'the realness'..." Muzik - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Laced with a spectacular array of spaghetti western beat, MURDA MUZIK...provides another fix of 'the realness'..." Spin - "[With] a relentlessly chill 'Quiet Storm' remix starring cameo queen Lil' Kim."

After a three-year hiatus and numerous release date pushbacks, Mobb Deep got on their job once again with the punishing release of Murda Muzik. The duo, well-known for their lethal realism both in their infinitely dark yet moving beats and their stark and ruthless crime-rhyme lyrics, continued their grim odyssey with this, their fourth effort. Released amid so much watered-down product, Murda Muzik is an arguable masterpiece in the Puffy and Master P era. Mobb Deep once described their music as the sound of hypnotic thug life. An accurate description, for their music is more than just guns and herb smoking, it taps into the collective sense of fear and horror, the evil in men's hearts, and the struggle for good in the gardens of waste. Mobb music can make you cry, can make you scared, can amplify your inner rage; its depth allows for the gamut of emotional reactions. On this album, primary producer Havoc reached a high level of mastery in his production efforts, a truly signature style of deep bass grooves, piercing organs, ice-cold snare pops, melodic samples, and haunting orchestral snippets. Each song creates its own mood, whether it be a call to stop the violence on "Spread Love" or a call for full-throttle livin' on "I'm Goin' Out." Guest appearances by Raekwon, Lil' Kim, Lil' Cease, Cormega, Kool G. Rap, Eightball, and Infamous Mobb add texture to already bangin' tracks. The album overall can best be described as pure ear- and mind-twisting pleasure and pain. The album will affect you, get under your skin, make you rash up, and then salve you. Murda Muzik is a complete album and a renewal of the truly hardcore movement. ~ M.F. DiBella|