While attending the High School of Art and Design in New York City, Queensbridge natives Havoc and Prodigy would begin making music in 1986. Originally they rapped under the name the Poetical Profits, where Prodigy would MC and Havoc would at times MC, but mostly handled production. The name would soon change to Mobb Deep, a reflection of how large their crew was in the Bridge. At the age of 17 the duo would release their debut Juvenile Hell. But despite the backing of production from DJ Premier and Large Professor, the album was given harsh reviews and did not sell. The criticism came from failure to stand out among other hardcore acts in the city. Upon the release of their second album 1995 however, Mobb Deep managed to leave an impression on their audience with a presentation of the haunting realities of New York City.
The Infamous depicted a bleak existence of life in the inner city full of blunts, paranoia and loading clips. Every rapper professes to murder, but never had it been more believable. This is demonstrated well in their single "Shook Ones Pt. II". In which Havoc set the tone with the stripped down bassline over reverberating piano chords, sounding like something from a horror movie. Prodigy gives a description of the number of ways he could kill you.
"For all of those who wanna profile and pose / Rock you in your face, stab your brain wit' your nosebone."
With little melody in the beat, Havoc manages to create a darker atmosphere using a layer of 3 loops. The first loop heard is what sounds like a siren of some sort playing over 1/8 note hi hats. It is sampled from Quincy Jones' composition "Kitty With the Bent Frame" from the 1971 original sound track for the UK film $ (Dollar). The loop is of a synthesizer with a high end filter.
When the first kick comes in the beat begins to fill out as it's played over the synth. The break is taken from the song "Dirty Feet" by the Daly-Wilson Big Band, an Australian band that featured a large brass section. The break beat can be heard in the first 17 seconds before going off into big brass section.
The final portion of the beat are the menacing piano key that gives the entire song such a sinister feel. What is interesting about this particular sample was that it was sought after for quite a long time, and it wasn't until recently that it was discovered to be the song "Jessica" by Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The sample is so miniscule that Havoc had forgotten where he had sampled it.
“[The LA Times only recently figured out the sample] because I used such a small part of a record. And I chopped it up and shifted the tempo a lot, so I put them on the keyboard. I made it faster, then made it slower. People were like, ‘What the fuck is that? What record does that come from?’ because so many producers, they blatantly use a sample."
Through The Infamous Havoc and Prodigy give a narrative of two teenagers who have been mentally scarred by the environment around them. They had managed to correct the mistakes of their first release by touching on similar subjects as their peers, but saying it in a way that is more ruthless and disturbing than any one else.
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