Is the debut solo album by American rapper Prodigy.The album was scheduled for a September release but ultimately released November 14, 2000. After 4 Mobb Deep albums, Prodigy took a temporary break from the group and released his first solo effort.
I'm sure a couple of you were wondering why I chose to skip ahead in Prodigy's catalog to write about Product Of The '80s, because I like pretending that someone out there gives a shit about moves such as that. The answer is: I have no idea. There was no master plan: I merely got a couple of albums mixed up, and then it became too late to do anything about it. Shit happens, especially when an artist attempts to become prolific just before a prison sentence.Earlier in 2008, Albert 'Prodigy' Johnson released what most hip hop heads consider to be his second proper solo album (because 2007's Return Of The Mac was more of a collaborative effort with The Alchemist). Because sequels were in vogue even back then, he called it H.N.I.C. Pt. 2, making this a direct continuation of his well-received solo debut, which was released eight years prior to this effort. It's difficult to fault the man for the gap in between projects, though: Prodigy was clearly busy with Mobb Deep albums, Alchemist collaborations, and gun charges, and that takes up a lot of time.
H.N.I.C., an acronym that stands for Head N---a In Charge, wasn't exactly as cohesive a project as many recall: the production is all over the place, Cellblock P having employed a different producer for nearly every goddamn track (save for the multiple beats from The Alchemist, his Mobb Deep partner Havoc, and Prodigy himself). Then again, H.N.I.C. was released by Loud Records, an underground haven with pockets lined with disposable income thanks to the success of acts such as Big Punisher, the Wu-Tang Clan, Xzibit, and, well looky here, Mobb Deep.
For obvious reasons, and not just because Loud Records hasn't existed in many moons, H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 wasn't given as much of a budget, so Prodigy stuck with a handful of producers to help him get his message across. Aside from The Alchemist and Havoc (who only checks in behind the boards for a single track), Cellblock P employed production team Sid Roams to handle a good majority of the tracks. Which you would think helped with lending the album a consistent sound overall, but nah.
H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 is notable as a hip hop release from the label Voxonic, which you two have never heard of until now, most likely. Voxonic wasn't exactly a traditional record label: it was a company responsible for developing technology that could be used to translate songs into hundreds of different languages using the artists's own vocal inflections and a computerized approximation of their voice. Prodigy was (and maybe still is, I don't know or give a shit) an equity holder in the company, and promoted the shit out of the technology in return for using the company to promote H.N.I.C. Pt. 2. This gamble seems to have paid off, since everyone you know uses Voxonic technology throughout their everyday lives, not just to translate songs, but to speak in as many foreign languages as one wishes without ever having to learn them, effectively running companies like Rosetta Stone out of business while people from all parts of the world walk around neighboring countries like they own the place.
1. REAL POWER IS PEOPLE
Prodigykicks off H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 by attempting to shun financial success andmaterial objects, claiming that the real power is found when peopleare in the streets and, as such, can be considered as equals. Which,when you overthink it like I tend to do, makes no goddamn sense: eventhough I'm no fan of Brian De Palma's Scarface, Tony Montana's line,“First you get the money, then you get the power” ringsabsolutely true, and has been proven many times throughout history. I like Cellblock P's humanistic approach, but not only is it notrealistic, he doesn't even provide a compelling argument for thisparticular viewpoint during his two verses (and overlong hook) overthe Sid Roams production. He also refers to himself as a “quadrupleO.G.”, which only spells out O.O.O.O.G. So there's that.
2. THE LIFE
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Ourhost fares better on “The Life”, and Alchemist-produced littlenumber that zips by. Prodigy again lends two verses, but comesacross as more focused with his vague threats (contradictory, Iknow), and is far more successful at sounding like the guy who couldhave at least written his verses on Hell On Earth (although, to beclear, he's nowhere near that pinnacle here). The best Al Mamanbeats have a sinister quality woven throughout, and “The Life” isno exception, although it would probably fit a police procedural morethan it would any actual crime thriller. Still, the beat wasenjoyable, and this wasn't bad.
3. YOUNG VETERANS
Oneof two tracks on H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 that focuses on “veterans”, of variousages and levels of expertise, apparently. Cellblock P spends theduration of this Alchemist beat (which is grander in scope than hiswork on “The Life”, but not quite as interesting) celebrating hisstatus as someone who should not be fucked with, whether it be behindthe mic or just in the streets, and he's fairly convincing in his ownright. His flow isn't necessarily great or even all that good (herhymes “kush” with “wish” toward the end, which is a bit of astretch), but it wasn't awful. I even liked the casual dismissal ofthe attacks from his perceived enemies (“You can believe Jay [-Z]if you want”, he says, before a similar threat regarding Nas's pastcomments). Not sure why he chose to open the track with an extendedstoner skit, though.
4. ILLUMINATI
Speakingof Jay-Z, Prodigy dedicates this track to the “Illuminati”. Okay, that's not exactly true” this Al Maman-produced song liftsfour of Cellblock P's bars from his cameo on LL Cool J's “I Shot Ya(Remix)” to fill in as a hook. Our host isn't inspired on here,spitting words out apathetically as though it were just anotherworkday and some of these customers were being real assholes today. Which is too bad, as Al's beat wasn't terrible: it's a punchymotherfucker that a younger, hungrier rapper would have destroyed. Oh well.
5. NEW YITTI
TheSid Roams instrumental on “New Yitti” is actually amini-masterpiece, no bullshit: it sounds like it was lifted from anItalian giallo from the 1970s. Cellblock P's performance isn'tparticularly terrifying, but he sounds interesting enough, althoughhis threats and boasts don't exactly mark new territory or anything. Except for when he disses Craig Mack. That comes completely out ofnowhere. But I liked this overall.
6. ABC
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Almostincomprehensibly horrible. The Sid Roams instrumental is simplisticand annoying, and P's verses are fucking awful. Imagine if Prodigyhad been knocked unconscious and, because hip hop is obviously a soapopera, he suffered from amnesia and couldn't remember that he was onehalf of Mobb Deep. After chancing upon “Shook Ones Part II” onsatellite radio, Prodigy was informed that it was he, in fact, whoperformed the first verse: both empowered and a bit impressed, hedecided to give this rap shit a try, but did not have any knowledgeof how he used to do this. Hence, horseshit like “ABC”, whichsounds like strung-together lines from other Prodigy performances andeven features the lazy-as-fuck cop-out where two-thirds of thegoddamn alphabet make up most of the shitty chorus. The fuck wasthis, man?
7. CLICK CLACK (FEAT. BIG TWINS)
CellblockP finally sees fit to share the spotlight with a guest star: however,instead of the obvious Havoc, he looks to Infamous Mobb's TwinGambino, who's actually fairly close with The Alchemist, so it wassurprising that this shit was produced by Sid Roams. The beat rollsalong far more slowly than what any of us deserve, and Prodigy's flowcrawls by in the most embarrassing fashion possible. Twin's gravellymonotone only contributes a quick hook in the middle of the track: hemay as well have not even shown up to the studio that day, but I haveit on good authority that the soda machine had broken and wasdispensing free Coke Zeros, so you know. This was ass.
8. VETERANS MEMORIAL PT. 2
Theother track on H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 paying tribute to veterans is a directsequel to one of the standouts from the original H.N.I.C. Over aneasygoing Alchemist beat that isn't as dramatic as a somber piecelike this would imply, Cellblock P praises those who have passed,doing so in a way that proves that (a) he actually cares about thesepeople, and (b) actually took his time with the writing, making surehe got the words just right. The effort shows in the final product,the best track of the album thus far.
9. FIELD MARSHAL P (FEAT. UN PACINO)
Havoc(finally) makes an appearance on H.N.I.C. Pt. 2, albeit behind thescenes, lending his partner in rhyme an uncharacteristicallymethodical (and, admittedly, pretty damn good) instrumental. P andguest Un Pacino deliver their threats and occasional boasts in themost cold and calculated manner they could respectively muster, andthe result is an altogether enjoyable, if not that great, listeningexperience. That title is also as stupid as shit, but hey, rapperswill be rappers.
10. 3 STACKS (FEAT. BIG TWINS)
Thisunexpected ode to OutKast's reclusive Andre 3000 takes place over aSid Roams concoction that sounds more Hit-Boy-esque than Hit-Boy isnow. Wait, that's not what this song is about? That joke was tooeasy? I should have tried harder? Regardless, this track was weird. Prodigy apparently walks around with “three stacks and a pocketfull of hats” at all times: does this mean he's adequately preparedto pay for sex twenty-four/seven? The hook seems to think so, as itproclaims that, “when it's on, it's go 'pop'”, which sure soundslike ejaculation to me. Also, Twin Gambino has a verse.
(Thefollowing song only appears on the original pressing of H.N.I.C. Pt.2.)
11. WHEN I SEE YOU
AnApex-produced ditty that is nearly impossible to locate online today,since Prodigy essentially scrubbed it from existence in favor of itsremix, which will appear later in this review. For what it's worth,it sounds incomplete when compared with the remix, for reasons thatwill become more clear as this post continues on.
12. IT'S NOTHING (FEAT. BIG NOYD)
ProducerApex injects some energy into the proceedings with “It's Nothing”,which sounds nothing like any beat Cellblock P has ever rhymed over(for himself, anyway). Our host and Rapper Noyd attack thefast-paced, slick instrumental as though it was their last chance toget the word out before the aliens took over the studio, with bothmen sounding pretty good with their “diabetic rap” (because“ain't nothing sweet”). Not bad.
13. I WANT OUT (FEAT. HAVOC & UN PACINO)
UnPacino's Jadakiss-lite flow opens “I Want Out”, the lone actualMobb Deep collaboration on H.N.I.C. Pt. 2, because Havoc performsdouble duty as producer and guest star. And you know what? I dughis verse more than anyone else's on here: he rides that linebetween exasperated and optimistic like a champ, and Hav's dramaticbackdrop only adds to the experience. Unfortunately, he kills themomentum with his hook, which is pretty shitty, and neither Hav nor Psound inspired enough to mind. It would probably be better topretend that this is Pacino's song anyway, considering you hear muchmore of him than anyone else anyway.
Thefollowing is listed as a bonus track.
14. ABC (VOX SPANISH REMIX TEASER)
Ina move that makes no sense aside from financial, for the final songof the original project, Prodigy takes the worst track from H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 and runs it through Voxonic's technology, an innovation thatuses Prodigy's actual voice to recreate the syllables required tomake “ABC” sound like our host recorded this version in a foreignlanguage. (Sort of: it's not perfected yet, and at times Prodigysounds like Stephen Hawking's computer.) The technology wasn't fullyformed back in 2008, but the concept was at least interesting, andall this should be seen as is a test run. It's too bad that our hostfelt the need to place what is essentially a fucking commercial ontoa goddamn rap album, but then again, he did release this album on alabel called Voxonic Music. so.
Severalmonths after its original release, Prodigy saw fit to drop acollector's edition of H.N.I.C. Pt. 2. This was a three-disc effort,with one dedicated to a tweaked version of the original project withadditional tracks, a DVD with every video clip shot for the album,and a third disc filled with creator commentary for each song. There-release omits “When I See You” in favor of its remix, aCormega-featured number that is tacked on near the end. As such, thetracklisting changes a bit, with “It's Nothing” becoming theeleventh song on the album instead of the twelfth, and so on. Thetrack numbering that follows will reflect how the extra songs appearon the re-release, so no, there aren't actually two track fourteenson the project. Sorry to disappoint you.)
14. GET TRAPPED (FEAT. NYCE & UN PACINO)
Nonsensical,but in a way that pretty much all rap songs tend to be: Prodigy andfriends are ostensibly rhyming about being trapped in the streetlife, but all that appears to be on our host's mind is pussy, sothat's pretty much all he talks about. I don't honestly believe thatall rappers have undiagnosed ADHD, but, obviously, focusing on aspecific theme can be too much of a challenge someti...oooh, a bluecar! What was I talking about? Oh yes. “Get Trapped” is boringand less interesting than a blue car. I think.
15. WHEN I SEE YOU (REMIX) (FEAT. CORMEGA)
Apex'sinstrumental (the same as before) is still pretty elementary, butit's a loop that burrows its way into your subconscious, so at leastit's pleasant enough. This remix is the same as the original take,featuring two Prodigy verses of varying degrees of decent: histhreats aren't fully fleshed out and come across as simplistic,although I did like the way Cellblock P tosses off a “Go fuck yourmother” during the second verse. And the distorted hook was prettydumb. The only difference between this version and the original iswhen Mega Montana steals the show without really even trying, histacked-on verse at the end being merely alright. But even with allof this seemingly negative feedback, I still kind of dug this track. Huh.
16. THE DOUGH
Easilyone of the most annoying Alchemist beats I have ever heard. Cellblock P does what he can, but there's no heart in his bars,except maybe in the lines he devotes to Voxonic's technologyadvertised earlier in the program, since he was obviously convincedthat talking up his product was going to make him big bucks withoutwhammies. Bleh.
18. SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD
TheSid Roams production isn't quite as sinister as a track entitled“Sleep When I'm Dead” probably should be, although there are someflourishes thrown in as an afterthought. Prodigy discusses his lackof a sleeping pattern through his bars and another distorted hook,choosing to fill the time typically spent in dreamland with plots,schemes, and plans to get ahead of the next guy. Which is fine: moststreet rap is about this exact topic. But considering that theregular version of H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 is also filled with these type oftracks, Cellblock P probably should have maybe included somedifferent subject matter on the deluxe edition, right?
19. DIRTY NEW YORKER (FEAT. HAVOC)
Weirdlyincluded as a bonus video on the original version of H.N.I.C. Pt. 2but not as an actual song, “Dirty New Yorker” finally arrives toclose out the deluxe edition. The final song of the evening is anAlchemist banger that is fairly subdued, over which Prodigy and Havocillustrate their self-described statuses as filthy rich, unwashedresidents of the Big Apple. Okay, that's only what part of thistrack is about. Alan's instrumental provides the dramatic push Havand P require to sound like they give a shit during their respectiveperformances, making this an enjoyable way to close things out.
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FINALTHOUGHTS: So here's the thing: if you were expecting Prodigy to suddenly revert back to his Hell On Earth days, you just have to learn to accept that it will never happen. People grow older, they try new things, they evolve. You want to hear the old shit? Buy Hell On Earth fifty times, which at least might convince Mobb Deep to remaster that project too, instead of just The Infamous. But I'm digressing. H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 is filled with sparks of the brilliance that made people love Mobb Deep in the first place, but they're all buried within piles of annoying shit that you would have to wade through if you cared that much to do so. Cellblock P has replaced genuine (for a rapper, anyway) menace and malice with empty threats and hollow boasts, and his ear for beats may need to be checked out, since Sid Roams isn't exactly the finest production team in the business. Still, Prodigy has managed to pull a few good songs out of his ass on here, so this wasn't a complete waste of my time, even if that Vox sampler screamed, 'Don't you want to invest in us right now? Huh? Come in on the ground floor? Don't cha?' But who am I to fault any rapper that hustles? At least Prodigy didn't release his own vodka or something as equally played-out.
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BUYOR BURN? A burn is sufficient, unless you absolutely want the commentary disc and the DVD of on-the-fly music videos Prodigy shot prior to beginning his sentence. But the songs below are definitely worth searching for.
BESTTRACKS: “Dirty New Yorker”; “New Yitti”; “When I See You(Remix)”; “The Life”; “It's Nothing”
-Max
RELATEDPOSTS:
MobbDeep is found here, and solo Prodigy efforts are discussed here.