The rapper Prodigy (not to be confused with the Prodigy, from Britain) is one half of the veteran Queens duo Mobb Deep; the two released an underwhelming 2006 album, “Blood Money,” on G Unit. But he has found a great way to rebound: by going solo and getting weird. In the 1990s Mobb Deep was known for elegant beats and grim narratives. And Prodigy’s new solo CD (he calls it a mixtape), released by the independent label Koch and produced by the sample-happy producer the Alchemist, is a woozy trip back into that menacing world; it’s also a reminder of how engrossing Prodigy can be.
“Return of the Mac” celebrates the old, mean New York; our antihero totes a “rusty gun” with “rubber bands on the handle — a New York grip.” He has a thick, sullen voice, and sometimes he petulantly declines to make his lines rhyme, as if he’s too tough to care or too depressed to be bothered. In “Legends” he explains how his father taught him to fight off bullies: “Pops gave me a knife, told me handle my things/If not, when I came back, he would handle me.” The album ends with “Stop Fronting,” in which Prodigy claims to be living the good life, but he’s much more convincing in the bleak “Mac 10 Handle,” a revenge fantasy tinged with psychosis: “Smokin’ dope, loading bullets in my clip for you/I ain’t even wiping my sweat, it’s keeping me cool.” KELEFA SANNEH
http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/031907/
Artists: Prodigy and Alchemist
Representing: Queensbridge, New York, and Los Angeles
Mixtape: Prodigy's Return of the Mac, produced by Alchemist
411: Alchemist says that even when fans or the industry lose faith in Mobb Deep, his boys never flinch — they know their talents and are always poised for a comeback. "P's been doing it, he's been through so many different chambers of rhyming, fathered so many styles, been so inventive," he began explaining about Prodigy's mental state for the new mixtape Return of the Mac. "I don't think he's trying to top anything he's done, he's just having fun trying to represent where he is right now with life. I'm loving how [Return of the Mac] came out. It was a opportunity for us to show that P is still that dude. It didn't really come across in the last Mobb album for one reason or another."
Alchemist produced all the beats, which were built with '70s soul samples, while Prodigy did all the rhyming. The two are also working on Prodigy's official solo album, H.N.I.C.2., for later this year.
"Just his vocal tone alone, he's the sh--," added Al, who was in Cali working with (+44) drummer Travis Barker. "P is a survivor, Mobb Deep are survivors. That's what I've been learning with them and their career, the longevity, the deals they've had. They come out, get fronted on, come back, blow up. They've got a pattern about them where they always come back after what they've had what is not considered a successful album. So being that the last Mobb album didn't go over that crazy, P is letting me know it's nothing. 'We survivors.' Same thing for [Prodigy's Mobb Deep partner, Havoc]. Hav's album is crazy."
Joints To Check For:
"Take It to the Top." "[A friend of mine] from Japan came through, he had crazy records," Al said. "He really inspired me when I was out there, and he came to New York. This was one of the records he brought. It was P spazzin'. It's a lot going on in the sample. It's more energy. We looped it up. P wrote to it real fast. The standout line, he said, 'I douse you, you'll have different colors leaking out you/ Like red, yellow and white/ You got some stomach on your Nikes.' He said, 'You got some stomach on your Nikes!' He's real graphic, real cinematic. He's dope. P is always good for that type of sh--."
"The Rotten Apple." "It's probably my favorite record," Al said. "It was the theme of New York throughout the record, unconsciously. It wasn't like we were trying to bring New York back. It was like, 'Let's make it sound like it was conceived in New York, the sound of New York, how we wanna hear it.' P has a concept for a video that's real cutting edge. The song has a feeling to it. It's basically saying, 'Rotten apple made me like this, I don't give a f---.' New York made him how he is. It gives me the feel of the old New York, how I envisioned it in the early '80s and '70s."
"Last Words." "We did a CD just for Circuit City and it has three bonus records on it," Al said. "You have 'My Priorities,' a song with me and Hav called 'That's That,' and 'Last Words' with P and Kokane. 'Last Words' is the last bonus song too. It's almost like he's on his death bed, he's like, 'To my family, forgive me for not being a father/ Daddy was involved in a lot.' Kinda like a mob boss on his death bed. He's explaining to his family, 'It's over now, but this is what it was.' That was just for the bonus [edition]. It was one we had in the stash and it fit."
I checked out most of it yesterday and I must say you def. need to pick it up.
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