Mobb Deep, from The Infamous, through Hell On Earth, via Prodigy's HNIC (the 1st one) to Murda Muzik, were arguably at the top of the East Coast tree. Havocs Distinctive sharp moody beats & Prodigy's deeply introspective & sometime self degrading rhymes in that period are classics of their time. One listen to 4 tracks i've put up from 144,00 & the Mobb Deep reference will be obvious. Melanin9 (& his crew as whole) carry all that was/is great about Hav & P from that period & in my opinion take things to a new level. But that being said, the key to the greatness of this album (& M9's 1st release High Fidelity) is the unmisatable 90's moody Boom Bap spine throughout. I know I always go on about this era of Hip Hop & how great it was back then, but the fact is they were & this album will go a long way to helping you to understand why. The Ultra moody (& in parts just plain angry) backdrops provided by Chemo, Beat Butcha & Jon Phonics pure greatness. Were born across the pond they would be insanely busy right now. Ably supported Cyrus Malachi, Jehst, Bronze Nazareth, Blasphemy, Nasheron & others, M subject matter is ideally suited to the sound he's riding. The UK struggle both at home & on the streets, the state of our society, love & the powers that be are all dissected with a brooding anger, that never fully reveals itself. Lines like 'I'm from Crackney, where the Black kids live off latchkeys, & harbour dreams to stack G's', only half graduate from the street academies...' immediately set a tone of what's to come. Ain't no glorification to be found here. Sometimes getting a bit too worldly can take away from what you're trying to say. Thankfully M9 doesn't disappoint as he brings you into his world & doesn't lose out by trying to be all things to all people. Break ya neck to the beats then rewind & listen to what's being said. More of the same please.p e a c e
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