The 1995 Mobb Deep album widely regarded as a landmark of hardcore East Coast hip-hop is The Infamous.
Released on April 25, 1995, The Infamous was Mobb Deep’s second studio album. The Queensbridge duo of Prodigy and Havoc built its sound around stark production, ominous samples, and vivid accounts of street life in New York City.
The album includes “Shook Ones, Pt. II,” one of the most recognized songs in hip-hop history, as well as “Survival of the Fittest” and “Temperature’s Rising.” Havoc handled much of the production, while Prodigy’s focused, highly detailed writing became central to the album’s identity.
Mobb Deep’s later albums Hell on Earth and Murda Muzik are also important releases, but The Infamous is the record most closely associated with the group’s breakthrough and its lasting influence on hardcore rap.