kBNeRd281
Rookie
over shadowed by more commercial music
Older heads , what was the reaction like when Mobb Deep The Infamous first came out ?
- Thread starter DMGAINGREEN
- Start date
daboywonder2002
Superstar
yeah I went to nsu with all them ny nkkas back then...ny DOMINATED back thenfrom the parties to the fashion to the girls.... we listened to buddha brothers all the time and went to the club they used to dj at in portsmoth from what I remember
I was at Hampton. Man those battle of the bay games were classic. Bro you couldn't go to any party without hearing Raekwon- Ice cream.
yep lololol
I'm 28 but the first time I heard this was in like 2003..
My mom's boyfriend would bump this album and Lost Boyz DAILY in his chevy tahoe...
Temperatures Rising was my immediatel fav
But that opening to Shook Ones PT II instantly gives you images of gloomy NYC streets.
Like when I hear that sample come in my brain equates it with death,gloom, and wet dirty streets.
My mom's boyfriend would bump this album and Lost Boyz DAILY in his chevy tahoe...
Temperatures Rising was my immediatel fav
But that opening to Shook Ones PT II instantly gives you images of gloomy NYC streets.
Like when I hear that sample come in my brain equates it with death,gloom, and wet dirty streets.
vampire xtc
The E-Legend
As stated at first so much quality music was coming out on what felt like a constant basis it didn’t really lead the pack
So back then compared to now the music was fed to us very slowly a single dropped and it didn’t always catch fire or go straight into radio rotation and of course no internet back then
So you either heard something on the radio or off a mixtape
If you were lucky enough you caught the radio playing it and could dub it to tape
So you could play it over and over
Back then radio would have the single but you couldn’t buy it in store for some time after like it would hit vinyl first which most people didn’t have
Then cassette single at a later date
And cd media was just starting to release but was expensive as shyt
Some music shops were smart they would have their in house dj take the vinyl and dub it to a 30 min cassette and sell that lol because it would take sometimes 2 months for the single to be available to purchase
But anyway...
Shook ones When it first started to get spin and I heard it I loved it immediately and myself like 99% of listeners thought mob was a new group as their first LP was DOA as far as radio
Back then in nyc we had 2 “shows” on hot 97 min-fri that ranked the top songs in the city
Wendy Williams who just took over for paco Lopez had the top 5 at 4pm
And flex had a similar spot at 9pm which was the top 9 at 9
So based on called in requests the top songs were ranked and was prime time to record a song you been dying to catch lol as radio then so much played in an hour a top song sometimes wouldn’t hit the rotation till 3 hours into listening lol
Shook ones initially cracked the top 9 show and would float around the 6-9 spots
It wasn’t cracking the top 5 at 4 at all assuming it was just outside of the 5 based on the later shows placement
It eventually hit the top 5 at 4 but I don’t even remeber hearing it higher than the 3 spot
The song was received well though
Then eventually survival of the fittest dropped
THAT single kicked the door in for them on hot 97 and was number 1 on both top 5 at 4 and top 9 at 9 a few times
Also at this point in time keep in mind singles were more desirable than albums mainly due to price plus again no internet or anything so people didn’t wanna shell out the money for an album they haven’t heard
Which also meant people dubbed copies like crazy as it was beyond simple a blank cassette was cheap and in comparison to album prices ULTRA cheap
Plus the drop times for the source magazine were very inconsistent back in the day and a lot of us based THAT source review as a reason to buy the album or not also sometimes the source would review an album 2-3 months before it dropped so by the time the album drops you have had to recall it’s mic score lol
Looking back was a very odd time but I loved it lol
The album based on word of mouth was well received it was just a slow burn compared to today
The videos were dope also
A lot of strange shyt happened back then
Nas “if I ruled the world” was only a bonus cut for the cd version of the album which was a gimmick companies used to get people to buy cd’s since they were so damn expensive but that clearly blew up and was added to the cassete
Imagine no cd’s and the song never seen the light of day lol
So back then compared to now the music was fed to us very slowly a single dropped and it didn’t always catch fire or go straight into radio rotation and of course no internet back then
So you either heard something on the radio or off a mixtape
If you were lucky enough you caught the radio playing it and could dub it to tape
So you could play it over and over
Back then radio would have the single but you couldn’t buy it in store for some time after like it would hit vinyl first which most people didn’t have
Then cassette single at a later date
And cd media was just starting to release but was expensive as shyt
Some music shops were smart they would have their in house dj take the vinyl and dub it to a 30 min cassette and sell that lol because it would take sometimes 2 months for the single to be available to purchase
But anyway...
Shook ones When it first started to get spin and I heard it I loved it immediately and myself like 99% of listeners thought mob was a new group as their first LP was DOA as far as radio
Back then in nyc we had 2 “shows” on hot 97 min-fri that ranked the top songs in the city
Wendy Williams who just took over for paco Lopez had the top 5 at 4pm
And flex had a similar spot at 9pm which was the top 9 at 9
So based on called in requests the top songs were ranked and was prime time to record a song you been dying to catch lol as radio then so much played in an hour a top song sometimes wouldn’t hit the rotation till 3 hours into listening lol
Shook ones initially cracked the top 9 show and would float around the 6-9 spots
It wasn’t cracking the top 5 at 4 at all assuming it was just outside of the 5 based on the later shows placement
It eventually hit the top 5 at 4 but I don’t even remeber hearing it higher than the 3 spot
The song was received well though
Then eventually survival of the fittest dropped
THAT single kicked the door in for them on hot 97 and was number 1 on both top 5 at 4 and top 9 at 9 a few times
Also at this point in time keep in mind singles were more desirable than albums mainly due to price plus again no internet or anything so people didn’t wanna shell out the money for an album they haven’t heard
Which also meant people dubbed copies like crazy as it was beyond simple a blank cassette was cheap and in comparison to album prices ULTRA cheap
Plus the drop times for the source magazine were very inconsistent back in the day and a lot of us based THAT source review as a reason to buy the album or not also sometimes the source would review an album 2-3 months before it dropped so by the time the album drops you have had to recall it’s mic score lol
Looking back was a very odd time but I loved it lol
The album based on word of mouth was well received it was just a slow burn compared to today
The videos were dope also
A lot of strange shyt happened back then
Nas “if I ruled the world” was only a bonus cut for the cd version of the album which was a gimmick companies used to get people to buy cd’s since they were so damn expensive but that clearly blew up and was added to the cassete
Imagine no cd’s and the song never seen the light of day lol
Memories I associate with when Shook Ones dropped:
-people riding around in in Camrys and Maximas with the seat leaned all the way back (damn near horizontal) playing this
-when the song came on people throwing gang signs
-when the song came on people getting slumped
-this song being an anthem/soundtrack to unapologetic thuggin and fukkery
-cats around my way mixing Hennessy with milkshakes
-hearing Shook Ones very early 95 (maybe even late 94) and it not getting traction til a few months later
-people riding around in in Camrys and Maximas with the seat leaned all the way back (damn near horizontal) playing this
-when the song came on people throwing gang signs
-when the song came on people getting slumped
-this song being an anthem/soundtrack to unapologetic thuggin and fukkery
-cats around my way mixing Hennessy with milkshakes
-hearing Shook Ones very early 95 (maybe even late 94) and it not getting traction til a few months later
had the tape 
youngin hit the skreets on a Saturday getting in to nuffin play it all day
youngin hit the skreets on a Saturday getting in to nuffin play it all day
FunkDoc1112
Heavily Armed
I was watching that one AI doc and it was dope as fukk seeing him and his teammates in the Georgetown locker room going crazy and dancing while that was playing on the speakers95/96
I was watching that one AI doc and it was dope as fukk seeing him and his teammates in the Georgetown locker room going crazy and dancing while that was playing on the speakers
There was like a 3 month period where that shyt was literally coming from every car like 24 hours a day.
ok first i have to start with the poetical prophets and their unsigned hype write up in the source. "baby grand puba, little rick the ruler. in my pocket is a crazy fat bag of buddha." my homeboy latief (produced the mad wunz for masta ace) knew matty c from the source and he played us their joints right in his office, a bunch of unreleased shyt that to me displayed their early raw talent. i was HYPE & went back to school and told all my guys about them before the article was even printed. turns out my homie john who (get ready for this) went by the rhyme name prodigy knew havoc from art & design, that used to be his rhyme partner. according to him havoc stole his rhyme name & gave it to this other kid from LI. why you ask? because hav had so many rhymes referencing his man prodigy & didn't wanna change them! lol so he named his new partner prodigy with the same group name & kept it pushin
fast forward the following year and they now have a deal on 4th and broadway with a new name, mobb deep. way better than poetical prophets, that shyt was hard to me.... but of course john hated it lol. so peer pressure was the first single and i thought i was kinda raw. this is '92 so you know us east coast nikkas done lost our minds and were using props in videos like treach with the machete & chainsaw, so that boy P had a huge sickle in the video like the grim reaper or something. john was clownin and calling him mad corny
so anyway they had a few other joints i was feeling like hit it from the back but i can't front the album was kinda weak. nothing like the material matty c had played in his office when they were unsigned. so i pretty much forgot about them and moved on. let's push forward a year now and havoc shows up on black moon u da man with an amazing verse. "punk mothafukkas on the mic you violated, a rhyme ain't a rhyme if it ain't crime related.." jesus it was swaggy and woulda been the best verse if buckshot shorty hadn't blacked out at the end... not a peep from mobb deep as a group though....
now it's '94 and me and my man elvis (don't ask lol) are listening to bobbito show in his room. so stretch armstrong throws on shook ones part 1 and we just look at each other like OMG what the fukk is this shyt??? next day mad people around the way were talking about it, including my cousin out in long island who called me just to ask if i'd heard it..... and we knew right then that mobb deep was finna be a serious problem. i spoke to john a week later and he thought it was some average bullshyt with weak production lmao... but you could tell he was NERVOUS!
fast forward to '95 and shook ones part 2 & survival of the fittest are on a bunch of mixtapes man. Ron G, DJ S&S, Doo Wop, etc. no they weren't getting national attention but the new york undergound was crazy for that mobb deep to drop. oh wait, same label as wu and raekwon? oh shyt.... so anyway the album drops in the spring of that year and it pretty much never left my CD player. i crowned it a classic after one listen and played it so much that i know the whole album by heart to this day, skits and all. forget about shook ones, trife life, right back at you (my fav joint), start of your ending..... man what about just step prelude where noyd and P rhyme acapella??? GOAT status
anyway reactions were a mixed bag. my homie ron didn't care for the album because he thought there was too much tough talk & rhymes about crack and guns. some of my other guys felt the same way too. if you were into pharcyde, kool keith, souls of mischief, cella dwellas, pete rock & cl smooth etc you probably weren't feeling this album at all. it really divided hip hop heads, it's only years later we look back on it and say how it was real hip hop and romanticize the infamous. that infamous prelude with P telling nikkas don't gamble with their lives or waste money on their hospital bills really turned a lot of people off. by the end of '95 though they were one of the most popular groups and by '96 hit instant legend status
oh and as for john? he couldn't front anymore, stopped this personal vendetta against havoc and admitted that it was an incredible piece of work. he later stopped rhyming all together and became the DJ for MOP but he got fired for some reason lol. anyway that's my long ass mobb deep/infamous story, i love it the same to this day yall sorry for that long ass post
fast forward the following year and they now have a deal on 4th and broadway with a new name, mobb deep. way better than poetical prophets, that shyt was hard to me.... but of course john hated it lol. so peer pressure was the first single and i thought i was kinda raw. this is '92 so you know us east coast nikkas done lost our minds and were using props in videos like treach with the machete & chainsaw, so that boy P had a huge sickle in the video like the grim reaper or something. john was clownin and calling him mad corny
so anyway they had a few other joints i was feeling like hit it from the back but i can't front the album was kinda weak. nothing like the material matty c had played in his office when they were unsigned. so i pretty much forgot about them and moved on. let's push forward a year now and havoc shows up on black moon u da man with an amazing verse. "punk mothafukkas on the mic you violated, a rhyme ain't a rhyme if it ain't crime related.." jesus it was swaggy and woulda been the best verse if buckshot shorty hadn't blacked out at the end... not a peep from mobb deep as a group though....
now it's '94 and me and my man elvis (don't ask lol) are listening to bobbito show in his room. so stretch armstrong throws on shook ones part 1 and we just look at each other like OMG what the fukk is this shyt??? next day mad people around the way were talking about it, including my cousin out in long island who called me just to ask if i'd heard it..... and we knew right then that mobb deep was finna be a serious problem. i spoke to john a week later and he thought it was some average bullshyt with weak production lmao... but you could tell he was NERVOUS!
fast forward to '95 and shook ones part 2 & survival of the fittest are on a bunch of mixtapes man. Ron G, DJ S&S, Doo Wop, etc. no they weren't getting national attention but the new york undergound was crazy for that mobb deep to drop. oh wait, same label as wu and raekwon? oh shyt.... so anyway the album drops in the spring of that year and it pretty much never left my CD player. i crowned it a classic after one listen and played it so much that i know the whole album by heart to this day, skits and all. forget about shook ones, trife life, right back at you (my fav joint), start of your ending..... man what about just step prelude where noyd and P rhyme acapella??? GOAT status
anyway reactions were a mixed bag. my homie ron didn't care for the album because he thought there was too much tough talk & rhymes about crack and guns. some of my other guys felt the same way too. if you were into pharcyde, kool keith, souls of mischief, cella dwellas, pete rock & cl smooth etc you probably weren't feeling this album at all. it really divided hip hop heads, it's only years later we look back on it and say how it was real hip hop and romanticize the infamous. that infamous prelude with P telling nikkas don't gamble with their lives or waste money on their hospital bills really turned a lot of people off. by the end of '95 though they were one of the most popular groups and by '96 hit instant legend status
oh and as for john? he couldn't front anymore, stopped this personal vendetta against havoc and admitted that it was an incredible piece of work. he later stopped rhyming all together and became the DJ for MOP but he got fired for some reason lol. anyway that's my long ass mobb deep/infamous story, i love it the same to this day yall sorry for that long ass post
Where you from?
I knew the tape was a classic before Start of Your Ending ended.
I had never heard anything so fukkin gutter in my life.
Looking back we was spoiled as fukk and I kinda knew it even back then.
It seemed like everything dropping during that couple year span (94-96) was classic and over time they all proved to be just that.
You can't really understand that era unless you understand just how important Clue tapes was.
I copped them shyts quicker than I copped a nikkas album back then..
Last edited:
daboywonder2002
Superstar
Chester, Pa then moved out to Chesapeake, VA
