Hell on Earth | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 19, 1996 | |||
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Genre | ||||
Length | 61:35(North America) 65:47 (international) | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Mobb Deep | |||
Mobb Deep chronology | ||||
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Singles from Hell On Earth | ||||
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Hell on Earth is the third studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep, released on November 19, 1996, through Loud and RCA Records. The follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Infamous (1995), Hell on Earth is entirely produced by group member Havoc and features guest appearances from rappers Nas, Raekwon, Method Man, and frequent collaborator Big Noyd, among others. The album includes the acclaimed singles "G.O.D. Pt. III" and "Front Lines (Hell on Earth)," as well as "Drop a Gem on 'Em," a response to 2Pac's diss track "Hit 'Em Up." A promotional single, "Still Shinin'", was released earlier that year and later added to the album.
The album, one of the earliest enhanced CDs, also contains an additional track ("In the Long Run") that at the time, had to be unlocked with the use of a computer. The album garnered widespread acclaim from critics, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 9, 1997.
Since most of the album was recorded during the height of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry, many fans considered the darker songs to be subtle disses toward 2Pac and other West Coast emcees, but Prodigy sends shout-outs to a list of West Coast artists such as Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and Xzibit in the liner notes.
Building on the sound of The Infamous, Havoc experimented with an eerie, atmospheric style of production, sampling pianos, string sections, and film scores. [1] Like Mobb Deep's two previous albums, the lyrics explore themes of crime and violence, with more of a focus on retribution and payback. [2]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [3] |
Los Angeles Times | [4] |
Muzik | [5] |
Q | [6] |
RapReviews | 8.5/10 [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
The Source | [9] |
Spin | 8/10 [2] |
Hell on Earth was met with widespread acclaim from music critics. Selwyn Seyfu Hinds of The Source praised Prodigy for "painting an endless series of chilling, near-surreal cinemascapes", also stating that Havoc "comes through with a surprisingly high octane performance". He concluded that Mobb Deep were "the most intense, most authentic, most powerful practitioners" of East Coast hardcore hip hop during the 1990s. [9] Los Angeles Times writer Cheo Hodari Coker called it "just as alluring, pessimistic and downright scary" as The Infamous, adding that "with Scorsese-like finesse, Mobb Deep serves up its underworld with such verve that even the most brutal characters glow with respectful purpose". [4] Sacha Jenkins of Spin believed that the album "pursues retribution like Charles Bronson in the Death Wish flicks", also noting that "very occasionally, you'll hear a longing for sanctuary inside Mobb Deep's insanity". [2] Entertainment Weekly 's Matt Diehl described it as a "haunting portrait of New York-style thug life" and a "thumping mix where gunshots clash with eerie strings". [3]
In a retrospective piece, AllMusic critic Steve Huey felt that the album "refines the Mobb Deep formula, amplifying much of what made The Infamous a success. The bleak street narratives are even more violent and extreme, and the production is even grittier and creepier". [1] In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , Chris Ryan commended Mobb Deep's artistic progression, stating, "If Infamous was a chilling documentary, Hell on Earth is a crime saga of mythical proportions. The stickup kids of the last album become hitmen and corner drug pushers become crime kingpins". [8] The album was included in Q 's 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time. [10]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Animal Instinct" (featuring Twin Gambino & Ty Nitty) | 3:30 |
2. | "Drop a Gem on 'Em" | 4:17 |
3. | "Bloodsport" | 3:35 |
4. | "Extortion" (featuring Method Man) | 3:31 |
5. | "More Trife Life" | 3:45 |
6. | "Man Down" (featuring Big Noyd) | 5:03 |
7. | "Can't Get Enough of It" (featuring General G) | 4:51 |
8. | "Nighttime Vultures" (featuring Raekwon) | 4:30 |
9. | "G.O.D. Pt. III" | 5:17 |
10. | "Get Dealt With" | 3:56 |
11. | "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)" | 4:34 |
12. | "Give It Up Fast" (featuring Big Noyd & Nas) | 3:58 |
13. | "Still Shinin'" | 4:11 |
14. | "Apostle's Warning" | 4:07 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
15. | "In the Long Run" (featuring Ty Nitty & Money No) | 2:38 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Animal Instinct" (featuring Twin Gambino & Ty Nitty) | 3:30 |
2. | "Drop a Gem on 'Em" | 4:17 |
3. | "Bloodsport" | 3:35 |
4. | "Extortion" (featuring Method Man) | 3:31 |
5. | "More Trife Life" | 3:45 |
6. | "Man Down" (featuring Big Noyd) | 5:03 |
7. | "Can't Get Enough of It" (featuring General G) | 4:51 |
8. | "Nighttime Vultures" (featuring Raekwon) | 4:30 |
9. | "G.O.D. Pt. III" | 5:17 |
10. | "Get Dealt With" | 3:56 |
11. | "Shook Ones Pt. I" | 4:12 |
12. | "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)" | 4:34 |
13. | "Give It Up Fast" (featuring Big Noyd & Nas) | 3:58 |
14. | "Still Shinin'" | 4:11 |
15. | "Apostle's Warning" | 4:07 |
Chart (1996) | Peak position |
---|---|
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [11] | 52 |
UK Albums (OCC) [12] | 67 |
US Billboard 200 [13] | 6 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [14] | 1 |
Chart (1997) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [15] | 148 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [16] | 35 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [17] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [18] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The Infamous Mobb Deep is the eighth and final studio album by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep, which is composed of Havoc and Prodigy. The album was released on April 1, 2014, by Prodigy's Infamous Records and Sony's RED Distribution. The Infamous Mobb Deep is a double album that consists of one disc of new original music and another of unreleased tracks from the recording sessions from their second studio album The Infamous (1995). The album had been in development since 2011, but was delayed by a feud that occurred between Havoc and Prodigy during 2012. However, they shortly reconciled.
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory is the fifth studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur, his first posthumous album and the last released with his creative input. Recorded in July and August 1996, it was released on November 5, 1996, almost two months after his death, under the stage name of Makaveli, through Death Row Records, Makaveli Records and Interscope Records.
Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Rifkind served as the chief executive officer while Isaacson served as the president of the label.
Albert Johnson, better known by his stage name Prodigy, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for being in the rap duo Mobb Deep along with Havoc, yet Johnson still had a solo career, regularly collaborating with producer The Alchemist.
Kejuan Waliek Muchita, better known by his stage name Havoc, is an American rapper and record producer. He was one half of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep with Prodigy.
The Infamous is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. It was released on April 25, 1995, by BMG, RCA Records and Loud Records. The album features guest appearances by Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Q-Tip. It was largely produced by group member Havoc, with Q-Tip also contributing production while serving as the mixing engineer. Most of the leftover songs from the album became bonus tracks for Mobb Deep's The Infamous Mobb Deep album (2014).
Illadelph Halflife is the third studio album by American hip hop band the Roots, released September 24, 1996, on DGC and Geffen Records. It features a tougher and broader sound than their previous album, Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995). The album also contains integration of programmed drums and guest contributions by R&B musicians such as Amel Larrieux and D'Angelo, as well as jazz musicians such as David Murray, Steve Coleman, Cassandra Wilson, Graham Haynes. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. In 2006, the album was selected as one of Hip Hop Connection's 100 Best Rap Albums from 1995 to 2005. The multi-track tapes recorded to mix the album were destroyed in a fire at the Universal Studios back lot in 2008, however, the original 1996 master tape remains unaffected.
Mr. Smith is the sixth studio album by American hip hop recording artist LL Cool J, released on November 21, 1995, by Def Jam. The album has been certified Double Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Blood Money is the seventh studio album by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. Originally scheduled for a March 21, 2006 release, it was released on May 2, 2006 via G-Unit/Interscope Records, making it the their only studio album for the label.
Amerikaz Nightmare is the sixth studio album by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. It was released on August 10, 2004, via Infamous/Jive Records. The recording sessions took place at Battery Studios, Chung King Studios, Dunn Deal Studios and The Lab, in New York City, and at Ocean Way Studios in California, The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, Powerhouse Studios in Yonkers, Record Plant in Hollywood, and DSL Studios in Louisville. The album was produced by member Havoc, as well as the Alchemist, Kanye West, Lil' Jon, and Red Spyda. It features guest appearances from Big Noyd, Jadakiss, Lil' Jon, Littles, Nate Dogg and Twista.
"Shook Ones, Part II" is the lead single from Mobb Deep's 1995 album The Infamous. The song is a sequel to the group's 1994 promotional single "Shook Ones", with similar lyrics, but less profanity. The original song is featured on the b-side of some releases of "Shook Ones, Part II" and was also included on the international version of the group's album Hell on Earth.
Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from Queens, New York formed in 1991. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy and Havoc, they are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hop. Mobb Deep became one of the most successful rap duos of all time, having sold over three million records. Their best-known albums are The Infamous (1995), Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999), and their most successful singles were "Shook Ones " and "Survival of the Fittest." They were known for their dark and hardcore delivery.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry is a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s. A focal point of the rivalry was the feud between East Coast–based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. signed by Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur signed by Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in drive-by shootings within six months of each other, after which the feud entered a truce with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
"Survival of the Fittest" is a song by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep from their second studio album, The Infamous (1995). It was released as the second single from the aforementioned album on May 29, 1995, by Loud Records. The song was produced by Havoc, using a sample of the 1976 song "Skylark" by The Barry Harris Trio and Al Cohn.
Episodes of a Hustla is the debut studio album by American rapper Big Noyd, released in 1996 by Tommy Boy Records. He recorded the album after making his name as a rapper on Mobb Deep's The Infamous and Hell on Earth albums. Most of the album was produced by Mobb Deep's Havoc and features guest appearances by Prodigy. Big Noyd's lyrics use violent, disturbing imagery to boast his rapping skills. Episodes of a Hustla charted at number 59 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
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"G.O.D. Pt. III" is the fourth single from Mobb Deep's Hell on Earth album. The song contains an interpolation from "Tony's Theme" by Giorgio Moroder from the 1983 film Scarface, and a drum-loop from "Fool Yourself" by Little Feat. The title is a reference to The Godfather Part III. The chorus features Infamous Mobb member Godfather Pt. III.
American hip hop duo Mobb Deep have released eight studio albums, four compilation albums, five mixtapes, one extended play (EP), forty singles, seven promotional singles and twenty-four music videos.
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It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album Illmatic (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for It Was Written. Produced largely by Trackmasters, it departed from the debut's raw, underground aesthetic and embraced mafioso and gangsta themes.