Prodigy - Product of the 80's
Review : Prodigy - Product of the 80's
This is Prodigy's second album this year and third in the last two years if you count Return of the Mac as an album. Most of the time when an artist has releases that are close together they vary greatly in quality. Not here as Product of the 80's measures up pretty close to both HNIC2 and may even be better to certain listeners.
It goes without saying that Prodigy is not as good as he was in the 90s. His voice has changed and his delivery has gotten slower. However, to me just because hes not as good doesn't mean hes awful now. I find his new style lethargically menacing and it works with most of the production. Lyrically hes still in a bit of a rut and has a range limited to hard talk, guns, and a touch of conspiracy theories thrown in. If you cant stand listening to recent Prodigy this album is not going to change your mind.
The guest rappers that frequently appear throughout this album are Big Twins and Un Pacino. We see them on the Cover with P and their names are also on the cover ala Raekwon and Cappadonna on the Ironman cover. While neither of them are any better than P lyrically Big Twins' grimey voice makes him a standout on some of the tracks hes featured on while Un Pacino sounds like a slightly gullier 50 Cent.
What makes this album what it is is the production. The bulk of the production is done by duo Sid Roams and consists of a sound that is distinctively nostalgic of the 80's with an updated hard edge that you would expect from an album from the Mobb Deep camp. The beats are pretty consistant throughout the album with about 2 or 3 that dont really work. Other producers are Jake One and Sebb who both contribute tracks that fit in with the albums theme.
It was kind of weird to me to find out that Havoc has nothing to do with this album at all. On HNIC2 he at least threw in one beat and verse respectively but here we get zippo. Alchemist is also nowhere to be found on this disc. P shouts out Illa Ghee throughout the album but hes not on any tracks either. Also noticeably absent are other members of the Mobb family. I probably would have Preferred Noyd or Illa Ghee to Un Pacino but I guess thats who P was chillin with when this album was recorded.
If you were a fan of P's last 2 releases you wont be disappointed with this one but hes not going to convert any new fans.
Top 5 Tracks
Catch Body Music
Cold World
Stop Stressin
Boxcutters
Anytime
Beats: 8/10 Rhymes:7/10 Overall: 7.5/10
Track List
1.Intro
2.Whaddup G'z
3.Shed Thy Blood
4.Boxcutters
5.Catch Body Music
6.P Keep Spittin
7.Test Tube Babies
8.Cold World
9.Anytime
10.Stop Stressin
11.Damn Daddy
12.Sex,Drugs, and Murder
13.In The Smash
14.Circle Don't Stop
15.Am I Crazy?
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racula's Curse is my favorite video game of all time, I genuinely appreciated the sample flip on Catch Body Music, I wish Twin Gambino was not reduced to a hook though. Un Pacino sounds like deceased Onyx affilliate X-1. He is locked up right now with serious time for robbery if I recall correctly. My main qualm with the Infamous Mobb Deep camp is that outside of Prodigy and Godfather Part III, they have no true lyricists out of that camp. Havoc has stepped his pen game up starting from Infamy though but I would not still consider him a lyricist just yet. Chinky really needs to release a project of her own, she is good enough to be more than just a background singer all the time. Overall, great project.
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