Mobb Deep - Blood Money: Album Review

Mobb Deep, Blood Money (Interscope, 2006)
Speaking of the future of hip-hop, how come no one told me the new Mobb Deep was out? Your father almost got too ethered on Miller High Life to review it properly, and he's gotta work all day tomorrow. See how easily some poor child's weekend was almost ethered?

SMOKE IT

Way more G-Unit-ish in production than anything on Amerikaz Nightmare, which I suppose is to be expected. It's not bad, but this is not their sound.

PUT EM IN THEIR PLACE

Maybe you heard it already. Unlike that last song, I find the production on this distractingly bad. It doesn't even necessarily sound like something G-Unit would put out. Which makes me wonder: Why?

STOLE SOMETHING

If Lloyd Banks carries weed for 50 Cent, does that mean Mobb Deep now carry weed for Lloyd Banks as well, or vice versa? I notice the production on this is more typically Mobb Deep-ish, but not in a particularly good way.

CREEP

Sadly, this has nothing to do with that one Radiohead song, or even that one TLC song which is supposedly based on it.

SPEAKIN SO FREELY

Real G-Unit-y in that generically ominous, no name producer sort of way. Which is something I never understood. If you're on G-Unit, why not pop for the industry's best producers, even if you don't necessarily need them to move units?

BACKSTAGE PASS

About hoes or something. The beat is extra shitty.

GIVE IT TO ME

As I recall, xxlmag posted this the other day. The beat might use the same sample as a song from side 2 of Ironman, but not in a good way. Very "Candy Shop"-esque. Not even Young Buck can save it. How come more southern rap stans don't jock him? Young Buck > TI, 3000, Bun B, etc.

CLICK CLICK

Oh goody, Tony Yayo is on this. It's too bad you can't hear him doing that dumbass Tony Yayo on the CD (er, MP3). That might actually make this entertaining.

PEARLY GATES

The one where Prodigy goes off on Jesus. Except the TIs edited a lot (like a lot) of shit out, "Gimme the Loot"-style. Eh. It wasn't that good to begin with.

CAPITAL P, CAPITAL H

Whoever produced this should've reconsidered those synths. I don't enjoy them very much.

DAYDREAMIN'

Sort of an "All That I Got Is You," but not particularly worth listening too.

THE INFAMOUS

Where is this from, "Wild Style" or something? Whatever it is, it's been done before. Fiddy raps on it though, if that's your thing.

IN LOVE WITH THE MOULA

A love song to money, not unlike "Drink Away the Pain." Except that it sucks.

IT'S ALRIGHT

This might end up a single because it's got Fiddy and Mary J. Blige on it. It's really not that good though. Mary J Blige's hook feels tacked-on. The beat is nothing really special, and it might be the least Mobb Deep-like beat on here.

HAVE A PARTY

Wow, a real clusterfuck. Nate Dogg and Fiddy are on it, which would also suggest single material, but this is just retarded. In fact, I think it might already be available as a single. As they say in France, caveat emptor.

OUTTA CONTRL (REMIX)

Last year's big single, which I'll admit to enjoying quite a bit. Sadly, nothing on the rest of the album rises to this level, let alone surpasses it. That Thomas Dolby song > this whole album.

COMMENTS: I was all ready to give this a pass just because every once in a while I'll like something G-Unit puts out, and I like most everything Mobb Deep put out, even Infamy. But I couldn't get into this one at all. It isn't so much a Mobb Deep or a G-Unit album as it is a weird hodgepodge. I can't imagine fans of either will appreciate this very much.

BEST TRACKS: "Outta Control (Remix)"