Album: Havoc – The Kush

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While the legacy of Mobb Deep is etched in Hip Hop history, the tremendous production talents and ever-improving lyrical abilities of the soft-spoken Havoc don’t get nearly the amount of attention that the brooding and crafty wordplay of his partner-in-rhyme Prodigy do. That is all set to change with Havoc’s solo debut The Kush.

Living up to the title, this 12-track album is potent and packs a punch. The lead single I’m The Boss is one of the best, if one of the simplest, tracks on the album. Borrowing the same drum sample A Tribe Called Quest made famous on Luck of Lucien, along with a tense synth line, H-A-V spits braggadocios bars about money, women and as the song name suggests, his boss status. Hollywood Hav is joined by talented Mobb Deep protégé Nyce and the aforementioned Prodigy on the menacing Set Me Free. Meanwhile, the self-produced beat is on a futuristic He-Man tip.

The violence-drenched onslaught is put on hold so that Havoc can find out who will Be There when it hits the fan; the beat incorporates a clever Jackson 5 sample. The stand-out Class By Myself is lead by a hypnotic swirling-flute sample. On the lyrical side of things both Hav and guest Nitti more than hold it down. For the most part the album sticks to the familiar Mobb Deep template. Even on the slightly club-tinged What’s Poppin’ Tonite Havoc can’t help but to stick to the blood-soaked script.

It’s no secret that the mighty Hip Hop scene in the Big Apple is in a bit of a slump, creatively and sales-wise, so it makes sense that one of the scenes most prolific ambassadors would take it back to it’s gritty origins, while also leaving enough room for some revamping of the trademark style. The Kush, with all of it’s threatening imagery and dark intensity, may sound overindulgent to some, however Mobb Deep fans wouldn’t have it any other way. For those disappointed by Blood Money this is a suitable antidote.

Available Through Nature Sounds Records