Infamy (album)

Infamy is the fifth studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. Infamy was released after Jay-Z dissed Mobb Deep and Nas on his song "Takeover," from Jay-Z's 2001 album, The Blueprint, which caused Prodigy to strike back on the Track "Crawlin'," in which he calls Jay a "female-ass nigga homo emcee." "H to the you know," calls Jay's retaliation of baby pictures weak and threatens him, calling him "scared". Despite containing the popular classics "The Learning (Burn)" and "Get Away", most fans felt that Prodigy's lyricism was weak in this album, especially when comparing to his classic lines in songs from previous albums.

Infamy has been certified for Gold-level sales, selling around 800,000 copies. The album has been moderately successful critically as well as commercially, getting good scores from The Source and HipHopDX, although it received lukewarm reviews from Allmusic and Rolling Stone magazine.

Track listing

Samples

Get Away

Album

Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at 33 ¹⁄₃ rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century albums sales have mostly focused on compact disc (CD) and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used in the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl.

An album may be recorded in a recording studio (fixed or mobile), in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to several years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or "mixed" together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation, so as to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", allow for reverberation, which creates a "live" sound. The majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones; with each part recorded as a separate track.

Infamy

Infamy, in common usage, is the notoriety gained from a negative incident or reputation (as opposed to fame). The word stems from the Latin infamia, antonym of fama (in the sense of "good reputation").

Infamy in canon law

Infamy is a term of art in Roman Catholic Canon Law. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913, infamy in the canonical sense is defined as the privation or lessening of one's good name as the result of the bad rating which he has, even among prudent men. It constitutes an irregularity, i.e. a canonical impediment which prevents one being ordained or exercising such orders as he may have already received.

There are two types of infamy, infamy of law (infamia juris) and infamy of fact (infamia facti).

Infamy of law

Infamy of law is contracted in one of three ways. Either the law itself attaches this juridical ineligibility and incapacity to the commission of certain crimes, or makes it contingent upon the decision of a judge, or finally connects it with the penalty imposed by the judge. This kind of infamy is incurred chiefly by those guilty of duelling (whether as principals or seconds), rape (as likewise those who co-operate in it), attempt to marry during the lifetime of the actual consort, heresy, real simony, etc. Infamy of law may be removed either by canonical purging or by application to the Holy See.

Mobb Deep

Mobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, United States that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast Hip-Hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery as exemplified by their hit track "Shook Ones (Part II)." Mobb Deep has become one of the most successful rap duos in hip hop, having sold over three million records.

Two of their albums have been critical successes, The Infamous (1995) and Hell on Earth (1996). The group briefly disbanded in 2012 but has since reunited.

Biography

Origins

Havoc and Prodigy met at the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Originally dubbing themselves the Poetical Prophets, the duo later changed its name to Mobb Deep to "reflect their reputation on the streets." Before the group's career beginnings, a fifteen-year-old Prodigy was featured on the classic movie soundtrack to Boyz n the Hood on Hi-Five's track "Too Young". In 1993, when Havoc and Prodigy were nineteen, they released their debut album, Juvenile Hell which was promoted by the single "Peer Pressure." The album sold poorly and eventually met with harsh reviews that dismissed the duo as just another hardcore group with little to distinguish it from the rest of the hip-hop world, despite production by DJ Premier and Large Professor. In 1993 Havoc made a guest appearance on the critically acclaimed Black Moon album Enta Da Stage on a song titled "U Da Man." In 1994 the duo released a single titled "Shook Ones Part 1".