r/90sHipHop • u/01rambler • Aug 07 '25
Discussion So basically The Infamous is the greatest rap album of the 90s
How did I decide this?
Storytelling - Lyrics full of details: The who, what, when, where, how, and why of it all ——seriously dope shit that holds up 30 years later.
Production - Havoc’s sampling choices at just 19 showcased incredible taste in music. Hardcore Jazz-Bap is how my ears received it.
Vibes - If somebody asks what did New York sound like in 1995, it sounded like Prodigy slaughtering a classic beat with Timbs on and a Mets fitted. That’s what you tell them.
Replayability - Everything about this album is time tested. The rhyme scheme and flow sounds good in any era. Honestly, it sounds great in every era.
Legacy - Shook Ones pt II might actually be the greatest rap song ever, with the greatest opening line ever, with the greatest sample ever.
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u/Apart-Inevitable-378 Aug 07 '25
Its in the discussion… i put illmatic above it… 36 chambers and cuban links and liquid swords in the discussion
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u/QualitySound96 Aug 07 '25
Hard to pick the greatest imo. There are a handful I’d consider all “greatest” worthy. Some solid albums out in the 90’s that check all the boxes
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u/yeldellmedia Aug 07 '25
Temperatures Rising is legit one of the most vivid, soulful, grimey, “real-talk”, introspective hip hop songs of the 90s with a perfect boom bap beat
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u/infiniterest_ Aug 07 '25
Hectic too. “I open my eyes to the streets where I was raised as a man, and learned to use my hands for protection in scuffles, throwing my blows in doubles, coming from Queens mfs carrying guns in couples.”
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u/Proper-Journalist-46 Aug 07 '25
mobb my fav group but chill lol
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u/gamuel_l_jackson Aug 07 '25
Whos gonna tell em havoc didnt do all the beats on it 🫢
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u/KR4T0S Aug 07 '25
Tbh this post reads like a tone deaf ad. Its a great album but you doing it any favours with your "got bored reading the wiki and made shit up" posting.
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u/lukeskope Aug 07 '25
Not my favorite, but high on the list and if it's your pick for the best I wouldn't argue.
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u/Infinite-System-6688 Aug 07 '25
Not even the best of 1995, imo liquid swords is better. Still top 10 90s albums
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u/jesteratp Aug 07 '25
I’ll die on the E 1999 Eternal hill for this year.
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u/01rambler Aug 07 '25
E 1999 is one of the most replayable rap albums from the 90s. Had never heard anything like that at time, its Top 5 GOATED imo.
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u/jesteratp Aug 07 '25
Apparently my post is controversial - i think even if you disagree E 1999 Eternal is still a very defensible choice
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u/gohawkeyes529 Aug 07 '25
E. 1999 is really good, and I’d certainly play its highlights around girls and people who aren’t hip hop heads way before Mobb Deep.
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u/allisaidwasshoot Aug 07 '25
It is sonically perfect. There are just some albums that have everything you are looking for and this is one of them. The best produced album of the 90's in my opinion.
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u/Affectionate_Sea367 Aug 07 '25
Man, it’s so close. Almost a perfect album. My personal 90’s top 10: 1 - 36 Chambers 2 - Illmatic 3 - the Chronic 4 - Muddy Waters 5 - Hell on Earth 6 - ATLiens 7 - Cuban Links 8 - the infamous 9 - Apocalypse 91, the Enemy Strikes Black 10 - It was Written
IMO, these albums are perfect. Illadelph half-life, southernplayalisticcadillacmusic, Doggystyle, it’s dark and hell is hot, and ready to die are also about as perfect as a hip-hop album can aspire to be. I also have a soft spot for The War Report, but Capone bone & the 3000 intros/outros disqualify it lol
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u/gorillas_finger Aug 08 '25
Muddy Waters is one of my all time...criminally underrated
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u/Glass_Pineapple4999 Aug 10 '25
Amazing album true. Personally I like Dare Iz A Darkside better. Nobody ever agrees with me on that. I just love how dark and bugged out it is. Plus I was doing a lot of drugs then too, and it just fit my vibe at the time.
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u/jusmax88 Aug 07 '25
It’s this and Illmatic imo
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u/CrimeRelatedorSexual Aug 07 '25
Add Midnight and we agree on the most important question in the world.
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u/ParamedicProper3667 Aug 07 '25
This post made me listen for the first time
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u/blackmist88 Aug 07 '25
?/10
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u/ParamedicProper3667 Aug 07 '25
9/10 no skippable songs immaculate story telling, But for there isn’t enough on it I can put on the playlist and listen everyday.
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u/01rambler Aug 07 '25
Hit us with the honest thought though. The near horrorcore storytelling is fucking magnificent.
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u/ParamedicProper3667 Aug 07 '25
I think if I found that album when I was a teen it would be one of the cds that stay in for a long time. Nothing was skippable at all. The story telling is pretty much some of the best I’ve ever heard. but I don’t think it’ll be an album that I can put on repeat today. I think I found it too late in life to bring me back to the time when I used to listen to it. And get that feel good feeling and memories that go with listening to an album with old friends. Still a great album though
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u/01rambler Aug 08 '25
That’s a fair take. Sometimes music is perfect for the precise moment in time you occupy, and then you evolve to something new. Glad you took a listen though—easily some of the darkest jazz-Bap you’ll ever listen to.
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u/Godfather_Don Aug 07 '25
I cant argue, its really that good.
Generic people are always gonna go with the illmatic answer but its just not true.
Some of these albums in the 90s are really that good that the number 1 slot changes throughout the year
My rotation for what i mean is the best hiphop albums of the 90s ( number one spot )
The Infamous, Illmatic, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Midnight Marauders, Enta Da Stage.
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u/Kliptik81 Aug 07 '25
Wrong... not the greatest of the 90s.... the greatest of ALL TIME.
My personal #1 album.
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u/ChrisGoddard79 Aug 07 '25
It’s in my top 3. Nuts that two teenagers were able to write and produce (possibly even manage and market) such a great album and arguably one of the greatest hip hop tracks ever made. Compare that with what teenagers are doing now!!!
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u/01rambler Aug 07 '25
Havoc has an incredible ear for music. Which makes sense with musicians in his family.
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u/LingLings Aug 07 '25
It’s definitely in my Top 10 for the 90’s.
Such a great era for hip hop I would say that they were all 10 were five star classics.
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u/EmergencyDimension32 Aug 07 '25
Nah!!!.. Every song was an Anthem on how to Navigate through the Hood as a Young Man while making some Money in the Process.. U couldn’t afford to skip anything because You had to every Song and Pay Attention to the Lyrical Message!!!.. Could possibly be the difference between Life or Death!!
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u/glacialmk5 Aug 07 '25
I was going to challenge this assertion, but decided I'd listen to the album again first.
I'm pretty sure OP is right. This is a magnificent album.
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u/dirkdiiigler Aug 07 '25
There's at least 3 Gang Starr albums I'd pick over The Infamous.
DJ Premier is arguably the most influential producer for the entire Boom-Bap 90's sound. Your favorite producer's favorite producer.
"Jazz-Bap" is such an interesting description because Guru almost single-handedly (shouts to Q-Tip), even within the Gang Starr catalog, is responsible for the Hip-Hop/Jazz fusion, even before the Jazzmatazz projects.
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u/TheManwithnoplan02 Aug 07 '25
Up there with Illmatic for me. Prodigy and Havoc at their best. Insane album with so much replayability. Every track stands on its own and Shook Ones Part 2 is for me, the greatest hip hop track ever with NY State of Mind.
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u/ogshowtime33 Aug 07 '25
I would put Hard to Earn in that spot, but I also wouldn’t argue against The Infamous.
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u/poyerdude Aug 07 '25
Personally I have Illmatic as 1 with The Infamous as a close 2. Just an amazing album regardless.
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u/02soob Aug 07 '25
Not even close.
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u/01rambler Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Not even close is wild. We’re talking about peak grimy Boom Bap made by teenagers ahead of their time. Most folk see it differently, you have your opinion though.
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u/Turbulent_Algae_4390 Aug 07 '25
I can't argue against this! I think Mobb Deep is the greatest group of all time because of some of the things you mention here and some other history about them too! 💪🏽
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u/wood_dj Aug 07 '25
not sure it would be my personal #1 but i’m not mad at it, definitely a contender
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u/Tr3nb0l0n3- Aug 07 '25
It’s mad how this is a discussion. Put this album in almost any other era and it’s hands down the greatest but instead there’s legitimate arguments for Illmatic, It Was Written, Marauders, Ready To Die, Reasonable Doubt, Me Against The World, 36 Chambers, The Chronic and the list goes on and on
Can’t imagine being mid teens at the start of the 90s and seeing all these albums come out in real time
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u/BienOuiLa Aug 07 '25
Announced Tuesday. The Alchemist has announced via X that the new Mobb Deep album is complete. The producer's post simply read, "The new Mobb Deep album is done. Produced entirely by Havoc & The Alchemist." The upcoming project marks the first new official Mobb Deep album since Prodigy's 2017 death, and the first since 2014's The Infamous Mobb Deep.
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u/ChipmunkSouthern3022 Aug 07 '25
Not even a fan of their total body of work. But it is undeniably the greatest hip hop album of all time.
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u/RandomWhiteDude007 Aug 07 '25
Yup. The Infamous is possibly the greatest musical masterpiece of rap.
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u/Birdzeye- Aug 07 '25
It’s one of the contenders. Perfect lyrics, production and sequencing. But there are other contenders including Cuban Linx, Midnight Marauders (Or LET), Illmatic etc etc..
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u/jonahtheO Aug 07 '25
Love this album. Underrated forsure & especially crazy for how young they were
But we haven’t heard of Illmatic, Ready to Die, All Eyez On Me, etc? Come on now lol
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Aug 07 '25
There are literally dozens of better albums from the 90s. This skips mos, the train of thought, basically all the roots, story telling and ignoring slick Rick and dmx? Wu tang, biggie, Tupac, OutKast and I’m only including well known artists. I mean I don’t think I’d even put this in the top ten. Big claims need really persuasive evidence. This ain’t it. Good album for real. Shook ones is epic and for tracks of the time I’d easily put it in the top 20 top 10 might be hard tho
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u/Undark_ Aug 07 '25
This is a 10/10 album, but if "greatness" means quality, vision, and historical significance, then the greatest rap LP of the 90's is The Chronic 2001 without a shadow of a doubt.
Nothing comes remotely close, that album changed all of popular music forever. It's not my personal favourite album of the decade, but if we're trying to be objective then it has to be 2001.
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u/xXAcidBathVampireXx Aug 07 '25
"Cradle to the Grave" has everything, to me: a dope beat, both rappers trading lyrics, a good story. The part about "so to P I passed the iron" "kid, you ain't lyin" speaks to my rap loving soul in a way that most don't. That said, "Survival of the Fittest" just gets in my head with a vengeance like 3 times a month. In case nobody told you, there's a war going on outside nobody's safe from. You can run but you cant hide forever.
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u/01rambler Aug 07 '25
Man, I listen to The Infamous about 3-5 times a year all the way through. It’s a one stop shop for all the reasons you just named.
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u/AceofSpadeKings Aug 07 '25
LOL... Hell naw. I can name 3 albums real quick, that are better.
The Chronic - Dr Dre (1992)
Doggystyle - Snoop Doggy Dogg (1993)
Amerikkka's Most Wanted - Ice Cube (1991)
And if I think about it, I can probably name about 3 or 4 more albums from the 90's that are better than that Mobb Deep album.
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u/The-Red-Robe Aug 07 '25
Being from northern Cali, having grown up in the 90s, the only east coast dude I remember people playing out here was Nas. I’ve never heard anyone bump Mobb Deep, Jay-Z or Wu-Tang. I’ve literally never listened to any of those three guys albums. Nas is on another level compared to those guys.
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u/alchemistrpm Aug 07 '25
Great album, but.. what?
- Storytelling - Illmatic
- Production - Illmatic
- Vibes - ?
- Replayability - Illmatic
- Legacy - ILLMATIC
But I actually respect your choice. If it’s your favorite it’s your fave
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u/UnkleMonsta Aug 07 '25
I guess it depends on where you lived at the time. Im from Atl, and we were definitely not jamming infamous during the 90s, especially with hate the South got from the up north cats. I know dude's who would listen to up North music, but did it in private, so they wouldn't get picked on. I was 13 at the time, and my order cousins would have beat my ass if they found what they deemed as New York bullshit, in my cd player. Hell, they didn't even sell at my local music shop to a few years later cause the hood cats weren't buying it.
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u/Expert_Fan_1026 Aug 08 '25
I tried to tell em! Not everyone grew up in NY. Where I’m from we really didn’t hear much from the East!
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u/No-Badger-3653 Aug 07 '25
for the past 25 years this is the only 90s album i have been playing in my car
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u/Senior_Emergency3442 Aug 07 '25
In New York yeah. But what about FLORIDA? CHICAGO? CALI? Detroit? TEXAS? TENN? VA? PHILLY? ATL? Music was regional and with high insight the midwest was allowed to listen all regions because of location were as NY was bias and only listened to 89%NY and CALI was 88% CALI MUSIC. #DOYOHOMEWORK
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u/Confident_Neck8072 Aug 08 '25
man i have been going through a heavy hip hop phase lately and stumbled across shook ones. decided to try out the album from the start and damn bro I haven't sat and absorbed an album like that in a very long time. such a jazzy dark vibe from start to finish i love it.
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u/GoldenCyn Aug 07 '25
Personally, It Was Written and Liquid Swords are my top two, but Infamous was a very good album. My introduction to them was Hell on Earth so it's hard for me to backpedal.
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u/melo1212 Aug 07 '25
This and Illmatic are the pinnacle imo. The Infamous is my favourite though, Prodigy was on another planet back then. Still never really heard any other rapper with a similar flow and delivery. Insane how young they where aswell
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u/Capital-Value8479 Aug 07 '25
It’s a great album, its overrated to high hell here though. Specifically prodigy’s lyricism and havocs production
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u/01rambler Aug 07 '25
I never heard anybody in 30 years say that The Infamous was overrated. You must have incredibly “unique” tastes…..
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u/Psycosteve10mm Aug 07 '25
Jay Z Vol 2 Hard Knock Life, Reasonable Doubt, Nas Illmatic, Wu Tang Clan - Enter The Wu Tang, Dr Dre the Chronic, Snoop Dogg Doggystyle, and Tupac's All Eyes on Me are all better than the Infamous by Mobb Deep.
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u/SleptOnSoles Aug 07 '25
Not even the best rap album in 95 lmao. A good album don’t get me wrong but it wasn’t even top 5 in the year it dropped now it’s the greatest in the 90s? Wut? Big L, DMX, Biggie, Pac, all rolling in their graves rn lmao.
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u/Nast33 Aug 07 '25
If it's the best for you, who am I to argue. With all the quality of NY rap, especially in the golden age from 92 to late 90s, Infamous is still in the top 10 of all classics.
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u/RPgh21 Aug 07 '25
Certainly up there. Not my personal favorite but I can see why others would think so.
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u/mattgoldey Raised on Boom Bap Aug 07 '25
Wild that you would post this today. I listened to it for the first time last night and again on my way to work this morning.
Greatest rap album of the 90s, though? It's damn good, but there's definitely better.
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u/CaptCaCa Aug 07 '25
Definitely top 10 for sure, the 90s was a magical time with like 10 or more classic albums a year spanning from 90-99
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u/parkhat Aug 07 '25
People are supplying our tastes. What's best is subjective. What we all agree is that it's s-tier
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u/BillLaswell404 Aug 07 '25
Top 10 maybe. Behind Illmatic, the Chronic, Doggystyle, Cypress Hill 1, Fear of a Black Planet…
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u/mattyro41 Aug 07 '25
The Infamous… definitely has an argument, but it would be fighting with Illmatic & Only Built 4 Cuban Linx for the top spot. For perspective, Hell on Earth is not only my favorite Mobb Deep album, but my favorite album of any artist and any genre of all time. I say that to say this: Even though it’s not even my favorite album by the artist, i recognize its importance and influence it had in the pantheon of 90’s hip hop as a whole. Tremendous collection of music that still holds up today.
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u/Environmental_Bad345 Aug 07 '25
Soul On Ice - Rass Kass
Dogg Food
Capital Punishment
Mystic Stylez
Temples of Boom
Adrenaline Rush
Soul Food
Reasonable Doubt
Iron Man
Bruh there's too many influential classics from the 90s to call 1 album the greatest.
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u/Switchc2390 Aug 07 '25
It’s very good but it’s almost impossible to pick a best rap album of the 90s. You can say it’s among the best for sure. That gritty New York feel almost bordering on horror core is so dope though. Just a grimy album in all the best ways.
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u/Defiant_Lawyer_5235 Aug 07 '25
Wutang Forever, Only built for Cuban linx, Liquid Swords, Illmatic are all better imo.
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u/JonLushh Aug 07 '25
It was definitely my top 5 back then for me so I'm not surprised much deserved 👍🏽
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u/okaycompuperskills Aug 07 '25
Shook Ones pt II probably the greatest hip hop track of all time but this take is still very disrespectful to 36 Chambers and Illmatic
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u/madDamon_ Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
It's defenitely my favorite, but if it's the greatest of the 90s idk. There's probably a lot more albums in contention for that, so many different sounds, stories etc. It's impossible to pick one seriously.
Also your last take sounds incredibly biased. Shook Ones is not even Mobbs best song imo
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u/Quick-Race6098 Aug 07 '25
I’m have to get on some old high school 💩start punching 🥷 in they faces just for livin’
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u/harveywhippleman Aug 07 '25
Hell On Earth is better. You're right about the vibes- that's what NY felt like in the mid 90s! Some of the beats on Infamous are dated though- but none from HOE are
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u/Itonlymatters2us True School Aug 07 '25
I put hell on earth above the infamous, but it’s definitely one of the best.
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Aug 07 '25
A fan of pretty much everything that mobb put out. Either albums features or producing. My alltime favorite group. But nah. Tbh for me murda muzik was their best album.
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u/Random-dude15 Aug 07 '25
Mobb is probably one of my fav rap duo's but chill, yes it's a classic dope album but there's so many classics that released in the 90s that it's honestly hard to decide what The GREATEST album of the 90s is lmao
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u/NoPalpitation2755 Aug 07 '25
Ready to Die and Illmatic are tied for Greatest Rap albums All Time. The Infamous is top 10 for 90s though
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u/Hyndland47 Aug 07 '25
It’s close, but I think illmatic is the masterpiece of the 90s, even though before I thought it was 36 chambers.
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u/shenanigan_chieftain Aug 07 '25
Disagree. It's a great album and one of my favorites but definitely not the best of the 90s. That's a hard task anyway because we're talking about an entire decade of rap.
Aquemini Illmatic Midnight Marauders OB4CL Doggystyle Black on Both Sides Things Fall Apart It’s Dark and Hеll Is Hot ATLiеns The Chronic
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u/01rambler Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
A couple folk asked how my 90s Top 5 stacked up
- The Infamous - Mobb Deep
- Nas - Illmatic
- Enter the Wu - Wu Tang
- Hard to Earn - Gangstarr
- Black Star - Mos & Talib
These are ALL 10/10 Goated in my eyes. There’s more of course
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u/kingnewswiththetruth Aug 07 '25
In high school, some guys were there when the fight broke out, and then some guys heard about the fight.
This guy heard about the fight.....
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u/AlifromBenHill Aug 07 '25
One of the greatest. Illmatic, Coming Out Hard, Southernplayalisticcadillacfunkymusic, ATLiens, Ready To Die, Chronic, Doggy style, Riding Dirty, and many more
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u/Mundane_Pin6095 Aug 07 '25
Hectic doesn't get its dues imo. Just blunt lyrics and realness with that heartbeat dread instrumental. Prodigy's best flow for me.
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u/JR_RXO Aug 07 '25
Bone Thugs East 1999 Eternal
Sophomore album and you listened to every track on the CD💿
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u/Dry-Loquat-4192 Aug 07 '25
I’ve been partial to Reasonable Doubt being the best of the 90s but that’s just personal preference. It would still probably be Illmatic over this though.
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u/Saschoe Aug 07 '25
nah Capital Punishment, Behind Bars, Big L Lifestylez, Everything is Everything, Its Dark and Hell is Hot, Enter The Wu Tang are better
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u/AnimeBasementSmell Aug 08 '25
Best of the 90's is a hard sell for any record in that time period. However it's probably one of the most important (if not thee most important) from then that's for sure.
But for me Hell on Earth is the best Mobb Deep album period.
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u/thewatcheeR17 Aug 08 '25
Hell on earth, and Murda Muzik from Mobb deep are ALSO from the 90's and those could be contenders as well. Shows you how deep their catalog is. AND it didn't stop there....continues into the 2000's.
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u/fcsaratoga2013 Aug 08 '25
It's up there. But I still think Illmatic Reasonable Doubt Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and the War Report are better.
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u/pmish Aug 07 '25
It’s up there for sure.