Where’s the line between honoring the past and being stuck in it? For Havoc, that became the central predicament when approaching a new Mobb Deep album without Prodigy by his side. And yet, just a week after Pitchfork’s 100 Best Rap Albums Of All Time list placed The Infamous at the top of the pack, Havoc—alongside longtime Mobb Deep collaborator The Alchemist—joined forces to deliver fans a final hoorah. It’s an effort that could’ve easily gone left in today’s technology-driven climate. And quite frankly, it wouldn’t have been all that surprising, considering that other artists who’ve released albums under Nas and Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It series have already caught flak for their use of artificial intelligence.
On Infinite, there’s a holistic approach that channels the synergy between Havoc and Prodigy, even after the latter’s passing. Hav’s innate understanding of his partner-in-rhyme, paired with the guidance he provided The Alchemist early on, creates a blueprint that captures all the nuances and sweet spots that have made the Mobb endure in a volatile rap game. The way the project’s first two singles hit upon release felt like a testament to both the void of Prodigy’s soul in hip-hop and Havoc’s intuitive ability to carry his own weight while honoring P as best as possible.
The woozy choral sample of “Against The World,” paired with its muted trumpet, feels triumphant but never overshadows the cutting presence of Prodigy’s cool as he slips into Havoc’s production. That chemistry—rekindled even after seven years without recording together—captures the very essence of Mobb Deep. In a sense, it carries the same militaristic attitude that made songs like “Survival of the Fittest” and “Eye for an Eye” timeless, though now viewed through the lens of reflection and aftermath.
The same applies to “Taj Mahal,” which finds The Alchemist behind the boards and Prodigy navigating through the day while Havoc cleverly alludes to one of The Infamous’s most powerful records. In both cases, it’s Prodigy’s sharp-tongued bravado paired with Havoc’s sleek wordplay that make Infinite feel like the quintessential Mobb Deep project fans have been waiting for.
Perhaps the biggest challenge of creating an album from posthumous vocals lies in finding pockets that work outside of the late artist’s sonic wheelhouse. Infinite is a safe project in many ways—it doesn’t necessarily push beyond daring musical choices, and perhaps that’s intentional. There’s a sensitivity and mindfulness in how these Prodigy verses are handled. With that in mind, there’s not much of an evolutionary leap forward in their catalog, but it’s not a regression either.
Nas and Havoc elevate mafioso rap into a grown-man era, where references to goomars and sneaky links feel more aligned with the lifestyle of New York’s Italian mobsters than with street parallels. “Down for You” with Jorja Smith—and its sequel, “Love the Way (Down for You Pt. 2)” featuring H.E.R.—allow the art of seduction to flow through their wordplay. It’s grown and sexy, yet Prodigy’s presence feels mildly misplaced on the former compared to the latter. On “Down For You,” Nas and Havoc’s steamy lyrical interplay gets bogged down by Prodigy’s dated braggadocio—champagne and watch brands that haven’t been rapped about since the early 2010s. Still, Havoc’s ability to intertwine the dreamy vocals of two of R&B’s most trusted voices expands his production palette without sacrificing grit.
Infinite remains rooted in the underground purity of hip-hop—something Havoc has delved deeper into since P’s passing—yet these moments allow for a broader reach. Ultimately, this album is about the legacy of Mobb Deep: honoring their inception and the influence that’s seeped through generations.
Clipse continue their impeccable 2025 run with their appearance on the hard-hitting “Look At Me,” where Pusha T, Malice, and Havoc trade verses like scenes from a crime thriller bouncing between Virginia and Queensbridge. It’s that same cinematic tension that made The Infamous resonate so deeply. The energy carries through to “Clear Black Nights,” which reunites Raekwon and Ghostface with Havoc and Prodigy. Across the project, Havoc flips gorgeous vocal melodies into hypnotic loops, and nowhere is that clearer than here, as four giants trade bars. Ghost and Rae—who also released albums as part of the Legend Has It series—deliver vividly image-forward verses that paint both the luxury and grit of New York’s underbelly. Their energy doesn’t quite mirror Havoc and Prodigy’s grounded gratitude for hip-hop, but it complements it. The inclusion of Big Noyd on “The M, The O, The B, The B” ties the project back to Mobb Deep’s beginnings.
There’s a palpable tension between Havoc’s evolution as an artist and the timelessness of Prodigy’s voice that runs through the album. In some moments, it echoes the divisiveness of their G-Unit era—particularly on the platinum-tinged “Easy Bruh” or the patois-laced “Gunfire”—turning even their more polarizing sounds into nostalgia. But then there’s “Pour The Henny,” which captures how prophetic Prodigy was as an MC, someone whose awareness of his legacy transcended his lifetime: “... I’ll die starin’ up at the cosmos / Laid out ’til my heart come to a stop and then my eyes close / I lived a full life, don’t cry for me.”
We may never know what a Mobb Deep album in 2025 would sound like if Prodigy were still alive. But Infinite isn’t about the “what ifs” of Mobb Deep’s legacy. It’s a body of work that ties up loose ends and stands as a testament to the attitude, influence, and foundation Havoc and Prodigy built three decades ago. And because of that, every one of Prodigy’s posthumous verses hits harder, knowing they were finally presented to the world under the right context.
User Reviews
HotNewHipHop users rated Mobb Deep's Infinite 4.55 out of 5 stars, based on 10 reviews. One user in particular praised the album as a return to form, writing, "Good album and a return to the Mobb Deep sound we love. The last time we had that consistently true Mobb Deep sound was on the album Murder Muzik." Another wrote, "rip prodigy, cant believe we got one more gem."
