Prodigy, half of Queensbridge duo, Mobb Deep, releases his third installment of the H.N.I.C. series, H.N.I.C. 3. This album features Wiz Khalifa, T.I., Willie Taylor of Day26 and Havoc. This album is strange, and awkward. P’s lyrics seem to be constructed lazily, and his lyrical content strays very far from what we have known him for. Moreover, the production is generally snooze-worthy. The end result is something that should have never seen the light of day.
After spending time in prison, Prodigy changed his lyrical style from his formerly intricate and cleverly delivered rhyme structures, to a generally non-rhyming scheme. P definitely gives us a taste of the latter in this release, which at times, is very comedic (in a bad way).
Lyrical content is the primary source of my criticism. We know Prodigy as the “hardcore” Queens rapper that helped to bless the game with albums such as Hell on Earth, The Infamous, and Murda Muzik. These are what we know P and the M-O-B-B for—rather, P delivers multiple love songs over sappy beats. This is not the lane he should be exploring so late in his career.
There are few, if any, notable tracks on this album. “Get Money” offers a catchy club-banger track, but one which cannot possibly save such a poor album.
H.N.I.C. 3 sounds like a sell-out project. Love songs and terrible lyrics on top of boring production is a combination that should be avoided at all costs. It is a disappointing result, especially from a rapper that has proven to be so capable, even in the late H.N.I.C. 1 and 2. Easily one of the worst albums this year– a real chore to get through.
