The Infamous

East Coast hip hop
hardcore hip hop
gangsta rap The album produced four singles; "Shook Ones, Part II", "Survival of the Fittest", "Temperature's Rising", "Give Up the Goods (Just Step)"; the first three singles achieved varying degrees of chart success, with "Shook Ones, Part II" being the most successful. The album's dark style, defined by its evocative melodies, rugged beats, and introspective lyrics concerning crime in New York's inner city neighborhoods, received special recognition and critical praise. Along with albums such as Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers), Illmatic and Ready to Die, The Infamous is widely credited as a major contributor to the East Coast Renaissance. Furthermore, the album is credited with helping to redefine the sound of hardcore hip hop, using its production style, which incorporated eerie piano loops, distorted synthesizers, eighth note hi hats, and sparse filtered basslines. In 2020, the album was ranked 369th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

During the spring of 1993, while the group was still in their late teens, Mobb Deep released their first album Juvenile Hell under the 4th & B'way Records label. The album included production from several revered New York based producers, including Large Professor, DJ Premier, and Public Enemy affiliate Kerwin Young, and included the underground hit single "Hit It from the Back". Due to Juvenile Hell failure to achieve significant commercial and critical success, the duo was dropped from their label several months after the album's release. Havoc and Prodigy later described Juvenile Hell as a "learning experience". During the summer of 1993, Loud Records was looking for another group to sign, owing to the success of Wu Tang Clan's first single, "Protect Ya Neck", and by fall 1993, the label had signed Mobb Deep. In 1994, the group released the promotional single "Shook Ones", which served as a preview of their new sound. Matt Life later recalled Q Tip's involvements, stating, "Tip was very involved in The Infamous from early on. Probably more than people know. Tip was just a fan of theirs and I knew him from way back, so he was really helpful, giving them advice." Q Tip's contributions to the album were credited under his alias "The Abstract". On the group's decision to handle most of the production, Havoc later commented, "We started producing because other producers was giving us shit that we didn't like, or they was just charging too much. I didn't know nothing about producing music at the time, but I learned by watching others." Prodigy later revealed that Nas' Illmatic album heavily influenced Mobb Deep when making The Infamous, saying that the Illmatic album made them look at themselves and helped them realize that they had not told their story correctly when they made Juvenile Hell.

Recording sessions for The Infamous began in 1994 and took place at Battery Studios, Platinum Island Studios, Firehouse Studios and Unique Recording in New York City. Describing their minimal production setup, Prodigy said, "Our first sampler we had was an EPS 16 plus   We had that for a little while, and when the MPC came out we bought that, and that was it. A little record player, a little mixer, and that's all we needed." Havoc later stated, "Q Tip definitely bent his style a little bit to get with what we was doing. Like with 'Drink Away the Pain' you see him trying to get gangsta with it." Schott Free summed up Q Tip's influence:

blockquote|The album was pretty tight, but once Tip comes around he hears different things. He changes kicks, snares, whatever. Also, you get to watch Havoc implement what he had already known with a cat like Tip and Tip showing him everything he knew. Showing him a format, a formula, and even how to double on the kicks. It's just kinda ill how he just came in and just cleaned it up. His influence is mostly sonically. Playing any of those records in the club, the drums and everything is big. Tip was always a master of making a record sound huge.

The album spent 18 weeks on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 15, and it also spent 34 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts, peaking at number 3. The Infamous was certified gold, with shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 26, 1995.

Upon its release, The Infamous received widespread critical acclaim. Los Angeles Times critic Heidi Siegmund wrote that Mobb Deep "may be the toughest young force in hip hop", noting their "slow, stealthy beats" and "dark poetic talents". The Source Dimitry Leger stated, "Mobb Deep earn credibility, winning the crucial battle between style and substance, who's real and who's a move faker. Havoc and Prodigy simply report what they know." In 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, critic Chris Ryan called it "one of the greatest rap albums of the [1990s]". XXL magazine gave it a classic rating of "XXL" in its retrospective December 2007 issue. In 2013, hip hop journalist Jeff "Chairman" Mao hailed The Infamous as "an iconic New York record", while noting Q Tip's understated role in its creation. Benny Reid explained to AllHipHop:When the opportunity presented itself to reimagine Mobb Deep's The Infamous, I began with its crown jewel, 'Shook Ones', and I immediately got lost in the source material, my focus became translating lyric to melody and the sublime textures to harmony. With Havoc's blessing, I embarked on a two year journey, stretching the boundaries of my acoustic instruments and jazz background to instrumentally rebirth The Infamous Live.

An asterisk (*) indicates unordered lists. Publication Country Accolade Year RankAbout. comUnited States100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums200874Best Rap Albums of 199520084Blender500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die2003*Rolling StoneThe 500 Greatest Albums of All Time2020369The SourceThe 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time1998*Vibe51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement2004*Hip Hop ConnectionUnited KingdomThe 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995–200520054Melody MakerAlbums of the Year199528PopSwedenAlbums of the Year199511OORNetherlandsAlbums of the Year199543SpexGermanyAlbums of the Year199513