Prodigy: H.N.I.C. Pt. 2

It's hell on earth when P makes his return with H.N.I.C. Pt. 2. Some people say if it's broke, don't fix it. If that's the case then you won't catch Prodigy featuring T-Pain or making hip-hop go-go music. P sticks to his "New Yitty" formula like it's 1995 all over again. H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 is the 2008 soundtrack to "New Jack City."

Sid Roams provides the platform for Prodigy to stomp all over on the album opener, "Real Power Is People." It's strictly business when P spits "It's a secret government who worships an owl / they practice witchcraft to harness they power." That's one of many illuminati references you will hear on Prodigy's compact conspiracy disc. The Alchemist and Prodigy go together like milk and cookies. The difference is on "The Life," there is nothing sweet. Prodigy rips through Alchemist's seductive snares and left coast sounding synths like child's play. The production is tailor made for the Queensbridge vet's gutter gospel. Lines like "You rub me the wrong way / You a suit and tie n****, P hoody all day" or the addictive hook "the violence don't stop, the beef don't cease / the money keep coming, the paper increase / the gunfire don't end, the people stay dying / So I'ma keep living the life, Damn Right!." Who says gangsta rap has no meaning?

Make sure you don't skim past track four. "Illuminati" is one of the most in-depth songs P has done since his second solo album. This is more then a platitude, it's a recipe for conspiracy. All the anti-American ingredients are included and cooked up by the one and only Chef Boyar-P. If Prodigy had stuck fully to the subject matter of the initial concept then maybe it would have been a classic concoction, but with the mild bravado and off subject matter on "Illuminati," it may make listeners drift. A more vulnerable side comes out on "Veterans Memorial Pt. 2." It's a fallen soldier's tribute and a jam that never gets old. If you never heard any of Prodigy's music or don't know about what Mobb Deep stands for, then listen to "Dirty New Yorker." It features all the basic infamous elements that made the duo so popular. Grimy sounding keyboard patches, deep monotone adlibs, an amusing chorus, and a familiar energy that will take you to the core of the rotten apple even if you live thousands of miles away.

Most of the tracks on H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 are gun busting and bravado like "Young Veterans," "New Yitty" and "Click Clack." Sid Roams starts to lose his clout with the production on "ABC." The subject matter is choked full of yawns and the beat is as hot as a December day in Alaska. The hook features Bebe's Kids as they recite the alphabet and skip all the way up to "P."

Who determines what selling out is and what it isn't? Prodigy was crucified when he made a few club smashes with his new G-Unit counterparts, and when he sticks to the script that made him who he is today, people may complain it's the same old same. Well if you buy, download, or steal H.N.I.C. Pt. 2, you are going to enter an artist's visual of a life he once lived (minus the ballet pics from Summer Jam). This picks up where H.N.I.C. left off over half a decade ago. Other then the lack of subject matter at times and the nearly perfect production at times, this is a hood chronicle. This should hold over the Mobb fans until P's release from the pen in a few years.

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