DJ Oreeyo – “Prodigy” review

This is the sophomore effort from Detroit Michigan emcee, producer & disc jockey DJ Oreeyo. The son of local veteran Fatt Father previously of the world famous Fat Killahz, he eventually followed his dad’s footsteps by making music himself, properly introducing himself in 2022 & Freshman Year the subsequent fall made for an impressive self-produced debut primarily rooted in trap. It’s been a few years since & the Prodigy’s ready to let us see how much he’s grown since 2023.

The self-produced “Killshot” hops over an orchestral trap beat talking about his preference of having kin instead of friends whereas “How We Comin’” aggressively talking about holding nothing back his confidence being mistaken as arrogance. “Him” keeps expressing his self-assurance of being that muhfuckin’ dude & “What We On” featuring T Cruz was one of the weaker moments here despite them talking about these haters being fans in the grand scheme of things.

“Quick Workout” goes off-the-top for 80 seconds over some horns & hi-hats flexing that he doesn’t need a personal chef because he’s cooking in the studio regardless leading into “Old Soul” reminds me of Slum Village’s early output from the boom bap instrumental to the scratch hook appealing to the old school & new school fans. “Gen Check” has a more cinematic sound to it addressing the people he sees daily while “Me vs. Me” feels like a convo between his older & younger self.

After the compositional “Commercial Break” intermission, “Ain’t Worried Bout U” cloudily makes it clear that he ain’t stressing over anyone while “Makin’ Moves” shifts back towards a more trap-oriented sound suggesting those who support him to get in the mood. “I Have a Dream” however feels less of an interlude & more of an atmospherically woozy statement regarding him making it to the end of this movie we that many would call life.

“Growth Mindset” has a more exuberant boom bap flare to it winding down Prodigy’s final moments talking about bringing his homies with him to make sure they’re all fed by the time he’s gone while “Suspense” has a bit of a west coast groove to it pleading not to show him love later if you’re not gonna do it at this present moment. The closing track “My Dear Reflection” takes up the last couple minutes of the album expressing the importance of standing tall in any challenge the world might hit us with.

Freshman Year was a impressively broader introduction to who DJ Oreeyo from both artistic & personal standpoints, but Prodigy pushes himself further by taking everything that made his debut LP so interesting from the continuation of the predecessor’s trap sound aside from a couple moments where he’s rapping over boom bap production to the penmanship being more sharpened now that he’s older than he was 2 & a half years ago.

Score: 4/5

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Mobb Deep – “Infinite” review

Queens, New York duo Mobb Deep consisting of Havoc & the late Prodigy teaming up with Mass Appeal Records for their 9th & final album. Releasing their debut Juvenile Hell under Island Records to mixed reception, The Infamous… & Hell on Earth through Loud Records & RCA Records would both become amongst the greatest east coast LPs ever. Murda Muzik distributed by Columbia Records would also be well received, but their final Loud offering Infamy as well as the Jive Records-backed Amerika’z Nightmare & of course Blood Money during a polarizing tenure on G-Unit Records/Interscope Records all left fans divided in the 2000s. Over a decade since The Infamous…Mobb Deep however, the 4th entry of Mass Appeal’s ongoing Legend Has It saga is now here preserving the Mobb’s Infinite legacy.

“Against the World” starts with Havoc sampling jazz & soul echoing the sentiments of former rival 2Pac’s magnum Me Against the World ending with Hav telling Bandana P that he’ll see him on the other side during the outro whereas “Gunfire” produced by The Alchemist takes the boom bap route to spit lyrical bullets at their competition. “Easy Bruh” stays in the basement instrumentally suggests to take things smoothly while “Look at Me” featuring Clipse unites 2 of the greatest gangsta rap duos of all-time.

Big Noyd joins forces with “The M. The O. The B. The B.” for a sinister dedication to the group itself leading into “Down for You” featuring Nas works in a string sample for the trio to show a romantic side to all 3 of them individually. “Taj Mahal” was another great single choice even if it’s pretty much Uncle Al remixing the 2011 leaked Prodigy track “Night Life” by flipping “[The Infamous Prelude]” & Havoc adding his own verse, but then “Mr. Magik” vividly compares themselves to magicians.

“Score Points” locks in with Alchemist for the 2nd to last time taking a luxurious approach to the beat trusting the process promising to make y’all disappear like rabbits in hat tricks referring to the previous song & “My Era” marks Uncle Al’s final contribution to Infinite, reminding that Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) & The Infamous… defined the east coast 3 decades ago. “Pour My Henny” featuring Nas links back up with each other for an ode to whiskey while “Clear Black Nights” featuring Ghostface Killah & Raekwon talks about being either with them or against them.

The song “Discontinued” winds down the LP’s final act by flexing that they don’t make ‘em like the Mobb anymore over a raw boom bap instrumental & unfortunately, “Love the Way” featuring Nas is a blatant remix of the final single “Down for You” that dropped yesterday. “We the Real Thing” however makes it up for it with them giving a middle finger to the idea of rap beef since they got real drama going on such as having people out in the streets plotting to put bounties on their heads.

Infinite thus far surpasses Victory, The Emperor’s New Clothes & Supreme Clientele 2 as the greatest entry of the Legend Has It series by making a full circle moment out of the batch of unreleased Prodigy verses Havoc & The Alchemist used all over Infinite. It additionally recaptures the classically raw, dark & genuine Mobb Deep energy & sound that shaped the beloved Queensbridge duo I was thankful to see live a decade ago whilst addressing the current state of the culture.

Score: 4.5/5

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Prodigy – “The Hegelian Dialectic 2: The Book of Heroine” review

Prodigy was a 42 year old MC, songwriter & record executive from Hempstead, New York who emerged as 1/2 of the seminal duo Mobb Deep. He’s also cemented himself as a solo artist by dropping 8 solo albums, with my favorites being H.N.i.C. (Head N***a in Charge) & the Alchemist-produced Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, Bandana P would pass away after choking on an egg in the summer of 2017 & his estate is commemorating him by putting out a sequel to the last full-length he put out The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book of Revelation. It was his most political solo effort that he’s done up to that point, but the production was lacking in my opinion. That being said: I did go into Prodigy’s first posthumous outing hoping that it’d be an improvement over the predecessor considering the singles we got over the summer.

“You Will See” kicks off the album with a spacious yet groovy banger talking about crashing your face with the Henny Rock whereas “Walk Out” takes a more boom bap route thanks to DJ Premier talking about bringing smoke to him. “Opium Poppy” dives into ghoulish territory sonically to deliver some mid sex bars just before the luxurious “Angel” is R&B/hip hop duet with Faith Evans about his widow Kiki.

Meanwhile on “We Shine”, we have a piano trap ballad with an awkward auto-tuned hook telling the story of getting a text from his girl at 11:30pm saying they going out & balling out when they pull up to the spot at 1am leading into the vibrant & celebratory “Dope”. It all returns to the boom bap as Big Daddy Kane comes into the picture for “You Don’t Want It” to spit some hardcore bars leading into “I Heart You” embracing the spacey trap sound to talk about Kiki once again.

Remit Ma tags along for the eerie trap banger “Overdose” making them catch the Holy Ghost while the song “Escapism” is a dustier cut talking about getting the fuck outta his face if you ain’t talking real shit to him. The penultimate track “Flirting with Death” with Big Noyd finds the 2 getting flirtatious over a synth-heavy beat & “The Other Side” is bittersweet to say the less with it’s solemn trap instrumental along with the lyrics about dying together.

The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book of Revelation was one of the weaker albums in Prodigy’s catalog in my opinion but as far as the sequel goes, I happen to like it just a bit more. Some of the lovey dovey trap shit can be hit or miss with me personally with all respect to Bandana P, but love how they kept the guests to a minimum as opposed to being on nearly every track & none of the the boom bap cuts miss whatsoever.

Score: 3/5

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