The Poetic Agenda

Typical? In an era of hip-hop where emcees come a dime a dozen, and originality is the point focal of many ‘underground’ consumers, do you want your group to be typical? Dwell on that thought for a minute, but don’t jump to any conclusions; these kids are here to prove to you that they ain’t no joke. Typical Cats are composed of Qwel, Qwazaar and Denizen Kane on the M-I-C, DJ Natural on production and turntables, and Kid Knish on the ‘essential spice and marination’. All five hail from Chicago Illinois, a city that has a permanent place on hip-hop’s map of freshness (trust me, it does exist). Denizen Kane is a lot more on the spoken-word / poetic tip, while Qwel and Qwazaar mostly focus on battle rhymes. The beats tend to be very jazzy and laid back. Typical….

The album kicks off with one of the best introductions I have heard in a long time, with all three emcees dropping short verses over a dope acoustic guitar loop and smooth female vocals in the back. Qwazaar states it best with “This here is for all the cats who is searching hard for the content, who won’t settle for the nonsense, for those whose intellect just will not accept the dumb shit / the last true few heads, willing to spend they final dollars, on they favorite hip-hop artists, no matter what the cost is / let’s start this.” This does exactly what the beginning of an album should do: introduce you to the artists without any filler material.

Simple beats are often a curse, but they don’t have to be. Natural’s production on “Reinventing The Wheel”, the next track, is quite basic, but the three emcees mesh together so well over it. The message is that the Typical Cats aren’t here to restructure hip-hop, they are merely trying to improve upon its current design. The chemistry that these three emcees have together is truly remarkable; few groups can ever pull it off this well. Too often in a group one emcee will steal the spotlight from the other, but these three compliment each other’s styles nicely.

There are a few more tracks on this album which feature the entire group, and they do not disappoint. “Any Day” has a once again jazzy beat layered with flows that cannot be described. The topic of stress is covered; Qwel and Qwazaar spit nice, but Denizen speaks so well on this issue you’d swear he should be a published poet. The influence from the days of Common Sense’s “Resurrection” is very obvious on “Take A Number”, but what’s wrong with that? Influence is a lot different than emulation, and it is obvious from listening which one the Typical Cats use.

Tracklist:
01 – Intro
02 – Reinventing the Wheel
03 – Any Day
04 – Qweloquiallisms
05 – It Won’t Stop
06 – Snake Oil
07 – Natural Causes
08 – Take a Number
09 – The Manhattan Project
10 – Too Happy for Qwel
11 – Live Forever
12 – Cliche
13 – What you Thought Hops
14 – Thin Red Line

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Chicago‘s Galapagos4 label relocated to Oakland last year and it seems that, stylistically, the Typical Cats aren‘t far behind. On their second full-length, the Windy City trio of Qwel, Qwazaar, and Denizen Kane expound spacey, sun-soaked philosophies over strutting, jazzy beats-a formula fit for the West Coast. The Midwest influence isn‘t lost on them-their flow suggests they were star pupils at the Slug School of Rapping. Smoky but unspectacular production, provided by the aptly-titled DJ Natural, augmented by a trio of live musicians, creates a comfortable cushion for this trio‘s clever verbal give-and-take, which would be at home anywhere.

Tracklist
01 – Can’t Save
02 – Easy Cause It Is
03 – Typical Flows
04 – No Man Island
05 – Justice Coming
06 – 12th Story
07 – The Trouble
08 – Drink Ticket
09 – Butterfly Knifes
10 – The Do
11 – The Pavement
12 – Style Wars Theory
13 – Before Before

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Infamous Mobb, also known as IM3, is a hip hop group from Queensbridge in Queens, New York, composed of members Ty Nitty, Twin Gambino, and Godfather, Pt. III. They are an integral part of the Queensbridge hip hop scene, which includes rappers like Nas, Cormega and Mobb Deep, and began with the Juice Crew.[1] Friends since childhood, Infamous Mobb members G.O.D. Father, Ty Nitty, and Twin Gambino all grew up on Queensbridge’s 41st side 21st Street.

Infamous Mobb first appeared on Mobb Deep’s album Hell on Earth. They also appeared on Murda Muzik and Infamy, as well as many mixtapes. The group also appeared on Nas’ QB Finest compilation album as well as DJ Muggs’s first Soul Assassins album. Their debut, Special Edition, was not released until 2002; it features extensive production by The Alchemist. The album was released on Infamous Mobb’s own IM3 label and distributed by Landspeed Records.

In 2004, the group released Blood Thicker Than Water, Vol. 1. This album was also released on the IM3 label, but this time through Monopolee Records. A second version of the album was released which included a bonus DVD. The DVD includes Infamous Mobb music videos as well as in-depth interviews with some of the group’s Queensbridge affiliates.

There is some confusion among fans and media about the similar names of Infamous Mobb and Mobb Deep. Both groups are from Queensbridge; Mobb Deep released an album in 1995 titled The Infamous; and Infamous Mobb debuted on Mobb Deep’s following album, Hell on Earth.

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Special Edition is the debut album by Queensbridge hip hop trio Infamous Mobb. Label dealings kept the album shelved for a while, but the album was finally released in 2002. The majority of the album is produced by The Alchemist. Much like their Queensbridge associates Mobb Deep, Infamous Mobb rap about the thug life in the projects of Queensbridge, touching on subjects like drugs, money and guns.

Tracklisting
## Title Performer(s) Producer(s) Time
01 “Intro” Infamous Mobb The Alchemist 1:12
02 “IM3″ Infamous Mobb The Alchemist 4:46
03 “Born Again” Infamous Mobb, Hostyle of Screwball Ax The Bull 3:54
04 “Killa Queens” Infamous Mobb, Prodigy, Big Noyd Vic 4:01
05 “Special Edition” Infamous Mobb The Alchemist 3:29
06 “I Rep” Ty Nitty Phil 2:41
07 “The Family [Skit]” Infamous Mobb, Prodigy The Alchemist :40
08 “Mobb Niggaz [The Sequel]” Infamous Mobb, Prodigy The Alchemist 4:27
09 “Reality Rap” Infamous Mobb, Blitz, Kaos, Uno-Dos Uno-Dos 5:09
10 “Make a Livin’” Infamous Mobb, Chinky, V-12 IM3 Productions 4:00
11 “We Don’t Give A…” Infamous Mobb, Havoc Havoc 3:54
12 “Back in the Days” Infamous Mobb, Chinky The Alchemist 4:11
13 “B.I.G. – T.W.I.N.S.” Twin Gambino The Alchemist 3:04
14 “We Strive” Infamous Mobb, Ty Maxx The Alchemist 4:39
15 “We Will Survive” Godfather Pt. III, Chinky DJ Muggs 4:21
16 “War / Get High Get Bend” Infamous Mobb Havoc / Ax The Bull 7:07

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Reality Rap is the 2007 studio album by Queensbridge hip hop trio Infamous Mobb. Production by Alchemist, Erick Sermon, Havoc, Evidence, and more.

Tracklisting
## Title Performer(s) Producer(s) Time
01 “Capital Q” Infamous Mobb E Blaze 3:28
02 “Who Can You Trust” Infamous Mobb Urilius 3:43
03 “Border Line” Infamous Mobb Enrico Alexander 2:52
04 “Betti Bye Bye” Infamous Mobb, Flame Killer Erick Sermon 4:34
05 “Itz a Gift” Infamous Mobb Steve Sola 2:57
06 “Blauu!” Infamous Mobb, Havoc Havoc 3:52
07 “Get It Poppin” Infamous Mobb, T. Nitty Sid Roams 2:59
08 “Streetz of NY” Infamous Mobb, Erick Sermon Sid Roams 4:30
09 “Music 4 the User” Infamous Mobb, Chinky Evidence 3:50
10 “We Here” Infamous Mobb, A.C.D., P-Wonder A Dog 4:20
11 “That Smell” Infamous Mobb, G3 King Benny 3:30
12 “Reality Rap” Infamous Mobb Alchemist 3:41
13 “The Cypher [Skit]” Infamous Mobb 1:28
14 “4/20″ Infamous Mobb, Un Pachino Steve Sola 5:28
15 “Double-El” Infamous Mobb, Big Noyd Chaze 2:32
16 “Closer” Infamous Mobb Sid Roams 2:50
17 “Handle Ya Business” Infamous Mobb, V-12, Prodigy Steve Sola 3:33
18 “Hustle Hard” Infamous Mobb, Alchemist Alchemist 4:59

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