*** Mobb Deep

HELL ON EARTH

(Loud/RCA)

Despite anthemic tributes to misogyny, ultra-violence, and criminal lifestyles, Mobb Deep's music has a stark beauty. Sometimes it seems that the insistent thud of a SP1200 drum machine with a bass line and swirling samples is all it takes. Hell on Earth presents a summit of NYC all-stars: Nas, Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man and Raekwon, and Big Noyd. The title track is Mobb Deep at their finest, banging beats underlining a haunting, wistful track, with a chorus of "Ayo it's hell on earth/Who's next or going to be first/The projects is frontline." Very few rappers can deliver "reality" rap without sounding cartoonish, but as Prodigy asserts on "Bloodsport," "Me and my man pioneered this violent nigga' rap shit."

On "G. O. D. Pt. III," cinematic organ fills provide a backdrop for boastful lyrics from Havoc and Prodigy. On "Drop a Gem on 'Em," Prodigy takes a swipe at Tupac Shakur as retaliation for the late rapper's derision of Prodigy's battle with sickle-cell anemia. Ultimately Hell on Earth does get monotonous, but it speaks volumes about ghetto pathology in ways statistics and sociologists can only dream about. The enhanced CD also includes a Mobb Deep video.

-- Adam Matthews