“This is the mixtape, imagine how the album sound,” brags Prodigy on Return Of The Mac, his new Koch released mini-album, which features wall-to-wall production from The Alchemist. But this isn’t an album full of “Keep It Thoros”, more a collection of songs that find the two artists giving their “B” and “C” game - in other words, material that isn’t tough enough for the major label push. 

    But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Alchemist isn’t delivering his toughest beats here; instead he’s breaking out his favorite soul classics, and hooking up Prodigy with a collection of uncleared samples, hence the “mixtape” tag. This creates a mellowed-out, blunt-smoking, driving-high-at-night, type of atmosphere for P to get his thug braggadocio on. As a concept record, it works. 

     There’s a whole lot of familiarity here, as Al raids the crates for timeless sounds that have fueled many hip-hop classics before this. “Stop Fronting”, for instance, utilizes the same Barry White sounds that made Black Moon’s “I Gotcha Open” a hit, while the gun-crazy “Mac 10 Handle” pits P over Edwin Starr’s “Easin’ In” break, best known for Ice-T’s “High Rollers”. Tapping more recent sources, “Return Of The Mac” interpolates Busta’s own “New York Shit”, while brilliantly flipping the classic Biggie & 2Pac Madison Square Garden freestyle for the hook.  

     Not everything is quite as obvious, but much of it has an air of reminiscence to it. The cinematic 70′s soul-swagger of songs like “Take It To The Top” or “Nickel and A Nail” show that Al was having a great time producing this record. Other standouts include “Legends” and “7th Heaven”, both of which find Al is prime form. 

     Lyrically, Prodigy isn’t as hungry as he might have been in the “Shook Ones” or “Quiet Storm” eras, and it shows here, like it showed on the Blood Money LP. Without having Havoc to bounce off of, P’s relentless gun-talk and more-gangster-than-thou attitude begin to wear thin after a while. Thankfully, Alchemist has done such a great job crafting the production on this record, that most core fans of Mobb Deep will love it anyway. 

     Playing almost like a classic Compton’s Most Wanted record, the beauty of Return of The Mac is in the samples, and the classic soul that is captured here. It’s not going to change the world, or even bring NYC back, but it’s been a long time since a hip-hop record was produced like this, and for that, it’s a breath of fresh air.