While they may be two of the shortest gangster rappers ever, Queensbridge’s mini duns, Mobb Deep, pack the biggest guns, and can never stop finding new ways to rhyme about them. Some might call it a Napoleon Complex, but everyone can agree that Havoc and Prodigy have turned out a classic record or two in their day. Of course, while nobody argues with the classic status of their second LP, The Infamous, reviews have been mixed for every LP that followed. Arguably, listeners saw a steady decline in quality with the release of each record (with 2002′s Infamy almost sealing their fate for good). However, after bouncing from Loud and landing on Columbia, Mobb Deep are back with one of their most consistent releases in a long time. 

      This time around, Havoc has outsourced some of the production to a team of beatmakers that reads like a “Who’s Hot” list for the year, with outstanding results virtually every time. Of course, we’ve all been blinded with science by Alchemist’s summer heater, “Got It Twisted”, but the album also includes the new version with Twista, for twice the fun. Alchemist stays on point with two other joints, the soulful “Win Or Lose”, and the defining dark and eerie “When You Hear The?”. Kanye West brings “Throw Your Hands In The Air”, presenting a new sound for the Chi-Town producer, yet one that throws back to Mobb’s Infamous days. Meanwhile, Kanye’s competitor for producer of the year, Lil Jon, delivers easily one of his best beats EVER on “Real Gangstaz”, a QB crunk party jam that is sure to pack the dancefloors with its piercing piano stabs and distinct whistles. And next-to-blow producer Red Spyda adds another incredible beat to his resume with “Real Niggaz” (not to be confused with “Real Gangstas”), with hard hitting drums and an infectious melody that Hav and P build the hook around. 

       Sure, the guest producers easily craft the best beats on this album, yet Havoc sews it all together with nine other tracks, most of which bang without question. The opener, “Amerikaz Nightmare” starts things off nicely with a sinister guitar riff, a classic Havoc snare, and synth that defines the nighttime QB cold. “One Of Ours Part 2″ (feat. Jadakiss) shows a different side to Hav’s beats, still packing the same darkness, but propelled with a subtle Southern bounce backdrop that somehow works. Hav also shows consistency on select head-nodders “Flood The Block”, “Shorty Wop”, “We Up”, “Neva Change”, and “On The Run”, respectively, each building off his trademark sound, yet avoiding repetition. 

       But like most Mobb Deep albums, Amerikaz Nightmare can never match the top-to-bottom classic sound found on The Infamous. While it does include some of the hottest tracks from the group yet, at 16 tracks in length, there’s room for a few snoozers – namely “Get Me” (feat. Noyd & Littles), and “Dump” (feat. Nate Dogg). Ironically enough, on “Dump”, in one of many lazy, off-beat, non-rhyming moments, Prodigy says “Don’t confuse our album with that mixtape shit / Those our scraps, basically our throwaway shit.” However, for the sake of argument, there were easily four or five tracks on Free Agents, which could have replaced some of the lesser blazing selections included here, granting them even higher praise for Amerikaz Nightmare. To each is own. 

       But despite the minor flaws, Amerikaz Nightmare represents a return to form for the Queensbridge duo – one that experiments with new sounds and styles, yet satisfies fans both old and new.