By Odeisel

There are many albums or works that fly under the radar. They may be of astounding quality but for whatever reason (politics, market feel, nobody checking for them, they were on Interscope, etc) they just never got that attention. We’re going to go through these albums and see if we can’t either get you hip to them, or bring them back to light if you caught them the first time.

Today’s work is Prodigy’s 2007 Return of the Mac, produced by the Alchemist. Sandwiched between a solid H.N.I.C. and an underwhelming H.N.I.C. 2, this mixtape was produced like an album and quite frankly would have been a very high quality retail release. It mirrored fellow 2007 release American Gangster with its 70s sample construction, with melodies that have been used by Fat Joe, Ne-Yo and many others.

The tone of the album is decidedly hardcore, but always from a defensive position.  P doesn’t want to start it, but he will end it with extreme prejudice. While not as continuous a narrative as American Gangster, Return of the Mac is possessed of a smoldering conviction and Prodigy is at his most scintillatingly sinister in these bars, full of wizened battle-hardened malice for those who oppose his will. Lyrically there is self deprecation, borne of the awareness of his sins, and the acceptance that those sins have consumed the bright gleam that once resided in his eyes and in its place left only darkness. The hood did indeed take him under, and rather than wax poetic on the innocence lost, Prodigy has chosen to wholly embrace that evil and live accordingly.

Musically, the album is well sequenced and while the beats per minute don’t necessarily switch too much, the melodies are so varied that it doesn’t feel the same throughout. Prodigy stays on top of the production, changing pitch and altering cadence when needed. The Alchemist delivers perhaps his most consistent body of work throughout the course of this tape, with well chosen samples, well chopped interludes, and the creation of a bigger picture that ends up being more than the sum of these tracks.

A lot of people were hip to the tape when it first dropped.  The heads know what’s really good. For those that don’t know, get familiar with the buried treasure.  Return of the Mac.

Prodigy- Mac 10 Handle Prodigy – Mac 10 Handle

Prodigy-Take It To The Top Prodigy – Take It To The Top

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