H.N.I.C. (Prodigy album)

H.N.I.C.
Studio album by Prodigy
Released	November 14, 2000
Recorded	1998-2000
Genre	Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Gangsta Rap
Length	66:20
Label	Loud Violator SRC Relativity Infamous
Producer	Prodigy, Bink!, Hangmen 3, The Alchemist, Robert Kirkland, Mobb Deep, EZ Elpee, Nashiem Myrick, Rockwilder, Just Blaze, Ric Rude
Prodigy chronology
H.N.I.C. (2000) H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 (2008)H.N.I.C. Pt. 22008

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[2]
HipHopDX	[3]
RapReviews	(8.0/10)[4]
Vibe	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
The Source

H.N.I.C. is the debut solo album by American rapper Prodigy. The album was scheduled for a September release but ultimately released November 14, 2000.

After 4 Mobb Deep albums, Prodigy took a temporary break from the group and released his first solo effort. "H.N.I.C." is an initialism for "Head Nigga In Charge". Prodigy enlisted a number of producers for the album, including The Alchemist, EZ Elpee, Rockwilder, Just Blaze and his Mobb Deep partner Havoc. Music videos were done for "Keep It Thoro" and "Y.B.E" (Young Black Entrepreneurs). The album received universal widespread critical acclaim. The song "Keep It Thoro" was released on vinyl.

A sequel, H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 was released April 22, 2008. It features production by Havoc, a fellow member of Mobb Deep and The Alchemist among others. In 2011, after being released from prison, Prodigy began work on the third album in the series, H.N.I.C. 3. The album inspired rapper, Wiz Khalifa's album, O.N.I.F.C..^[7] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 18, 2000.

The album also inspired a 16-year old, Kendrick Lamar, who dropped his Y.H.N.I.C. project in 2003.^[8]

Background

While Prodigy was working on H.N.I.C. and the Murda Muzik album with Mobb Deep, he started living a healthy lifestyle. His verse on Quiet Storm explains this:

"I spent too many nights sniffin' coke, gettin' right wastin' my life, now I'm trying to make things right."

Although the Quiet Storm song appeared on the Murda Muzik album, it was originally planned for the H.N.I.C album. Prodigy addresses his lifelong pain with sickle-cell anemia on the track "You Can Never Feel My Pain". On this track he also explains that this disease makes him depressed, which made him crave for controlled substances and alcohol.

The more conscious side of Prodigy is also visible on the song "Genesis".

"The positive and negative war has now begun. P helps you seperate both the sides let the truth arise, black devil don't hide You can't hide from me, you might from the others. I've been employed to pull your ass out from the covers. You walk like you got hooves and talk like you 'sposed to. Trickin my brothers into followin you? Yo, Potential energy is easily made kinetic."

This isn't an only conscious album though. Prodigy strikes again with hardcore lyrics. Prodigy can therefore be described as a conscious gangster.

On the track H.N.I.C. Prodigy lets you know that he is the boss:

"I be the H.N.I.C. The head nigga in charge. The boss, the Captain Crunch dog, the sarge. The M.O.B.B., the status - we large. The guns, the drama, the love, the Mobb."

"Keep It Thoro" doesn't have a hook. The whole idea of the song was that it didn't have a chorus. Prodigy makes this clear in his line "Heavy airplay all day with no chorus". But Prodigy's manager at the time, Chris Lighty, thought the song could be bigger on the radio with a chorus. This resulted in recording a version with a chorus by Havoc. The line "Heavy airplay all day with no chorus" was edited out in that version. But the final album version is the original without a chorus. The Japanese edition of H.N.I.C. has the Remix of Keep it Thoro as a bonus track.

Prodigy's wife KiKi appears on the track "Trials of Love" as B.K. (aka) Mz. Bars. This is the only time she appeared on a song with Prodigy. She made her video appearance in the Hey Luv video from Mobb Deep's Infamy album (2001).

The album appeared on the 100 best albums of the 2000s list by Complex.com.^[9]

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certifications

References