The Project Kid

A longtime Mobb Deep affiliate, Big Twins, aka Twin Gambino, made his wax debut guesting on the duo's 1996 LP Hell on Earth. In the years since, the gruff-voiced Queensbridge native has steadily built his rep putting in work alongside his Infamous Mobb co-horts and, perhaps most notably, releasing a 2002 12" with the Alchemist — the impressive "Different Worlds" which saw both rappers contrasting their very different upbringings. His first solo LP, The Project Kid, follows the Mobb Deep formula of gritty hood narratives paired with spine-tingling beatscapes. Far from the most imaginative lyricist to come out of the Bridge, Twin manages to compose compellingly nightmarish street vignettes largely on the strength of his distinctive growl — which challenge the likes of Xzibit and Keak da Sneak for the title of most gravelly voice in contemporary hip-hop— even while his occasionally flat rhymes understate it ("Big Twin got that voice like he swallowed some sand"). The Project Kid benefits from a capable production staff (made up of Sid Roams, Jake One, the Alchemist, and Havoc) who provide Twin with a set of consistently above-bar street-hop beats built on murky piano lines and chilling string arrangements as well as guest verses from a slew of Queensbridge natives (including Prodigy, Blaq Mobb, Un Pachino, and Dog of ACD) that do well to prevent the track list from ever falling into vocal monotony. As one might expect, Project Kid's brightest spots come when the Alchemist is behind the boards (on three cuts). He even takes a turn on the mike beside Twin on the stellar "When I Walk Away."