The rap landscape of October ’98 was dominated by the ghosts of Big and Pac, the emergence of NYC commercial/critical darlings Jay Z, DMX and Ma$e, and the Southern stronghold of Master P and his legion of soldiers. Regional stars were starting to pop up all over the country, but it was tough to get this Chi-Town trio to be included in ‘who’s who’ of rap’s elite in 1998. Sure they received some accolades and coverage from mags like The Source, but Atlantic never gave this album the push it truly deserved. Maybe it was the choice of the first single, “Mobstability,” which was an ode to NWA’s “Alwayz Into Somethin.” The video for “Mobstability” received minimal spins from outlets like BET and MTV, while fans flocked to album cuts like “Front Porch,” “Legit Ballers” and “In Your World.”
For whatever reason, Atlantic never pushed a second single, and despite the lack of radio and video airplay, Mobstability stands at 700,000 copies sold. A very impressive and respectable number for the underdogs in Chicago — not to mention a gold plaque. As we now know, Twista and Trax wouldn’t be underdogs for much longer, but Mobstability is a wonderful look back into an era of major label Chicago rap that is sometimes overlooked in the rap history books. This album meant a lot to many people, so on its 15th anniversary we celebrate the 1998 release of Mobstability. If you’ve never heard it, I highly suggest you buy it on iTunes or stream it on Spotify now.
Great read. Definitely a classic. After reading that, I def gotta bring it back and listen to the album!
I related as a female to this album with living in the middle of ktown the grind the struggles of everyday life music now is garbage this was heart and soul rap wish they could put it down again I know they would kill it and bring back the real vs these fake wanna be rapper