Steve 'Flash' Juon“Yo it’s the R-a-double-P, E-R-N-O-Y-D, with the Infamous, drowning Hennessy.” In one verse Big Noyd established himself as a rap star and an honorary member of Mobb Deep rapping on the Q-Tip produced “Give Up the Goods (Just Step).” In fact the rapper born TaJuan Akeem Perry is so closely affiliated with Havoc and Prodigy that the only Mobb Deep album he doesn’t appear on is “Blood Money.” This has been a double edged sword for his entire career. Fans always appreciated his guest verses on Mobb tracks, but Big Noyd’s solo albums never moved the units his QB homies did. It’s better to be known than unknown so I’m sure Noyd wouldn’t have it any other way, but it’s also got to be frustrating to never chart higher than 13th for your best reviewed album.
2005’s “On the Grind” performed worst than most, failing to hit a single spot on any Billboard chart after being released on Monopolee Records. This may have been a self-inflicted wound as the label was Noyd’s own imprint, formed to address what he felt were industry rule #4,080 issues from being signed to Tommy Boy and Landspeed Records. Taking control of your music shouldn’t be a negative, but Noyd didn’t have the marketing muscle of the majors, and I’m going to be honest and tell you I didn’t even remember this album before reviewing it. “Louder” would have been a great choice for a single and a video (even though he says “radio they scared to play shit”). Produced by Alchemist and featuring Prodigy, the song has every single thing that a Mobb Deep fan loves.
The unfortunate truth though is that when Noyd says “I don’t give a fuck, you could never be on my level kid” on “Rush” it’s simply not true. Even though he’s not from Harlem, I always get Juelz Santana energy listening to him rap, even though he can spit faster than anybody from DipSet. The comparison doesn’t have to end there though as both rappers are decent enough on the mic yet often overshadowed by the crews they are associated with. Would it surprise you that out of 14 songs (removing the intro and two skits) somebody from Mobb Deep is on nine of them? 64%. Big Noyd can’t escape their long shadow and he’s not even trying to. He was counting on Mobb Deep fans to buy it to hear songs like “Money Rolls” and “Off the Wall” and it didn’t work.
The biggest knock for “On the Grind” is the production of Ric Rude, heard on six of 14 songs (42%). He doesn’t have the chops of Havoc or Alchemist and it shows. “Hu, What” could be the most forgettable Big Noyd song ever. It’s the most generic “I’m a rapper from New York in the year 2005” beat possible. At least it was that until I listened to “All My Peoples,” with probably the laziest recycling of Isley Brothers “Here We Go Again” I’ve heard. There are at least a dozen rap songs with better samples of it and if you don’t believe me hit up WhoSampled to see for yourself. I’m sorry to be Rude to ravishing Ric but he just mimics tropes instead of coming up with original shit.
The funniest part of all this is that “On the Grind” has aged well after 20 years. At the time it came out it was a record from a rapper best known for his Infamous friends that folks didn’t care about solo. Now that Prodigy is no longer with us that works in reverse because each appearance from him on the album makes me care about Big Noyd more. He never drops the best punchlines, but he does have a lot of charisma and clear vocals, something that modern day lethargic mumbling rappers can’t match. He appears stronger than usual just by the company he keeps for the majority of this album, to the point even Rude’s work improves on repeated listens. This isn’t a certified classic but it certainly wasn’t the worst thing to come out in 2005 nor the worst thing you’ll hear in 2025.