Today marks 4 years since Prodigy passed away.
Remembering Prodigy of Mobb Deep, the Coldest Rapper of His Generation
Hip Hop suffered a major loss on June 20, 2017 when Prodigy passed away in a Las Vegas hospital. On the fourth anniversary of his death, his Mobb Deep partner-in-crime Havoc has shared in remembrance photo wishing him happy father's day in spirit.
Prodigy, who was 42 years old at the time of his passing, was in Las Vegas performing with Mobb Deep right hand man Havoc as part of the Art of Rap Tour. On June 18, 2017, following his final performance, Prodigy was admitted to Spring Valley Medical Center after suffering a significant medical episode arising from his life-long battle with sickle-cell anemia. Days later, on the morning of June 20, Prodigy was found unresponsive by hospital staff.
Prodigy — born in Hempstead, Long Island — stood as half of the Queensbridge rap duo Mobb Deep, one of the most celebrated New York rap groups in the genre’s history. He and his longtime recording partner, Havoc, formed Mobb Deep together as teenagers in 1992. Initially, Havoc coached Prodigy as a songwriter for the duo’s debut album, Juvenile Hell, released by 4th & B’way Records in April 1993. Two years later, Prodigy’s smoky voice came to dominate the group on their breakout album, The Infamous, released by Loud Records. The album was like nothing hip-hop had ever heard before: Havoc flipped obscure samples into ghastly melodies, and Prodigy would rap over those beats in a tenor similar to the hip-hop pioneer Rakim, but with horrific, unsparing detail in his verses. Prodigy’s demeanor was a cold force set to Havoc’s exceedingly grim production.
Prodigy rapped about life in the projects, and his outlook was bleak. He also rapped about power, fame, and escape, though his outlook on all of that was bleak, too. Mobb Deep’s classic single, “Shook Ones, Pt. II,” gave us the signature bit of the rapper’s figurative violence: “For all of those who wanna profile and pose / Rock you in your face, stab your brain with your nose bone.”