Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo comprising Havoc (Kejuan Muchita, born May 21,1974) and Prodigy (Albert Johnson, November 2, 1974-June 20, 2017). After an unsuccessful debut, they shot to stardom in 1995 with their critically-acclaimed sophomore album The Infamous, led by the iconic single "Shook Ones Part II." In the years following, Havoc became an in-demand producer for his gritty beats and Prodigy garnered respect as a lyricist.
The duo's popularity took a hit in 2001 after getting into a feud with Jay-Z, who dissed them in his song "Takeover" and displayed a photo of a young Prodigy dressed as Michael Jackson at Summer Jam. Their longtime collaborator Nas also aired out his grievances with Prodigy on "Destroy & Rebuild," in particular his claiming to be from Queensbridge Projectsnote .
Still, Mobb Deep remained moderately successful with their next two albums, Infamy and Amerikaz Nightmare. After the dissolution of their longtime label Loud Records and leaving Jive, they would eventually sign to 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. Their sole album on that label, 2006's Blood Money, released to poor reviews, and the group would go on a hiatus shortly after while Prodigy served a three-year prison sentence.
They released the EP Black Cocaine upon Prodigy's release from prison in 2011, and following a brief feud, released their final album The Infamous Mobb Deep in 2014. The two spent the next few years touring and working on solo projects.
Prodigy passed away in 2017 while being hospitalized for complications from sickle-cell anemia, though his cause of death was later revealed to be accidental choking. He was 42 years old.
- Juvenile Hell (1993)
- The Infamous (1995)
- Hell on Earth (1996)
- Murda Muzik (1999)
- Infamy (2001)
- Amerikaz Nightmare (2004)
- Blood Money (2006)
- Black Cocaine (2011) - EP
- The Infamous Mobb Deep (2014)
Havoc Discography
- The Kush (2007)
- Hidden Files (2009)
- 13 (2013)
- Beats Collection 1 & 2 (2013) - Instrumental Album
- 13 Reloaded (2014)
- The Silent Partner (2016) with The Alchemist
- Wreckage Manner (2021) with Styles P
Prodigy Discography
- H.N.I.C. (2000)
- Return of the Mac (2007) - with The Alchemist
- H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 (2008)
- H.N.I.C. 3 (2012)
- The Bumpy Johnson Album (2012)
- Albert Einstein (2013) with The Alchemist
- Hegelian Dialectic: The Book of Revelation (2017)
- The Hegelian Dialectic 2: The Book of Heroine (2022)
Infamous Tropes:
- Big Applesauce: Prodigy's solo track "Return of the Mac (New York Shit)."
- Bowdlerize: The edited version of Murda Muzik was renamed Mobb Muzik.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Prodigy might be the most well-known conspiracy theorist in all of rap music, which is no small feat considering how prominent conspiracy theories are among artists and fans alike.
- Crapsack World: "Survival of the Fittest" paints Queensbridge projects as a war zone.
- Everyone Went to School Together: Havoc and Prodigy met while attending the High School for Arts & Design in Manhattan,
- Gangsta Rap: A prominent example of Hardcore.
- The Illuminati: Prodigy name-dropped them in LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya (Remix)."
- Nay-Theist: Prodigynote expresses anger at God in "Pearly Gates" for leaving him in poverty and stricken with sickle-cell anemia. His verse is so antitheistic that some of his lyrics were censored on the explicit version of the song.Now homey if I go to Hell and you make it to the pearly gates
Tell the boss man we got beef
And tell his only son, I'm a see him when I see him
And when I see him, I'm a beat him like a movie - Record Producer: Along with most of Mobb Deep's songs, Havoc has produced for several other artists. They also were instrumental in bringing their frequent collaborator The Alchemist to the forefront, who has since gone on to be an even more popular producer.
- The Rival: Prodigy had several feuds throughout his career, most notably with Keith Murray, 2Pac, Jay-Z, and Nas.
- Sampling: Present in most of their songs (and Havoc's production discography in general), with "Got It Twisted" being particularly notable for its sample of Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science."
- Sequel Song: "Shook Ones Part II," "More Trife Life"
- Speak Ill of the Dead: Subverted. Their Tupac Shakur diss "Drop a Gem On 'Em" was featured on Hell On Earth, released two months after Shakur's death, but was recorded while he was still alive.
- Title-Only Chorus: "Extortion" and "Man Down" are two prominent examples.
- With Us or Against Us: The chorus of "Eye For An Eye" states "we're in this together, dunn, your beef is mine." Ironically, Havoc didn't got involved in many of Prodigy's several feuds.
