Mobb Deep

Mobb Deep set the tone for future generations of hardcore rappers with terse, slang-filled rhymes depicting the harsh realities of New York street life. The duo of Prodigy and Havoc stood tall as East Coast figureheads on the basis of The Infamous (1995), their epochal second album. Released in the wake of Illmatic and Ready to Die, The Infamous joined the respective debuts of Nas and the Notorious B.I.G. as a crucial hip-hop text. Pushed by the urgent hit singles "Shook Ones, Pt. II" and "Survival of the Fittest," the album cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and would inform crews such as G-Unit, Dipset, and Griselda, along with the likes of Ka and Roc Marciano. The subsequent Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999) burnished Mobb Deep's status and went Top Ten despite no concessions to commercial radio. During the following decade, they returned to the upper reaches of the chart with Amerikaz Nightmare (2004) and Blood Money (2006), the latter of which was recorded for the G-Unit label. The duo's partnership faltered for a time, but they were active into mid-2017, when Prodigy died from complications of an illness that had afflicted him since infancy. Aided by fellow producer the Alchemist, Havoc later put together Infinite (2025), the last Mobb Deep album, utilizing previously unissued Prodigy vocals. Prodigy (Albert Johnson) and Havoc (Kejuan Muchita) grew up in Queens, yet met in Manhattan, where both were students at the High School of Art and Design. Their shared love of hip-hop resulted in a natural companionship, and while they were still teens, the young men managed to score a record deal with the Island-affiliated 4th & Broadway. In 1993, the label released Juvenile Hell, a confrontational album featuring noteworthy production work by DJ Premier and Large Professor, each of whom, within a year's time, would move on to produce the debut of another young Queensbridge rapper, Nas. Juvenile Hell yielded the duo's first entry on Billboard's rap chart with "Hit It from the Back." It would be two more years before Mobb Deep resurfaced.When they did return in 1995, it was on a different label, RCA subsidiary Loud, and with a significantly developed approach. More hardcore than Illmatic and Ready to Die, its two key stylistic predecessors, The Infamous was an uncompromising album for the streets, and was championed as such. The beats were darker and harder-hitting, while the rhymes were downright threatening yet still inventive and crafty. Moreover, there were no attempts at crossover success, though the mammoth "Shook Ones, Pt. II" and "Survival of the Fittest" happened to become Top Ten hits on the Billboard rap chart and also made the Hot 100. A solid album all around, The Infamous showcased the in-house production work of Havoc and also featured high-profile features from Nas, Raekwon, and Ghostface Killah. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and went gold within two months of release.A year later, in 1996, Mobb Deep returned with a follow-up, Hell on Earth, which was a little slicker than The Infamous yet still emphasized hardcore motifs. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and spawned two charting singles with "Front Lines (Hell on Earth)" and "G.O.D., Pt. III." At this point, hardcore rap was at its peak, with Death Row Records flourishing on the West Coast and a legion of New Yorkers jumping into the scene, following the lead of Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., and Mobb Deep. So when Mobb Deep returned three years later with Murda Muzik, the rap landscape had changed significantly. While Murda Muzik was leaked and delayed, and wasn't as novel as the duo's first two albums, it entered the Billboard 200 at number three and offered three charting singles highlighted by "Quiet Storm" and the Nas collaboration "It's Mine." Before the end of 1999, the album was certified platinum, eclipsing the gold certifications for the duo's second and third full-lengths. The following year, Prodigy released his first solo album, H.N.I.C.When Mobb Deep resurfaced in late 2001 with Infamy, they showcased a willingness to reach beyond their fan base. The single "Hey Luv" was the first Mobb Deep song to flirt with R&B crossover, or even to mention love. It got some airplay, thanks in part to its hook from R&B act 112, as did its two other charting singles, "Burn" and "Get Away." Loud went out of business the next year, leaving Mobb Deep without a label deal. For the next few years, roughly 2002-2005, Prodigy and Havoc released one-off albums via various label arrangements, including Free Agents: The Murda Mix Tape (Landspeed, 2003), the Top Ten Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive, 2004), and The Mix Tape Before 9/11 (X-Ray, also 2004).Then came a surprise announcement that 50 Cent had signed Mobb Deep to his G-Unit family. First came a remix featuring the label's signing, "Outta Control," which supplanted the original version when 50's The Massacre was reissued in 2005. Too, Mobb Deep had become omnipresent on the mixtape front. The awareness-raising approach worked, as the polished Blood Money debuted in the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 and brought more exposure to Mobb Deep than the duo had enjoyed since their late-'90s heyday. They found a new generation of younger listeners -- the large G-Unit market base in particular. The following calendar year brought Return of the Mac, one of Prodigy's strongest solo albums, and The Kush, Havoc's proper solo debut.Into the early 2010s, Prodigy's three-year prison sentence and a falling-out with Havoc put Mobb Deep's future in question. They did issue an EP, Black Cocaine (2011), shortly after Prodigy was released. The duo resumed a couple years later and eventually issued The Infamous Mobb Deep (2014), which combined new material with previously unreleased tracks recorded during the making of their mid-'90s breakout. On June 20, 2017, following a Mobb Deep performance in Las Vegas, Prodigy died suddenly from complications of sickle-cell anemia. Three years later, The Infamous reached platinum status. Havoc continued to record projects ranging from 2020's In the Name of Prodigy (with Flee Lord) to 2024's Everything Is...Guttr (with RJ Payne and Ras Kass). Assisted by the Alchemist, he assembled the posthumous Mobb Deep album Infinite, issued in 2025 with featured appearances from the likes of Nas, Clipse, and Jorja Smith.
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