Mobb Deep

All Music Guide:

As golden age rap suddenly gave way to West Coast gangsta in the early '90s, an East Coast variety of hardcore rap arose in turn, with Mobb Deep initially standing tall as one of New York's hardcore figureheads on the basis of their epochal album The Infamous. Released in April 1995, The Infamous was released almost exactly a year after Illmatic and about a half year after Ready to Die -- the debut masterpieces of Nas and the Notorious B.I.G., respectively, both albums likewise of momentous significance for East Coast hardcore rap. On The Infamous, Mobb Deep (comprised of Prodigy and Havoc) set the tone for future generations of hardcore New York rappers, from G-Unit to Dipset. Subsequent releases from the duo were likewise influential, especially Hell on Earth (1996). However, by the late '90s, Mobb Deep was no longer setting trends; in fact, they seemed to be following them, and they lost some of their stature as subsequent generations of hardcore rappers arose. For a few years, Mobb Deep struggled to reclaim their commercial standing, until they eventually drifted into the G-Unit camp, where they signed a lucrative deal to join 50 Cent and company. Blood Money (2006), Mobb Deep's first release under the G-Unit banner, rekindled interest in the veteran duo, who enjoyed a substantial uptick in sales and airplay.

Prodigy (Albert Johnson, born November 2, 1974) and Havoc (Kejuan Muchita, born May 21, 1974) grew up in Queens, specifically the Queensbridge area, yet met in Manhattan, where both were students at Graphic Arts High School. Their shared love of hip-hop resulted in a natural companionship, and while they were still teens, the two young men had themselves a record deal with 4th & Broadway, a major rap label affiliated with Island Records. In 1993, the label released Juvenile Hell, a confrontational album featuring noteworthy production work by DJ Premier and Large Professor, who both within a year's time would move on to produce the debut of another young Queensbridge rapper, Nas. Not much came of Juvenile Hell, however, and it would be two more years before Mobb Deep would return.

When they did return in 1995, it was on a different label, Loud Records, and with a significantly developed approach. The Infamous featured a mammoth street anthem, "Shook Ones, Pt. 2," but it was a solid album all around, featuring also the in-house production work of Havoc and a couple high-profile features (Nas, Raekwon). The Infamous was more hardcore than its two key stylistic predecessors, Illmatic and Ready to Die; the beats were darker and harder-hitting while the rhymes were downright threatening yet still inventive and crafty. Moreover, there were no crossover hits like "Big Poppa" or "Juicy." In fact, there were no light moments at all. The Infamous was an uncompromising album for the streets, and it was championed as such.

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 spawned a couple hit singles that were given appropriately theatrical videos. 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 it took over two years for Mobb Deep to return with a new album, Murda Muzik, not released until April 1999, the rap landscape had changed significantly. Mobb Deep now had significant competition, and since Murda Muzik offered few innovations and lacked the spark of the duo's past two albums, it was met with some disappointment. By and large, fans enjoyed it, yet the album didn't appeal beyond the already established fan base, as the album only offered one major hit, "Quiet Storm." The following year, Prodigy released a solo album, H.N.I.C. (2000). It got a lukewarm reception, appealing to the duo's fan base yet spawning no hits.

When Mobb Deep resurfaced, in December 2001 with Infamy, they showcased a new willingness to reach beyond their fan base. "Hey Luv" was issued as a single, and it was the first Mobb Deep song to flirt with R&B crossover, or even to mention love, for that matter. The song got some airplay, thanks in part to its hook, which is sung by the R&B act 112, and its video, which played up the song's air of seduction. Nonetheless, Infamy proved to be a relative disappointment commercially, and it seemed like Mobb Deep was beginning to see their popularity erode with each passing year. It didn't help, either, that around this time the duo -- and Prodigy, in particular -- had been attacked by Jay-Z on "Takeover." And too, that Loud Records would go out of business, leaving Mobb Deep without a label deal. For the next few years, from roughly 2002-2005, Prodigy and Havoc tried to regain their footing. There were one-off albums released via various label arrangements -- Free Agents: The Murda Mix Tape (Landspeed, 2003), Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive, 2004), and The Mix Tape Before 9/11 (X-Ray, 2004) -- that made minimal impact. By this point, not even the fan base was all that interested; it had been eroded with each passing year, leaving few faithful.

Then came a surprise announcement that 50 Cent had signed Mobb Deep to his G-Unit family and that an album would be forthcoming. First came a quick remix featuring the latest G-Unit signing, "Outta Control," which supplanted the original version when 50's The Massacre was reissued in 2005 as a CD/DVD. Too, Mobb Deep had become omnipresent on the New York mixtape scene, releasing all kinds of streets-only material in attempt to re-establish themselves. It evidently worked, as Blood Money debuted in the Top Ten of Billboard's album chart and brought more exposure to Mobb Deep than the duo had enjoyed since their late-'90s heyday. Not everyone was convinced by the group's makeover, however, as the G-Unit approach was substantially more polished than the Mobb Deep of The Infamous. Still, Mobb Deep found a new generation of younger listeners -- the large G-Unit market base, in particular -- who were mostly unfamiliar with them. It had been over a decade since The Infamous, after all, and Mobb Deep had been out of the spotlight for years. Then, in early 2008, Prodigy went away to prison to serve a three-year sentence, putting Mobb Deep's future in question.

Wikipedia:

Mobb Deep is an American Hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consisted of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast Hip-Hop groups". The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones Pt. II". Mobb Deep have become one of the most successful rap duos in Hip Hop having sold over three million records. The majority of their albums have been critically acclaimed, in particular The Infamous, which is considered to be classic among avid Hip-Hop listeners and general fans. They are partially credited for the resurgence of East Coast rap in the early to mid-'90s. Havoc and Prodigy were also judges for the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers and breakthroughs. The group was briefly disbanded as of 2012 after a beef broke out between the members, but that discrepancy has since been dealt with and the group has reunited for the 2013 Paid Dues festival in California.

Biography [edit]

Origins [edit]

Havoc and Prodigy are two rappers from the Queensbridge Housing Projects that met when they were 14, who started their career in music in 1986. They both attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Originally dubbing themselves the Poetical Profits, the duo later changed its name to Mobb Deep to "reflect their reputation on the streets." It is rumored that before the group's career beginnings, Prodigy was fifteen when he was featured on the classic movie soundtrack Boyz In The Hood in a track called Too Young. In 1993, when Havoc and Prodigy were nineteen, they released their debut album self-titled, Juvenile Hell which was promoted by the single "Peer Pressure." The album sold poorly and eventually met with harsh reviews that dismissed the duo as just another hardcore group with little to distinguish it from the rest of the hip-hop world, despite production by DJ Premier and Large Professor. However, a few songs from Juvenile Hell gained recognition, including "Hit It from the Back," "Locked in Spofford" and "Me and My Crew". Moreover, in 1993 Havoc made a guest appearance on the critically acclaimed Black Moon album Enta Da Stage on a song titled "U Da Man." In 1994 the duo released a single titled "Shook Ones Part 1", which contained verses that later were incorporated into their most commercially successful song, "Shook Ones Part 2".

Rise to success [edit]

The group saw its first major success with their second album, The Infamous released in 1995. Mobb Deep catapulted to the top of the hardcore hip-hop scene through Havoc and Prodigy's straightforward narration of street life. In this album, Mobb Deep portrayed the struggles of living in New York City's Queensbridge Houses where they grew up. Following the release of The Infamous, Mobb Deep became some of the most prolific artists of the East Coast in regards to the hardcore Hip Hop sub-genre. The production of this album was very dark and sample-based thanks to Havoc, who produced the beats almost exclusively throughout Mobb Deep's career. Furthermore, the smash hit single "Shook Ones Pt. II" received critical acclaim and was well-received within the Hip Hop community.

Mobb Deep's third album, Hell on Earth was released in 1996 debuting at number six on the Billboard Album Chart; the album continued the duo's portrayal of harsh street life while further pushing them to the forefront of the hardcore Hip Hop scene along with contemporary East Coast Rappers like The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan collective, Jay-Z and fellow Queensbridge Associate Nas. Both Method Man and Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan appear on 'Hell on Earth'.

In 1996, they appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan and Fat Joe among many other prominent Hip Hop artists. This compilation was solely meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men and this compilation was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source Magazine, a Hip Hop Publication. 1997 Mobb Deep was feature on Frankie Cutlass "Politic & Bullsht" album track title "Know Da Game" which also feature Kool G Rap. In 1998, the duo collaborated with a reggae dancehall rapper named, Bounty Killer on the track "Deadly Zone" for the soundtrack to Blade. In 1999, they released the highly anticipated Murda Muzik album in which despite extensive bootlegging, the majority of its songs were unintentionally leaked which resulted in delays in the official album release. When the album officially released it eventually debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and quickly received Platinum Certification and further promoted by the popular single "Quiet Storm." Shortly afterward, Prodigy released his long-awaited solo album H.N.I.C in which the artist collaborated with fellow artist on the likes of, (B.G. and N.O.R.E.) and lastly, producers (including The Alchemist, Rockwilder, and Just Blaze).

East Coast vs. West Coast feud [edit]

Mobb Deep was part of the infamous East Coast vs West Coast Hip Hop rivalry that was fueled and increasingly promoted by the private media. The beef started when Snoop Dogg and the West Coast group, Tha Dogg Pound released "New York, New York" which Mobb Deep, along with Capone-N-Noreaga and Tragedy Khadafi responded with the song "L.A L.A" (This song can be found on Capone-N-Noreaga's debut album The War Report). This song was released during rapper Tupac Shakur's final days of incarceration. Members of Tupac's group, Outlawz, allegedly attended a Mobb Deep concert; they then visited with Tupac over public rumoring that the duo had snubbed them at the concert. Tupac dissed Mobb Deep on multiple tracks, including: "Hit 'Em Up" and "When We Ride on Our Enemies" in which Tupac makes light of Prodigy's sickle-cell disease. Additional Tupac diss tracks include: "Bomb First (My Second Reply)" and "Against All Odds", both of which were released on Tupac's posthumous studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. Mobb Deep retaliated on their 1996 release of Hell on Earth, which contains a diss track entitled "Drop A Gem On 'Em."

2000 to 2010 [edit]

Mobb Deep released Infamy while in 2001 the song "Burn" (featuring Vita) was perceived as a response to Jay-Z's diss song "Takeover" on The Blueprint, as was "Crawlin'," in which Prodigy's two verses both mention Jay-Z. The album marked a major stylistic change in which the duo moved away from a raw, minimalist, stripped-down beat toward a commercial friendly in terms with such songs as "Hey Luv (Anything)." This transition fostered accusations of "selling out". They eventually led the group's fanbase upset and many long-time fans who did not wish to see them veer away from their original style eventually lost some interest in their music. Although these stylistic adjustments opened up by Mobb Deep to a wider audience, many critics and fans consider their style change as a detriment to Mobb Deep's street image and record sales (most evident when comparing the platinum-selling Murda Muzik to Infamy which struggled to attain gold-record status). In 2003, the group split with Loud Records and released Free Agents: The Murda Mix Tape, in which Havoc and Prodigy proclaimed themselves "free agents" and addressed the group's split with its old label and its search for a new label. Jive Records signed the duo later in the year through a deal with the group’s own imprint. Mobb Deep then released Amerikaz Nightmare in 2004 which was seen by the general hip-hop audience as an "weaker release"; this resulted in poor sales and the group’s subsequent departure from the label. Mobb Deep also gained some fame after "Dirty New Yorker" was featured in Grand Theft Auto IV. Today, as a result of various mergers, all of Mobb Deep's studio albums from 1995 to 2004 are owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

G-Unit Records [edit]

In June 2005, Prodigy and Havoc announced they had signed with 50 Cent's label G-Unit Records. The move was surprising among Hip Hop fans because 50 Cent had ridiculed the group in his song "Piggy Bank". 50 Cent had a connection to Mobb Deep as he grew up in Queens and Havoc had provided production on projects by G-Unit, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. The relationship strengthened as Prodigy and 50 Cent each received tattoos to pledge their loyalty to each other. Prodigy has the word "G-Unit" tattooed on the side of his right hand and 50 Cent has "Mobb Deep" tattooed on his wrist. As part of their contract with G-Unit, both Prodigy and Havoc were given new Porsches. Later, Mobb Deep signed different artists onto Infamous/G-Unit Records including Nyce, 40 Glocc and Gail Gotti. Mobb Deep released their eighth album, Blood Money in 2006. It features G-Unit members 50 Cent, Kav Thee Sav, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as well as Mary J. Blige and Nate Dogg. In 2006, Mobb Deep became the first American hip-hop duo to perform in India, via VH1's Hip Hop Hustle. It performed in a nightclub called Enigma. In late 2009, Mobb Deep were released from their contract with 50 Cent's G-Unit label.

2011 to present: Sixth studio album, break-up, reconciliation [edit]

On April 4, 2011, a possible new Mobb Deep single leaked on the internet named "Dog Shit", this song features rapper Nas. This is the first official song by Mobb Deep since Prodigy made his return from jail and their first consensual collaboration with Nas in nearly ten years due to their feud (notable exception: member Prodigy & Nas appearing on producer The Alchemist's album 1st Infantry, on song "Tick Tock"). It is produced by Havoc and Alchemist. In the longrun of their relationship, they are also recording an upcoming, self titled album (which will be their ninth studio album) with production from Havoc, The Alchemist, Sid Roams, DJ Premier, MTK, Cardiak and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League as well as other guest artists such as; Rick Ross, Lil' Kim, Wiz Khalifa, Odd Future and Nas on their new album. On November 21, 2011, the duo released an EP called Black Cocaine.

On July 27, 2012, Havoc told AllHipHop in interview that group is on an indefinite hiatus. According to HipHopDX, Havoc and Prodigy had fallen out after Havoc blasted Prodigy on Twitter, and eventually, a sound clip leaked of him taking numerous shots at his former Mobb Deep comrade during their concert at SXSW. At first, Havoc claimed that he was hacked. However, he then confirmed it was him because he felt that Twitter was not a place to resolve a beef. He also stated that he had a diss track aimed at Prodigy in store for the making. "Same Shit Different Day" was recorded to take a direct hit towards Prodigy. The song later turned out to be "Separated (Real from the Fake)", which is slated to appear on Havoc's upcoming solo album 13.

However in January 2013 Prodigy would say that he is sure he would record with Havoc in the future. Mobb Deep will be appearing on Papoose's debut album The Nacirema Dream on the track "Aim, Shoot". According to the 2013 Paid Dues lineup Mobb Deep will be reuniting to perform on March 30, 2013. They would later confirm to be reuniting for Paid Dues and an international 20th anniversary tour starting in May 2013. On March 22, 2013 they would officially reunite for an interview and explain the whole situation of that happened between them, but go on to say the music is the most important thing and that they had love for each other and have been friends for too long to breakup the friendship.