On this date in 1996, the “infamous” crew from Mobb Deep dropped album number three entitled Hell On Earth. The Mobb-produced project was released under the epic Loud/RCA imprint introduced many of the extended QB/Mobb family including raspy-voiced Twin Gambino, Big Noyd, and a few others. Hav and P enlisted some of the game’s top dogs of the time for this album including their QB brethren Nas, Wu’s Raekwon the Chef, and Method Man.
This certified gold classic was unquestionably a part of the East Coast arsenal against the West Coast during the height of the rivalry, with tracks such as the title track, “Still Shinin’”, and of course, “Drop A Gem On ‘Em”, sending overt threats at Tupac Shakur and his cohorts. Other standout joints include “G.O.D. Pt.III”, where Prodigy drops some street knowledge, “Blood Sport”, and “Give It Up Fast” featuring Noyd and Nas. This album was also the project that confirmed Havoc’s skills as a producer, which led to several other projects outside of the Mobb.
Salute to P, Hav, Noyd, Gotti, Twin, Ty Nitty, Nas, Rae, Meth, Steve Rifkind, and everyone else involved with this classic album!
Mobb Deep and The Alchemist are cooking. Hitting Instagram, Havoc and Al teased unreleased music. In the video, Havoc stated “New Mobb Deep coming soon. R.I.P. Prodigy.”
The Alchemist added, “You already know what it is. Mobb Deep coming soon, baby. Infinite.”
Havoc and Prodigy changed hip-hop. As Mobb Deep, they perfected the hardcore East Coast sound. They also sold three million records in the process, making them one of the most respected duos in the genre’s history. Havoc and Prodigy also found success as solo artists, but the latter’s life was tragically cut short by sickle cell disease. Prodigy died on June 20, 2017 at the age of 42. A lot of time has passed, but Havoc is still paying respects to his former partner.
Havoc took to Instagram on June 20 to honor Prodigy’s memory. He posted various photos of him and Prodigy over the years, along with a heartfelt caption. “Missing my brother,” he wrote. “Today marks 7 years, feels like just yesterday we were rocking them stages and reflecting on our journey.” The rapper followed up this post with a second. A simpler post, with only one photo and one phrase, but emotional nonetheless. “Day one’s,” he wrote under a photo of the two rappers as children. This isn’t the firs time Havoc has spoken highly of his partner in public.
The rapper was questioned by TMZ shortly after Prodigy’s death and asked to make a statement. he made it clear that he needed time to grief. “I’m still f**ked up,” he admitted. “I can’t even listen to ‘Shook Ones’ or any songs. I can hardly look at the pictures… [we] met when I was 15. I’m 43 right now.. I still can’t believe it.” Havoc was continued to brandish and celebrated Mobb Deep’s legacy in the years since Prodigy’s passing. Especially when it comes to the anniversaries of seminal albums like The Infamous.
Havoc, who considers himself to be lyrically masterful, told Billboard that Prodigy outshined him on their breakthrough release. He does maintain, however, that he got Prodigy on the album before. “The whole album he stepped his game up,” Havoc conceded. “[When] we were on Juvenile Hell, I thought I was the lyricist of the group. When we started working on The Infamous album… as time went on I said ‘goddam, this dude is a animal.’” In 2023, Havoc announced that a new Mobb Deep album would be released with previously unheard Prodigy verses.
Havoc and Prodigy changed hip-hop. As Mobb Deep, they perfected the hardcore East Coast sound. They also sold three million records in the process, making them one of the most respected duos in the genre’s history. Havoc and Prodigy also found success as solo artists, but the latter’s life was tragically cut short by sickle cell disease. Prodigy died on June 20, 2017 at the age of 42. A lot of time has passed, but Havoc is still paying respects to his former partner.
Havoc took to Instagram on June 20 to honor Prodigy’s memory. He posted various photos of him and Prodigy over the years, along with a heartfelt caption. “Missing my brother,” he wrote. “Today marks 7 years, feels like just yesterday we were rocking them stages and reflecting on our journey.” The rapper followed up this post with a second. A simpler post, with only one photo and one phrase, but emotional nonetheless. “Day one’s,” he wrote under a photo of the two rappers as children. This isn’t the firs time Havoc has spoken highly of his partner in public.
The rapper was questioned by TMZ shortly after Prodigy’s death and asked to make a statement. he made it clear that he needed time to grief. “I’m still f**ked up,” he admitted. “I can’t even listen to ‘Shook Ones’ or any songs. I can hardly look at the pictures… [we] met when I was 15. I’m 43 right now.. I still can’t believe it.” Havoc was continued to brandish and celebrated Mobb Deep’s legacy in the years since Prodigy’s passing. Especially when it comes to the anniversaries of seminal albums like The Infamous.
Havoc, who considers himself to be lyrically masterful, told Billboard that Prodigy outshined him on their breakthrough release. He does maintain, however, that he got Prodigy on the album before. “The whole album he stepped his game up,” Havoc conceded. “[When] we were on Juvenile Hell, I thought I was the lyricist of the group. When we started working on The Infamous album… as time went on I said ‘goddam, this dude is a animal.’” In 2023, Havoc announced that a new Mobb Deep album would be released with previously unheard Prodigy verses.
Much more successful than their debut, The Infamous is hailed as a New York classic. Its gritty underground style is a staple in the hardcore movement going on at this time in New York. This album helped New York Hip Hop separate itself from the mediocre backpacker style that was popular a few years prior. Havoc and Prodigy‘s production shaped a new sound that could separate them from any NYC crime rhymer at the time.
Helping to pave the way for future artists like The Diplomats or A$AP Mob, The Infamous promoted a sound a lifestyle that appealed to a side of New York that wasn’t being spoken to or about by the politically charged artists that came in the late 80s and early 90s. Much like Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Mobb Deep acted as street prophets, spitting the truths of the hood without trying to be outwardly righteous about it. Featuring artists like Ghostface Killah, Nas, and Q-Tip, this project is a titan among its peers.
The album was a commercial success debuting at #15 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts. The album was certified gold within the first month of its release, and the three singles from the project all made appearances on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart, with “Shook Ones Pt. II” and Survival of the Fittest” both making it on to the Billboard Hot 100.
In the long history of hip hop, few acts can truly say they are as influential as Mobb Deep. The Queens, New York rap duo consists of members Havoc and Prodigy, and is often listed alongside the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and LL Cool J. Mobb Deep has sold over three million records, ranking them among the most successful rap duos of all time. Known for their gritty and unrelenting depictions of the streets, the group’s biggest hits include “Shook Ones (Part 2)” and “Survival of the Fittest.”
The instrumental track “Shook Ones (Part 2)” contains samples from Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones. The iconic beat has been a popular freestyle track in street cyphers, radio shows, and rap battles for decades. The Mobb Deep track also holds prominent placements in films such as 8 Mile and video games such as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and NBA 2K18. Further, the duo has released eight studio albums and appeared on several mixtapes. Though only one member remains, there have been rumors of a final Mobb Deep album as recently as 2023.
Prodigy
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 25: Prodigy of Mobb Deep visits Hip Hop Nation at SiriusXM Studios on February 25, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Prodigy tragically passed away in 2017 after a lifelong battle with sickle cell anemia. His death, which occurred while on tour in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Ghostface Killah, KRS-One, Ice-T, Onyx, and Havoc, prompted an outpouring of love and support from the hip hop community, including tearful social media posts and music shoutouts from the likes of Eminem, Lil Wayne, Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Questlove, and many others. The Mobb Deep rapper was 42.
Before Prodigy’s untimely passing, he pioneered the modern rap sound as part of Mobb Deep. The Queens rapper also released six solo albums, as well as a number of mixtapes and collaborative projects. In his final years, Prodigy was also responsible for writing many literary works, including an autobiography titled My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy.
Other written works from the rapper include a pair of crime novels penned in collaboration with British author Steven Savile. Prodigy also co-wrote a cookbook in 2016 featuring several recipes that could be made or replicated under prison conditions.
Havoc
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 22: Rapper Havoc of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep performs onstage at the Art of Rap festival at Hollywood Palladium on July 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Despite Prodigy’s untimely passing, Havoc has vowed to complete Mobb Deep’s illustrious discography with a final studio album. As recently as August 2023, Havoc has confirmed recording sessions with legendary producer The Alchemist. The remaining member of the duo has also teased unreleased Prodigy verses for the latest installation.
Like his partner, Havoc ventured into solo releases, dropping four studio albums between 2007 and 2014. As a notable producer, Havoc touts production credits on numerous releases over the years. The multi-hyphenate artist has produced hits with Kanye West, Rihanna, G-Unit, The Lox, and many more. Most recently, Havoc appeared behind the boards on 2023 releases such as Russ’ Chomp 2.5, Jabee’s Enough, and the recent 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne collab albumWelcome 2 Collegrove.
For now, only time will tell if the final Mobb Deep album will ever materialize. Of course, the project would undoubtedly serve as a perfect send-off for the iconic rap duo.
On this date in 2001, NYC kings of crime rhyme Mobb Deep released their fifth full-length studio album entitled Infamy on the Loud/Columbia imprint.
As the QB duo’s first album following their publicized beef on wax with Jay-Z, the controversy helped to bolster the album’s sales, recognized by the RIAA as certified gold, despite being created during the advent of the internet, in an era that will forever be known as ringtone music.
As one of the last full-length projects from the Mobb, Infamy offered up one of the few albums during that era that was approved by the streets as well as the industry. Tracks like “Get Away” and “Hey Luv,” which featured Bad Boy R&B group 112 spearheaded the album to commercial success with a more “acceptable” sound, while tracks like “The Learning (Burn)” featuring Rapper Noyd and Vita is an example of their ability to show you that the Mobb is still “Infamous”.
Salute to Prodigy (RIP), Havoc, Noyd and the rest of the Mobb who helped create this timeless piece of Hip Hop history!
Hip-Hop 50 is bringing some amazing stories of our culture. The latest comes from Mobb Deep’s Havoc, who revealed that he could have died while shooting the iconic “Shook Ones Pt. II” video.
Sharing with Vevo’s Footnotes, Havoc revealed he was involved in a chaotic fight on the site of the video, which could have led to his death.
The note reads, “One shocking moment was when me and a guy from my block got into an argument because he felt he wasn’t getting enough shine in the video. We started fighting and we both fell into a puddle of water, and one of the movie lights fell in with us. We could have gotten electrocuted to death. That was wild.”
In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Legendary Mobb Deep rapper, Havoc, recently chatted with SiriusXM host Coach PR on SiriusXM’s Shade 45, where he discusses his life, legacy and music.
During their conversation, Havoc reveals that his favorite Mobb Deep album is The Infamous and shares that he looked up to Q-Tip & Preemo. He also opens up about their fans and how incredible it is to see them reciting Mobb Deep lyrics.
Check out Havor speak on his favorite Mobb LP HERE
We’ve all heard the opening seconds of Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones, Part II”: A gas stove getting lit, clicking over and over until it turns into the cymbal beat of the song. It’s iconic and classic at this point. This became Mobb’s most popular song back in 1994. And while the stove sample is legendary, New York rapper Havoc is here to set the record straight. Via the SiriusXM radio show WkndWork, Havoc talked about how they got that sound and that the real story isn’t as cool as the myth that it came from an actual burner stove.
“You know when a myth [takes] a life of its own? You just be like, f*ck it, you don’t wanna hurt nobody’s feelings,” Havoc said in the interview. “So you just agree with the myth. I [will] be like, ‘Alright, f*ck it. Yeah, it’s from the stove.’” However, while people believe it’s a stovetop providing the sound behind the song, it’s actually a hi-hat. According to Havoc, “The truth of the matter is that the hi-hat that I used on the actual track of ‘Shook Ones’ sounds similar to a project stove.”
Mobb Deep was a hip-hop duo that rose to prominence in the 90s, right when hip-hop was taking off into mainstream consumption. It consisted of Havoc and Prodigy, two rappers working off each other and creating inventive sounds, like the hi-hat “stove” on “Shook Ones, Part II.” Sadly, Prodigy passed away in 2017 due to sickle cell anemia complications. The musical artist was 42 when he died.
As for Havoc, he conducted the SiriusXM interview while celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. “Shook Ones, Part II” was Mobb Deep’s most well-known track, showcased in Eminem’s movie 8 Mile. Havoc was known for creating new sounds with Mobb Deep’s music, including using a Herbie Hancock piano sample from the song “Jessica.” He slowed down the piano and altered it so that it gave an eerie vibe. He was so creative that people thought he used a real stove for the beat!
