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Mobb Deep is a hip hop duo that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The group is perhaps most famous for its landmark 1995 album The Infamous and for the single "Shook Ones Pt. II." The group is currently signed to G-Unit Records. Although the group hasn't seen a large amount of commercial success, the majority of its albums have been met with critical acclaim, in particular for The Infamous, which is considered an East Coast classic, in the same league as Nas's Illmatic and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die.
Havoc & Prodigy started rhyming in the late 1980s when the duo met at the High School of Art and Design in
Mobb Deep is a hip hop duo that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The group is perhaps most famous for its landmark 1995 album The Infamous and for the single "Shook Ones Pt. II." The group is currently signed to G-Unit Records. Although the group hasn't seen a large amount of commercial success, the majority of its albums have been met with critical acclaim, in particular for The Infamous, which is considered an East Coast classic, in the same league as Nas's Illmatic and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die.
Havoc & Prodigy started rhyming in the late 1980s when the duo met at the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Havoc took the role of producer, while Prodigy assumed the position of primary emcee. Originally dubbing themselves the Poetical Profits, the duo later changed its name to Mobb Deep in order to "reflect their reputation on the streets." In the group’s early career, it released the single "Cop Hell."
While members of the clique were only 17, the clique released its debut album Juvenile Hell, which was led by the single "Peer Pressure." The album sold very poorly and was met with harsh reviews that wrote the duo off as just another hardcore group with little to distinguish them from the rest of the hip-hop world—especially with the group Illegal—despite production by DJ Premier and Large Professor. However, a few songs from Juvenile Hell gained a little recognition, such as "Hit It from the Back," "Locked in Spofford," and "Me and My Crew." Also in 1993, Havoc had a guest appearance in the critically acclaimed Black Moon album Enta Da Stage, on a song called "U Da Man."
While still at a young age, the duo catapulted itself to the top of the hardcore hip-hop scene through its straightforward narration of street life. As with their first lyrical production, Mobb Deep portrayed the struggles of living in New York City's Queensbridge Houses. Following its release, The Infamous became one of the most influential hip-hop albums of the East Coast hardcore hip-hop genre ever. The duo's production also was noticed as the beats were often hard-hitting and direct, a testament to Havoc, who produced the duo's tracks almost exclusively throughout their careers. Furthermore, the smash hit single "Shook Ones Pt. II" received critical acclaim and was well-received within the hip hop community. Its 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 emcees such as The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan collective, Jay-Z, and fellow Queensbridge associate Nas.
In 1999, the duo released the highly anticipated Murda Muzik album. Despite extensive bootlegging (nearly thirty songs of unreleased material leaked onto the Internet) and countless delays, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and quickly received platinum certification—further highlighted by the popular single "Quiet Storm." Shortly afterward, Prodigy released his long-awaited solo album H.N.I.C., in which the emcee collaborated with other artists (B.G., N.O.R.E.) and producers (including The Alchemist, Rockwilder, and Just Blaze).
Shortly after the release of Murda Muzik, Jay-Z spoke out against the duo, leading to an increase in publicity. Rumor has it that Prodigy took issue with two Jay-Z lines that he felt were subliminal shots at Mobb Deep. One line from Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter states, "How dare you look at Jigga like I'm shook like boo," which he interpreted as a reference to "Shook Ones Pt. II." These remarks were compounded with a line from another one of Jay-Z's albums, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life: "What the deal is? (huh?)/Its like New York's been soft Ever since snoop came through and crushed the buildings," which Prodigy felt referenced Mobb Deep's beef with Tupac Shakur, Snoop, and Death Row Records. Later, at the Hot 97 Summer Jam show of 2001, Jay-Z performed "Takeover," which attacked Prodigy and was later re-recorded for his album The Blueprint. He also revealed photographs of a young Prodigy dressed up like Michael Jackson in 1983, although Jay-Z claimed it was 1988
Mobb Deep subsequently released Infamy in 2001. The song "Burn" (featuring Vita) was perceived as a response to Jay-Z's diss on The Blueprint. The album marked a major stylistic change that in which the duo moved away from the raw, minimalist, stripped-down beats of their hardcore roots toward more commercial fare with such songs as "Hey Luv (Anything)." This transition fostered accusations of "selling out" — upsetting many long-time fans who did not wish to see them veer away from the duo’s original style.
Although these stylistic adjustments opened up Mobb's audience to a wider audience, many critics and fans credit Prodigy's feud with Jay-Z as damaging to Mobb Deep's gangsta image and record sales (most evident when comparing the platinum-selling Murda Muzik to Infamy, which struggled to attain gold-record status). There were no retaliation dis records back from these emcees.
In 2003, the group split with Loud Records and released Free Agents: The Murda Mix Tape, in which they proclaimed themselves as "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 and subsequently released Amerikaz Nightmare in 2004, which was seen by the general hip-hop audience as a weaker release by the duo, resulting in poor sales and the group’s subsequent departure from the label.
Infamous Records was a record label started by Mobb Deep in the late 1990s, but it did not get an imprint deal until 2004. It is now a subsidiary of G-Unit Records. In June 2005, Prodigy and Havoc surprised fans when the duo announced that it had signed with 50 Cent's label G-Unit Records. The move was surprising because 50 Cent had included an indirect diss to the group in his song "Piggy Bank." 50 Cent had a connection to the duo, as he grew up in Queens and also had used Havoc as a producer for several different beats for G-Unit's, Lloyd Banks' and Tony Yayo's albums. The relationship strengthened as Prodigy of Mobb Deep 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. Upon signing with G-Unit, both Prodigy and Havoc were given new Porsches, a gift for two artists who had received very little monetary compensation in the past. And later Mobb Deep signed different artists on Infamous/G-Unit Records such as Nyce, 40 Glocc & female rapper Gail Gotti.
Mobb Deep's most recent album, titled Blood Money, was released on May 2, 2006. It features G-Unit members 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck, as well as Mary J. Blige and Nate Dogg. This marked the duo’s eighth release. Since joining G-Unit, Mobb Deep has also become involved with the G-Unit vs. The Game feud. In the music video of "Outta Control", Mobb Deep is wearing T-shirts that say "G-Unit Game Over," referencing the Game's departure from G-Unit. Mobb Deep disses him in a 15-minute dis song with the rest of G-Unit called "300 Shots." As of October 2007, the group and its future albums are on hiatus due to Prodigy's arrest.
On November 3, 2006, Mobb Deep became the first ever American hip-hop duo to perform in India, via VH1's Hip Hop Hustle. It performed in a nightclub called Enigma from 12:30 am onward.
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