Prodigy (rapper)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Prodigy


Img_capt = Prodigy of the rap group Mobb Deep.
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Albert Johnson
Born =
Origin = Queens, New York City
Genre = Hip hop
Years_active = 1992–present
Label = G-Unit, Koch
Associated_acts = The Alchemist, Big Noyd, G-Unit, Havoc
URL = [http://www.HNIC2.com Prodigy's Official Website]

Albert Johnson, better known as Prodigy, is an American rapper and one-half of the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep with Havoc.

Biography

Early life

Born in Hempstead, New York, on Long Island, and raised in Queens, New York. He is of Ethiopian and Jamaican descent. Prodigy spent years making a name alongside partner Havoc on albums such as "The Infamous" in 1995, and "Hell on Earth" in 1996, before releasing his first solo album, "H.N.I.C.", on Loud Records in late 2000. In this album, Prodigy teamed up with a roster of outside producers such as the Alchemist and Rockwilder, trying to prove his own without Havoc's production to carry him. Even though Havoc did appear on two tracks, Prodigy undoubtedly proved himself to be a visionary solo artist, even going as far as to produce a couple songs himself. Though the album didn't elevate him to the superstar status of Jay-Z or DMX, he did win the hearts of both critics and fans alike as he had with his work in Mobb Deep, dropping harsh reality-based rhymes about the darker side of urban life with an unbalanced and sedate flow.

Mobb Deep members Prodigy and Havoc originally met while both attending the prestigious High School of Art and Design in Manhattan as teenagers, thanks to their mutual residence in Queens and passion for hip-hop. The duo released their debut album in 1993, "Juvenile Hell", on the Fourth & Broadway label. Though the album was not very successful from either a financial or critical standpoint, it did feature production by hip-hop legend Large Professor, and it did serve as a fitting platform for the duo to launch their careers; not only did the duo produce most of its own beats, but it also crafted its own style: a street-smart and poetic approach that centred on the ghetto lifestyle surrounding them. Their brutally honest reality rhyming and complementary melancholy beats landed them a deal with the up-and-coming Loud/RCA/BMG label in 1995, resulting in their first major-label release, "The Infamous".

Prodigy has two children, T'Shaka, 11, and Tasia, 8. Prodigy has been diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia.What Would You Do by Laura Checkoway. XXL Magazine. January 2008.]

Debut album

Propelled to awareness partially by fellow Queens rapper Nas, who took a similar approach lyrically on his championed "Illmatic" album from 1994, as well as with the aid of a successful single, "Shook Ones Pt. 2," Mobb Deep suddenly found themselves developing a quickly growing cult following. A year later, in 1996, Prodigy and Havoc released "Hell on Earth"; debuting at number six on SoundScan, the album found them fully realizing their approach, dropping both evocative beats and cinematic rhymes that communicated the dark side of New York's urban landscape. Thanks to a grim video for "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)" and theatrical Scarface-like photos inside the CD booklet picturing the duo with guns and a mound of cocaine, Mobb Deep had created an elaborate image for themselves that took hardcore gangsta rap to a new level for East Coast hip hop. Its next release, "Murda Muzik", was heavily bootlegged while still in its demo stage, leaking rough versions of the nearly 30 songs the duo had recorded onto the streets and over the internet.

Months after the bootlegs leaked and after several pushed-back street dates, "Murda Muzik" was formally released, debuting at number three on the Billboard charts and quickly going platinum on the strength of "Quiet Storm," a song that epitomized the Mobb Deep style. The album was welcomed by critics, who again lauded the group's lucid cinematics, driven primarily by Havoc's production. In late 2000, Prodigy finally released his long-rumoured solo album, "H.N.I.C.", which saw the more lyrically gifted member of the group collaborating with outside producers such as the Alchemist and Rockwilder on tracks that didn't depart far from the trademark sullen Mobb Deep style. Their follow-up, "Infamy", was the duo’s last album for Loud, distributed by Columbia Records and was, for some, a disappointment lyrically and musically, while others praised it as amongst the best rap albums of the year. Loud was absorbed by its new distributor shortly afterwards.

Mobb Deep then signed with Jive, under a unique deal that gave the duo its own imprint, Infamous Records, and released "Amerika'z Nightmare", a very uneven effort, which featured production by The Alchemist and Lil' Jon. However, despite a successful single that featured a Thomas Dolby sample. The duo was not happy with Jive, and were let go at its request. The duo took a hiatus afterwards and came back in 2006, signing to 50 Cent’s Interscope/Universal-distributed G-Unit imprint. Their well-hyped album Blood Money was a failure from the money side when compared to fellow label mates like 50 Cent, Young Buck and Lloyd Banks. Some accused the duo of selling out, with their beats and rhymes not up-to-par with previous efforts on Loud.

Recent events

He completed work on his third solo album "H.N.I.C. Part 2", which was previewed on his official mixtape "The Return of the Mac" on the independent label Koch Records. The mixtape single and mixtape video are called "Mac 10 Handle," and it shows Prodigy once again reverting to his trademark braids that he had prior to the release of Mobb Deep's 2004 "Amerika'z Nightmare" album; different from the short fade he had from 2004 to 2006. "H.N.I.C. Pt. 2" was released through Voxonic Inc., of which Prodigy is an equity holder.

In April 2007, Infamous Films announced that Prodigy will star and executive produce the film "H.N.I.C". In addition to Prodigy, the film will star Hassan Johnson, J.D. Williams, Davetta Sherwood, and Rick Gonzalez.

On October 9, 2007, Prodigy pleaded guilty to unlawful gun possession charges. Since this was his third gun conviction, he was facing a 15-year sentence. However, he struck a plea bargain giving him a commuted sentence of 3 1/2 years. Prodigy maintained the search of his car was illegal, motivated by his unwillingness to cooperate with the police in a buy and bust operation targeting rapper 50 Cent.

He is currently serving this time in prison. The conditional release date is March 7, 2011, while the maximum release date is September 9, 2011. Fact|date=August 2008 While he was serving time in prison, his album "HNIC 2" was released on April 22, 2008 on the Voxonic label. Voxonic possesses a technology of transforming anyone's voice into another language, so the album features a song which is partially translated into Spanish ("A,B,C"). Prodigy also set up a website before he began serving his sentence. On the site, he was answering questions from his fans and stating his opinions about current events.

On July 16, 2008 Prodigy did his first audio interview from prison for Philaflava.com. In the interview, he talks about his professional relationships with fellow rappers Nas, Q-Tip, and 50 Cent, as well as his thoughts about the upcoming presidential election. The interview is available for download or stream on the website.

On September 13, 2008 administration for prodigy's website posted a letter that they received from him. It reads:

"WHATS UP YALL,THE KID DON P, IS DOING JUST FINE. I MISS THE STREETS BAD THOUGH. WISH I WAS HOME IN THE MIX OF THE ACTION. T.O.S. IS OUT, HNIC PT.2 IS OUT AND I’M STUCK IN THIS STINK PIECE OF SHIT—MID STATE CORRECTIONAL, AINT THAT A BITCH!!! YO, THEY GOT BAT’S FLYING AROUND INSIDE. SHIT FLEW PASS MY FACE A FEW HOURS AGO. I HATE BATS!! I GET BIT, I’M SUING!

ANYWAY, I WAS WATCHING B.E.T. EARLIER AND I SEE YOUNG BUCK DUMB ASS OFFICIALLY CAME OUT THE CLOSET, AND IS OPENLY DISPLAYING HIS AFFECTION FOR GAME BOY IN THAT NEW VIDEO. DAMN, SON IS A VIDEO HOE NOW? I SEEN HIM IN A FEW JOINTS. SEE, BUCK LOST ME WHEN HE DID THAT MAGAZINE INTERVIEW AND SAID THAT HE’S GONNA SELL MORE THAN ANYBODY ON G-UNIT CAUSE HE’S THE NIGGA IN THE STREETS. SO IN OTHER WORDS, YOU IN THE STREETS AND EVERYBODY ELL’S IS STUDIO GANGSTA’S. YOU LOST MY LOVE FROM THAT POINT ON YOUNG COUSIN. SAD.

I ALSO HEAR J.Z. STILL TALKIN’ BOUT A SUMMER JAM SCREEN. DAMN, YOU STILL TALKIN’ BOUT THAT SHIT? THAT’S ALL YOU GOT MAN? DAMN, YOU RUNNIN’ OUTTA STEAM ALREADY? THAT JOKE AIN’T FUNNY NO MORE. YOU GONNA NEED SOME NEW MATERIAL QUICK IF YOU PLAN ON SURVIVING THIS WAR. YOU LOST YA PASS THE MOMENT YOU STOPPED FUCKIN’ WITH MY NIGGA SAM SCARFO. NOW YOU GET D.P’ED O.S. “DISCIPLINED ON SIGHT.” YOU BEST STAY UP UNDER BEYONCE’S SKIRT AND NEVER COME UP FOR AIR.

OH AND THAT HIGH YELLOW, DIRTY FACE ASS NIGGA JOE BUTT-FUCK? YOU GOTTA BE SHITTIN’ ME. WHAT THIS DUMB ASS NIGGA NAMED HIS ALBUM? MOOD RING? WHAT KINDA METROSEXUAL BULLSHIT IS THAT? THE STREETS AND THE PRISONS AIN’T NEVER IN THE MOOD FOR YA PERIOD. WOW, PEOPLE DON’T LEARN UNTIL HENNESSY GLASS IS ALL IN THEIR NOSTRILS. DAMN, I WISH I WAS HOME! BUT NO WORRIES, ME GOT SHIT LOADS OF SOULJA’S. I’M SURE I’LL BE GETTIN’ A KITE BOUT HOW THEY DANCED ON SOMEBODY HEAD. I HEARD MY NIGGA 4.0. GOT THE COVER OF THE NEW HIP-HOP WEEKLY.

I’M STILL WAITIN’ FOR MY AUTOGRAPHED COPY 40! WHAT UP WIT IT? YALL KNOW CALI GOT SERIOUS CODES THAT THEY LIVE AND DIE BY. SO, IF THE LIL’ NIGGA F.BABY DIDN’T PASS INSPECTION, THEN HE WAS VIOLATING. I FUCKS WIT BABY AND F.BABY. WE GO BACK TO WHEN WE DID THE SONG & VIDEO “Y.B.E.” WITH ME AND B.G. ON THE FIRST H.N.I.C. ALBUM. BUT, WHEN IT COMES TO G. CODES I’M FORCED TO STEP ASIDE. I CAN ONLY ASK 4.0. TO GO LITE ON EM’ BUT DOUBT THAT’S POSSIBLE. THIS AIN’T GOT SHIT TO DO WIT JEALOUSY OR ENVY AS SOME MIGHT ASSUME. IT’S 100% GANG SHIT. NIGGAS DON’T KNOW HOW TO CARRY THEY SELF LIKE MEN. IF YOU FLAGGIN’ DON’T TAKE YA COLORS OFF WHEN YOU SEE THE OTHER SIDE, BE A MAN AND GET TREATED ACCORDINGLY. THE SAME RULES APPLY EVEN IF YOU NOT FLAGGIN.’

NOW, I SEE HOW PAC FELT WHEN HE WAS CREATING HIS 7-DAY THEORY ALBUM. NO, I DON’T THINK I’M 2 PAC, NOR DO I WANT TO EMULATE HIM. BUT, I DO RELATE TO HIS REVOLUTIONARY STANCE AND HIS REBELLIOUS ATTITUDE. WE’RE IDENTICAL IN THOSE 2 CATAGORIES.

I MISS G-UNIT. MY NIGGAS 50, YAYO AND BANKS. I MISS HAVOC. I’VE NEVER BEEN AWAY FROM THE STUDIO FOR SO LONG IN MY LIFE. MADE NON-STOP MUSIC FROM 1990 UNTIL NOW. WE DROPPED A NEW ALBUM CONSISTANTLY EVERY 2 YEARS. H.N.I.C. 2 JUST DROPPED AND I’LL BE HOME IN 2 YEARS, SO WE’RE STILL ON POINT. BUT, IT JUST FEELS WEIRD BEING AWAY FROM HAVOC AND THE STUDIO. I DEFINITELY NEEDED THIS SHORT COMMERCIAL BREAK THOUGH. I’VE LEARNED A LOT SINCE I’VE BEEN DOWN. IT’S GONNA BE TROUBLE WHEN I GET HOME. HOPE YALL READY. I’M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THISIS50.COM HAS GROWN SO BIG. I’M HAPPY FOR DUN. AS IF HE AIN’T A GIANT ALREADY. DON’T WORRY 5, I’M MOVIN AT A SNAILS RATE FOR NOW, BUT I’M RIGHT BEHIND YOU.

HNIC2.COM IS ON THE RISE. I'MMA HOLLA AT MY BOY MATT YOUNG IN THE CHI AND WHEN I GET BACK, I’M TAKING BACK MY #2 SLOT ON KYTE WITH MY HNIC2 KYTE CHANNEL. SO, WHOEVER IS #2 PREPARE TO FALL BACK!!!!!!!!!AIGHT YALL, I’M DONE FOR NOW..

CATCH YOU LATERPRODIGY-HNIC2.COM"

2008 Presidential Election

In early June 2008, while many hip-hop artists were endorsing Democratic nominee Barack Obama, Prodigy revealed he wasn't too fond of the black candidate. He told BallerStatus.com that Obama was a "phony" and a "plastic president", but also wished him the best of luck. "I wish nothing but love and happiness for him," the rapper said. "But he's either gonna be assassinated to create chaos and bring about Martial Law or he'll live and then years down the line, at the end of his term everybody will see that he's just like the rest of these plastic Presidents, who does absolutely nothing good. Just another puppet for the Royal family." [ [http://www.ballerstatus.com/article/news/2008/06/4838/ Prodigy Calls Obama 'A Phony' And 'A Puppet'] "BallerStatus.com". June, 2008]

He has also voiced support for Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), praising the former Republican presidential candidate's stances on world government, world banking, and war. Prodigy raps about these issues in a track called "Illuminati" off his second solo album, "H.N.I.C. Pt. 2". [ [http://www.ballerstatus.com/music/645/ Music: Prodigy - "Illuminati"] "BallerStatus.com".]

Discography

olo albums

ingles

*"Keep It Thoro" (2000)
*"Rock Dat Shit" (2000)
*"Y.B.E." (2000)
*"Mac 10 Handle" (2006)
*"New York Shit" (2006)
*"Stuck To You" (2007)
*"A,B,C" (2007)
*"The Life" (2008)
*"Stop Stressin" (2008)

Filmography

* Blackout (2007)
* Murda Muzik (2004)

References

External links

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* [http://soundslam.com/articles/interviews/interviews.php?interviews=in070206_prodigy "Prodigy: Mac Attack"] - interview with SoundSlam
* [http://www.formatmag.com/features/prodigy/ Interview] with Format Magazine
* [http://nationofmillions.com/story.php?title=G-Units-Prodigy-To-Star-In-H-N-I-C--Movie H.N.I.C.] Movie info at NationofMillions.com
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* [http://hhlo.net/interviews/exclusive-interview-prodigy-live-from-the-belly "Prodigy: Live from the Belly"] - interview with Hip Hop Lives - HHLO.net