There’s never an opportune time to go to jail. But Prodigy’s upcoming three-and-a-half year sentence for carrying an unlicensed gun truly couldn’t have come at a worse time for him, professionally. In ’07, the more lyrical half of the legendary Mobb Deep ignited an underground buzz by releasing Return of The Mac, one of the year’s best albums, and by injecting YouTube with some grimy old-fashioned New York street rap, via his dark and violent, straight-to-internet videos. But the man born Albert Johnson has not rested on his laurels or been idle in the months leading to his up-north trip. March will see the release of another solo album, H.N.I.C. 2 (mostly produced by his Mobb partner Havoc, and Alchemist), and he’s shooting videos for its every song – ensuring there’s plenty of material left behind. P got on the phone with Rhapsody over the holidays to talk some things out, like his feelings on kids and guns, on his long-standing beef with Jay-Z, and on Mobb Deep’s legacy.
On not releasing H.N.I.C. 2 on Koch Records
Prodigy: [Koch] gave me close to a million [dollars] for H.N.I.C. 2 and Return Of The Mac. But I ain’t want that sh*t coming out on Koch ‘cause to me, Koch is a mixtape company. They can’t handle the caliber of that album. They wasn’t playing ball to get that kind of album. They need to step the budget up like another million to get that [laughs]. If there had been more money involved, I would’ve given them that. But it’s gotta be worth my while to give up something so important to me. That’s why my plan was never to [release H.N.I.C. 2] with them. I just did it to get the money and run. My plan worked.
On no longer wearing jewelry
I’ve been real heavy with the jewels since I was 13 or 14. My mind is in different place right now. I just see things differently. I might throw it on for a video, but you ain’t gonna see me in that sh*t anymore. I ain’t denouncing [my V.I.P. persona]. I just choose not to wear it anymore. But I got sh*t in the closet, just in case anybody is like, “oh, P’s broke.” “He spent all his money on his court case.” “G-Unit deal wasn’t as good as they thought it was gonna be. He had to sell all his jewelry.” Nah, I got all my sh*t. So I can always pull it out like, “Shut the f*ck up.”
On the video of him and his seven-year-old son at the gun range
When I taught my son how to shoot a gun it was because I owned a legal, registered shotgun at my house. When I bought it from the gun store, the guy asked me if I had kids in the house. He said, “When your kids get to a certain age, you gotta teach them how to shoot. Because if you don’t, when the gun is in the house, the kid is going to get curious and play with it. But if you teach him how to shoot the gun, then the kid is going to understand the power that the weapon has.” When [my son] turned seven, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, and he told me to take him to the range and teach him how to shoot the gun. I said aright because when he gets older, I was gonna have to teach him anyways. When [my daughter] gets older, I’m going to [tell her about it as well].
On his feelings about Jay-Z now
He’s always gonna be Gay-Z no matter what. We could do business or even if he wants a beat from Havoc, that nigg*’s still Gay-Z to me. We seen each other in Justin’s [right after the infamous 2001 Summer Jam, where the Jay/Mobb Deep/Nas beef took off]. I was with a whole bunch of my nigg*s. It was just him and like one or two security guards. Soon as he seen me, he just walked straight up to me with his hand out like, “Yo, it’s all love. It ain’t beef. It’s just rap.” I’m like, “Yeah, aright whatever.” He seen how I could of did him. We Mobb Deep. It’s not a game. It’s for real, son. It’s a whole gang of us. We not playing. We from the ‘hood. He thought we were gonna pounce on him. My n*gg*s wanted to jump on him. The Summer Jam thing didn’t really upset me. That’s just reality. When I was younger I thought I was Michael Jackson and my grandmother had a dance school. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody my age wanted a Michael Jackson jacket back then. But Jay-Z was lying talking about ballerina pictures. People who weren’t at the concert think P had a tutu on or a ballerina suit ‘cause that’s what Jay said in his rhymes. That was some slick sh*t he did to f*ck people’s perceptions up. I was more mad about how this b*tch-*ss n*gg* gonna say something years after all the East Coast and West Coast sh*t go down [on “Money, Cash, Hoes.”]. Shut the f*ck up. Mind your business. That sh*t ain’t got nothing to do with you. ‘Cause when it did have something to do with you, you didn’t have anything to say. You was more quiet than a church mouse. We was the only ones still going to LA and doing shows in Cali, risking our life. It was just us and Biggie going hard. That’s why I feel like I do about the situation, because that n*gg* talking about some sh*t that he ain’t even know, talking about he’s trying to restore the feeling. You ain’t restoring no feeling. I’m glad you successful with your records and you’re getting a lot of airplay and video play, but you ain’t restoring no feeling. We the ‘hood. We the heartbeat of the street. We the ones holding this sh*t down. I just put [our beef] aside for Sam Scarfo, so [Jay and I could work together on] his album [when he was on Def Jam]. But we ain’t [addressed the past beef or our differences].
On Mobb Deep’s legacy
You can’t put nobody with us. We in a class of our own. [Gang Starr and EPMD] can’t stand with us because we lasted longer than them. You can’t compare Gang Starr to Mobb Deep, anyways. It’s two different things. Gang Starr is only one person rapping. Mobb Deep is two. I’m just saying we lasted longer than all these nigg*s. That’s the bottom line at the end of the day.
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
I GREW UP ON HAV & P DATING BACK TO THE JUVINLE HELL ALBUM, BUT TO SAY MOBB DEEP IS BETTER THAN GANGSTARR AND EPMD IS A BOLD STATEMENT. ALL 3 GROUPS IS BANGIN' JUST DO YOUR BID AND COME HOME SAVE...
This dude is wack. He needs money and the only the magazines will pay him if he speaks Jay Z's name. The section about Jay-Z is longer than the of the article put together. Get off this man's d*ck.
He sounds like a lil girl.
Man this dude has 2 be the stupidest guy in rap, i wonder if he even thinks about what he is saying. Mobb deep better than gangstarr??? P i hope u do heavy re-evaluating about ya life when u doing ya bid homey cuz ur such a dumb *ss. Your like 30 yrs old goin 2 jail for such a stupid reason, im sure u got some type of money, ya mouth always getting you punched in tha grill or having ya chain snatched off ya neck, thats probably why u aint gonna wear jewels anymore. Now after all these years u wanna take shots at hov again, you was the one that said it was all good with jay that ya had squashed the beef and was ready 2 do business with him, now u talkin reckless again after like 7 years. Dude get ya mind right in jail man please, this is the same guy who in a recent interview said he has been preparing his whole life to go 2 jail, its like this n*gg* is so corny, and im a big mobb deep fan, but P u gotta grow up this nigga has been herbed his whole life. Im from queens and ive heard so many stories from real street niggas about P, i dont know if they are true but ive heard so many things about this dude thats its like some of it gotta be true. The only thing P is guilty of is being a stupid *ss tryin 2 be extra hard nigga who weighs like what? a buck and change, i aint no thug or nuttin but i swear i could probably kill this n*gg* in a fight man, i mean P wuz really good wit u man.
Why dun dissing EPMD? First of all Mobb Deep is some cut. G-Unit is some bustas. Okay only one of Gangstarr raps but he is nicer than you, fool.
Hell yeah,mobb deep are way better than EPMD and all the other rap group ever.They all know that,they just dont want to admit it.I dont know how
is possible that they are so underrated.They ARE THE BEST RAP GROUP EVER PERIOD.
The mobb is the street man I was in the group home lincoln j=hall berkshire farms and max juve n=knocking n*gg* out to shook ones part 1. Igive mobb deep the props. I dont mix 80 rap with gangster rap its not same back then you dance to that epmd or think to ssome gangstar. But mobb deep that sit up and the spot for mouth come out with gs and hand and never had to worry about snitch *ss n*gg*. You new rappers are just saying the same thing these vets said and you just geting the sh*t off because some of these dudeds in the staes are some cowards and they never seen no real live shit I seen mobb deep up in rochester back 1995 they came to my cuz spot early drinking vodka and smoking weed and rooling dice early and the morning, for sucker *ss cat to say mobb deep didn;t effect the rap whith that infamous album you dudes some lambs jay z wasn't even hot yat he was in nas shadow where f*ck you n*gg*s live I smaCK u come to rock that my ewordf
P IS THE ILLEST THAT HNIC IS A CLASSIC HOLD UR HEAD P
OutKast>>>>Mobb Deep. Honestly
yeah right n*gg*s are crazy this n*gg* p's the truth and the streets if you aint from the streets of course you aint gonna understand that man i'm from the hood so there aint nothin you can tell me about mobb deep so salute n*gg*
how the f*ck u gonna say u aint wearin ur jewels no more then in the same breath say aww ill juss wear them in videos or sh*t like that i think its juss cuz u aint got no jewels and the shit in the video will prolly be rented. actin like u some type of above the game legend or some shit mobb deep is juss iight i mean havoc is co0l but P wants tooo much credit like. and he is not f*ckin wit jay like every time i see prodigy's name he always talkin some kind of shit like shut the f*ck upp ur washed up and ur mad jay doin things and u aint doin shit
He sounds like a 12 year old with a crush talking about "Gay-Z." Mobb Deep has enough quality stuff to point to in their career without falling on this junior high stuff.
keep ya head up P - m.o.b.b 4ever
GAY-Z JAY-OVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
MOBB is the illest
DAMN 7 YEARS LATER STILL CRYING ABOUT HOV? DAMN PRODIGY LOST
This little dude is just plain silly. Look at him in that picture, how old is P? 33...34?
Jay-Z done took over the world;from making sure children in Africa get clean drinking water to opening mad 40/40s to potentially partnering with Apple on some next level music sh*t. Hov is GLOBAL.
What's P doing? meaning mugging in photos like it's 1992 and getting ready to start a 3 year bid with his sickle cell *ss.
As far as Mobb being the best rap group ever? Come on, Stop that. What about The Wu, What about NWA, Public Enemy, OutKast, Tribe, Run DMC...
Premier > Havoc. Guru > Prodigy
Save that bullsh*t for Saigon. Jay's onto bigger and better sh*t, while ur doin 3 for doin sh*t he couldve paid a homey to do. Longtime fan of M.D., but talkin greasy like that is slowly makin me lose respect for Prodigy. Better than EPMD? Stop it nigg*!
Agreed. More like Mobb Weak.
I never have really liked Mobb Deep, mostly because generally, they can't write a good hook.
Second, P is a moron. Everything he says in his songs makes me wish he'd read a book or two in is lifetime. He's near retarded.
Seriously, I'd put money on Flavor Flav before P on Jeopardy.
MOB DEEP IS COOL, BUT THIS GUY HAS TO GROW UP AND LET THE "MOB DEEP IS THE STREETS" SH*T GO. TUPAC LET THEM HAVE IT, JAY LET THEM HAVE IT, NAS AND 50 LET THEM HAVE IT, SO LYRICALLY THEY ARE O WINS AND 4 LOSSES. AS FOR THE STREET SH*T, TRU LIFES CREW SEEMED TO BE A BIT MORE STREET WHEN THEY RODE ON THE MOBB AND TOOK THEIR JEWELS. SO I WOULD HAVE TO TELL PRODIGY TO GROW UP AND FOCUS ON MAKING GOOD MUSIC, WHICH YOU HAVE SHOWN THAT YOU CAN DO.
wow. delusions of grandeur. ballerina p is constantly destroyin' mobbs rep with this b*tchmade sh*t.
biggin' up his chest cause jay and maybe two bodyguards were up against nuff of his crew. what part of the game is that? the fact dude didn't bolt makes him look better than this napoleon complex midget.
and seriously, shouldn't he be addressin' saigon after gettin' snuffed. instead i hear crickets.
how many good albums have they got compared to gangstarr or epmd? man, just don't drop the soap.
tired of this foolio, meanwhile tragedy may end up doin' up to 4 years.
I agree with P! Jay a biter, cameron's a b*tch and he even proved Jayz has to bite to come up with good original sh*t...he needs to retire. Michael Jordan was the only one to retire and come back bangin! and deserved it! so where are EMPDGGYUF and gangstarr now??? like P said, Mobb is still going strong and true!!!! and didnt fall off!!! Get your facts straight! f*kin teeny bopber fans, f*kin hate em!
the lox is better than mobb deep... and the lox does not look like some black leprechauns
Good luck with that bid, homie.
Boost Mobile Anthem 2.0
Behind the scenes with Jeezy, JD and Mickey Avalon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3er-A6HsW8w
first off all you lames who dont wanna give P his respect is wack. You talk of how old he is, how old are you to not know the difference between a rap career and your personal life. If he aint rockin chains when he albert then he need to rock em as P. Yall confused like this rap s**t is real. Its a business. You do or say what ever is needed to get publicity. Thats why you work a 9 ta 5 and we do what we wanna do. I got sickle cell and whoever thinks that s**t is a joke got life twisted.Yall dont know what pain is man. You might can take a little more physically but mentally ya still pups. Hold ya nutts P and get some real house tatts while u in,One. D2
Prodigy has his own channel on kyte.tv! He has a whole bunch of shows on there, all which he produced himself!!
Check it out!
http://www.kyte.tv/ch/29254-the-official-hnic2-channel
It makes me sad to see that Prodigy's talent is going to be limited by bars. Especially a talent for the fans- I've been an avid mob deep fan for a while now, and when I came across hnic2.com, prodigy's channel (kyte.tv) offers an inside look at the rappers life behind the scenes, and also allows for fans to leave audio/video and text messages directly to the artist, It was the best surprise a grateful fan could find, I definitely suggest you check it out!