music
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep, also known as The Infamous Mobb Deep, is a hip hop duo made up of Havoc and Prodigy. Both members are natives of Queensbridge, New York City; located in Long Island City. They are perhaps most famous for their landmark album, The Infamous, and their accompanying hit single, "Shook Ones Pt. II".
Prodigy and Havoc met one another while attending the prestigious High School of Art And Design in Manhattan. Growing up in hostile environments that included the prevalence of poverty, drugs, and gang violence, Mobb Deep attempted to express their life experiences through rapping. They released their first album, Juvenile Hell, in 1993.
At a time when East Coast hip hop was dominated by the jazziness of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, and the Afro-centric stylings of Brand Nubian and Public Enemy, their style of music eschewed the popular conscious hip hop of the time, and reflected the harsh climate of New York City in the late-1980s and early-1990s.
Both Prodigy and Havoc were still in their teens at the time of their debut, surprising many by the violent nature of the album. Although the album was not well-received by the public, it displayed the raw talent of the duo; the unique chemistry of Prodigy's lyrical delivery combined with Havoc's melancholy beats. Through this unique style, the duo were signed by Loud Records, and began recording their second album, The Infamous in 1995, which would establish the duo in the hardcore hip hop community.
In 2003, the group split with Loud Records and released The Murda Mixtape which proclaimed "Free Agents" on the cover, addressing the group's split with Loud and search for a new label. Jive Records signed the duo later in the year and subsequently released Amerikaz Nightmare in 2004, which was seen by the general rap audience as a weaker release by the two, resulting in poor sales and the subsequent dropping of the duo from Jive.