Prodigy put his lifetime in between the papers' lines. He's the quiet storm n!gga who fight rhymes. P, yeah, you heard of him, the haunting lead vocalist who, along with partner-in-rhyme, Havoc, propelled Mobb Deep to platinum heights. On his debut solo release, H.N.I.C. (Head N!gga In Charge), Prodigy of Mobb Deep unveils a slew of gems that takes listeners on a journey through life, death and the pains of living in this cruel world. Prodigy's distinctive off-beat/on-beat rhyme style has effectively made him one of the most respected emcees in hip-hop. He explains his writing process, "When I write rhymes I think about who is poppin' right now. I try to come with some other sh!t that nobody is saying or if they did I twist my sh!t, so it sounds different." By the age of 15, Prodigy, an art & design student at the prestigious Graphic Arts High School in Manhattan, was trading rhymes with classmate-turned-rhyme-partner, Havoc. In 1993, Prodigy and Havoc released Juvenile Hell on 4th-n-Broadway. In 1995, Mobb Deep signed with Loud Records and released their classic opus, The Infamous. This album became the unofficial Mobb Deep debut and spawned the underground gold single "Shook Ones".... Hell On Earth followed in 1996 and Murda Muzik in 1999.
Murda Muzik spawned another classic with "Quiet Storm" and then another with the remix featuring Lil' Kim. "Quiet Storm" was originally intended to be a track for Prodigy's solo album. Prodigy reminisces, "That song was actually supposed to be Noyd, Havoc, and me. But these n!ggas wanted to go party and left me in the studio.... I sat there all night and wrote the song. I was gonna save it for my solo album, so I could just hand in the album all done. But n!ggas was like you gotta put that on the Mobb album. I was like hell no, that's my solo sh!t." He refused for six months and ultimately put it on the Murda Muzik LP. The song calmly worked its way from underground mix-tape favorite to a groundbreaking classic within a few months. In the tradition of "Shook Ones" and "Quiet Storm," Prodigy comes equipped with one of the most powerful records this year and first single to be released from H.N.I.C, "Keep It Thoro." "That's my flippin' on the whole industry song," confesses P. "A n!gga get tight sometime cause he feels that n!ggas don't show respect when it's due. So I just had to do a song that said f#ck everybody." Produced by honorary Mobb Deep producer, Alchemist, this amplified gem is sure to work its way from the corner to the clubs in no time. Cont'd below...
Instead of avoiding personal matters such as the state of his health, Prodigy tackles his battle with sickle cell on the emotional "Never Feel My Pain." "I felt that sh!t needed to be put out. A lot of n!ggas come out with songs about pain, but I'm saying you have never felt my pain." Quickly killing any speculation of a Mobb Deep break-up, Prodigy explains why he decided to release a solo album, "Mobb Deep is still Hav and me; my solo album is just a whole different project we comin' out. Before we started doin' Murda Muzik, I decided to put out some solo sh!t, because I was writing so many rhymes." Prodigy continues, "At one time, Mobb Deep was coming out like every two years and there was a big gap in between with no music out. We decided to release H.N.I.C. to fill the gap between Murda Muzik and the next Mobb album so that Mobb is consistently in the public's eye. On H.N.I.C., fans get the chance to soak in the provocative thoughts of one of hip-hop's most prolific lyricists. - Press Kit. R.I.P., Prodigy! H.N.I.C. isn't on streaming platforms, I'll update when its back.
