Mobb Deep<\/strong>\u00a0is an\u00a0American\u00a0hip hop\u00a0duo from\u00a0Queensbridge, Queens,\u00a0New York,\u00a0U.S.,\u00a0that consists of\u00a0Havoc\u00a0and\u00a0Prodigy. The duo is \u00ab\u00a0one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast Hip-Hop groups.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery as exemplified by the single \u00ab\u00a0Shook Pt. II.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0Mobb Deep has become one of the most successful rap duos in hip hop, having sold over three million records.<\/p>\n Two of their albums have been\u00a0Ones\u00a0critically acclaimed,\u00a0The Infamous<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Hell on Earth<\/em>, the former of which is considered to be classic among avid Hip-Hop listeners and general fans.\u00a0They are partially credited for the resurgence of\u00a0East Coast rap\u00a0in the early to mid-1990s. The group briefly disbanded in 2012 after a feud broke out between its members, but that has since been resolved and they have reunited for a 20th anniversary tour and new self-titled album.<\/p>\n Havoc\u00a0and\u00a0Prodigy\u00a0met at the\u00a0High School of Art and Design\u00a0in\u00a0New York City. Originally dubbing themselves the Poetical Profits, the duo later changed its name to Mobb Deep to \u00ab\u00a0reflect their reputation on the streets.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0Before the group’s career beginnings, a fifteen year old Prodigy was featured on the classic movie soundtrack to\u00a0Boyz In The Hood<\/em>\u00a0on a track titled \u00ab\u00a0Too Young\u00a0\u00bb. In 1993, when Havoc and Prodigy were nineteen, they released their debut album,\u00a0Juvenile Hell<\/em>\u00a0which was promoted by the single \u00ab\u00a0Peer Pressure.\u00a0\u00bb The album sold poorly and eventually met with harsh reviews that dismissed the duo as just another hardcore group with little to distinguish it from the rest of the hip-hop world, despite production by\u00a0DJ Premier\u00a0and\u00a0Large Professor. Moreover, in 1993 Havoc made a guest appearance on the critically acclaimed\u00a0Black Moon\u00a0album\u00a0Enta Da Stage<\/em>\u00a0on a song titled \u00ab\u00a0U Da Man.\u00a0\u00bb In 1994 the duo released a single titled \u00ab\u00a0Shook Ones Part 1,\u00a0\u00bb which contained verses that later were incorporated into their most commercially successful song, \u00ab\u00a0Shook Ones Part 2.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n The group saw its first major success with their second album,\u00a0The Infamous<\/em>\u00a0released in 1995. Mobb Deep catapulted to the top of the hardcore hip-hop scene through Havoc and Prodigy’s straightforward narration of street life. In this album, Mobb Deep portrayed the struggles of living in New York City’s\u00a0Queensbridge Houses\u00a0where Havoc grew up. Following the release of\u00a0The Infamous<\/em>, Mobb Deep became some of the most prolific artists of the East Coast in regards to the hardcore Hip Hop sub-genre. The production of this album was very dark and sample-based thanks to Havoc, who produced the beats from this point forward.\u00a0Furthermore, the smash hit single \u00ab\u00a0Shook Ones Pt. II\u00a0\u00bb received critical acclaim and was well-received within the Hip Hop community.<\/p>\n Mobb Deep’s third album,\u00a0Hell on Earth<\/em>\u00a0was released in 1996 debuting at number six on the\u00a0Billboard 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\u00a0East Coast Rappers\u00a0like\u00a0The Notorious B.I.G.,\u00a0Wu-Tang Clan\u00a0collective,\u00a0Jay-Z\u00a0and fellow Queensbridge Associate\u00a0Nas. Both Method Man and Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan appear on ‘Hell on Earth’.<\/p>\n In 1996, they appeared on the\u00a0Red Hot Organization’s compilation CD,\u00a0America is Dying Slowly\u00a0alongside\u00a0Biz Markie,\u00a0Wu-Tang Clan\u00a0and\u00a0Fat Joe\u00a0among many other prominent Hip Hop artists. This compilation was solely meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men and this compilation was heralded as \u00ab\u00a0a masterpiece\u00a0\u00bb by\u00a0The Source\u00a0Magazine, a Hip Hop Publication. 1997 Mobb Deep was feature on\u00a0Frankie Cutlass\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Politic & Bullsht\u00a0\u00bb album track title \u00ab\u00a0Know Da Game\u00a0\u00bb which also feature\u00a0Kool G Rap. In 1998, the duo collaborated with a reggae dancehall rapper named, Bounty Killer on the track \u00ab\u00a0Deadly Zone\u00a0\u00bb for the soundtrack to\u00a0Blade<\/em>. In 1999, they released the highly anticipated\u00a0Murda Muzik<\/em>\u00a0album in which despite extensive\u00a0bootlegging, the majority of its songs were unintentionally leaked which resulted in delays in the official album release. When the album officially released it eventually debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and quickly received\u00a0Platinum\u00a0Certification and further promoted by the popular single \u00ab\u00a0Quiet Storm.\u00a0\u00bb Shortly afterward, Prodigy released his long-awaited solo album\u00a0H.N.I.C<\/em>\u00a0in which the artist collaborated with fellow artist on the likes of, (B.G.\u00a0and\u00a0N.O.R.E.) and lastly, producers (including\u00a0The Alchemist,\u00a0Rockwilder, and\u00a0Just Blaze).<\/p>\n Mobb Deep was part of the infamous East Coast vs West Coast Hip Hop rivalry that was fueled and increasingly promoted by the private media. The beef started when Snoop Dogg and the West Coast group, Tha Dogg Pound released \u00ab\u00a0New York, New York\u00a0\u00bb which Mobb Deep, along with\u00a0Capone-N-Noreaga\u00a0and\u00a0Tragedy Khadafi\u00a0responded with the song \u00ab\u00a0L.A L.A\u00a0\u00bb (This song can be found on Capone-N-Noreaga’s debut album\u00a0The War Report). This song was released during rapper\u00a0Tupac Shakur’s final days of incarceration. Members of Tupac’s group,\u00a0Outlawz, allegedly attended a Mobb Deep concert; they then visited with Tupac over public rumoring that the duo had snubbed them at the concert. Tupac dissed Mobb Deep on multiple tracks, including: \u00ab\u00a0Hit ‘Em Up\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0When We Ride on Our Enemies\u00a0\u00bb in which Tupac makes light of Prodigy’s\u00a0sickle-celldisease. Additional Tupac diss tracks include: \u00ab\u00a0Bomb First (My Second Reply)\u00a0\u00bb where Tupac said \u00ab\u00a0You’re barely breathin'\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0Against All Odds,\u00a0\u00bb both of which were released on Tupac’s posthumous studio album,\u00a0The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. Mobb Deep retaliated on their 1996 release of\u00a0Hell on Earth, which contains a diss track entitled \u00ab\u00a0Drop A Gem On ‘Em.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n Mobb Deep released\u00a0Infamy<\/em>\u00a0while in 2001 the song \u00ab\u00a0Burn\u00a0\u00bb (featuring\u00a0Vita) was perceived as a response to Jay-Z’s\u00a0diss song\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Takeover\u00a0\u00bb on\u00a0The Blueprint<\/em>, as was \u00ab\u00a0Crawlin’,\u00a0\u00bb in which Prodigy’s two verses both mention Jay-Z. The album marked a major stylistic change in which the duo moved away from a raw, minimalist, stripped-down beat toward a commercial friendly in terms with such songs as \u00ab\u00a0Hey Luv (Anything).\u00a0\u00bb This transition fostered accusations of \u00ab\u00a0selling out.\u00a0\u00bb They eventually led the group’s fanbase upset and many long-time fans who did not wish to see them veer away from their original style eventually lost some interest in their music. Although these stylistic adjustments opened up by Mobb Deep to a wider audience, many critics and fans consider their style change as a detriment to Mobb Deep’s street image and record sales (most evident when comparing the platinum-selling\u00a0Murda Muzik<\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0Infamy<\/em>\u00a0which struggled to attain\u00a0gold-record\u00a0status). In 2003, the group split with Loud Records and released\u00a0Free Agents: The Murda Mix Tape<\/em>, in which Havoc and Prodigy proclaimed themselves \u00ab\u00a0free agents\u00a0\u00bb and addressed the group’s split with its old label and its search for a new label.\u00a0Jive Records\u00a0signed the duo later in the year through a deal with the group\u2019s own imprint. Mobb Deep then released\u00a0Amerikaz Nightmare<\/em>\u00a0in 2004 which was seen by the general hip-hop audience as an \u00ab\u00a0weaker release\u00a0\u00bb; this resulted in poor sales and the group\u2019s subsequent departure from the label.\u00a0Mobb Deep also gained some fame after \u00ab\u00a0Dirty New Yorker\u00a0\u00bb was featured in\u00a0Grand Theft Auto IV. Today, as a result of various mergers, all of Mobb Deep’s studio albums from 1995 to 2004 are owned by\u00a0Sony Music Entertainment.<\/p>\n In June 2005, Prodigy and Havoc announced they had signed with 50 Cent’s label\u00a0G-Unit Records. The move was surprising among Hip Hop fans because\u00a050 Cent\u00a0had ridiculed the group in his song \u00ab\u00a0Piggy Bank.\u00a0\u00bb 50 Cent had a connection to Mobb Deep as he grew up in Queens and Havoc had provided production on projects by G-Unit, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. The relationship strengthened as Prodigy and 50 Cent each received tattoos to pledge their loyalty to each other. Prodigy has the word \u00ab\u00a0G-Unit\u00a0\u00bb tattooed on the side of his right hand and 50 Cent has \u00ab\u00a0Mobb Deep\u00a0\u00bb tattooed on his wrist. As part of their contract with G-Unit, both Prodigy and Havoc were given new Porsches. Later, Mobb Deep signed different artists onto Infamous\/G-Unit Records including Nyce, 40 Glocc and Gail Gotti. Mobb Deep released their eighth album,\u00a0Blood Money\u00a0in 2006. It features G-Unit members 50 Cent, Kav Thee Sav, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as well as Mary J. Blige and Nate Dogg. In 2006, Mobb Deep became the first American hip-hop duo to perform in India, via VH1’s Hip Hop Hustle. It performed in a nightclub called Enigma. In late 2009, Mobb Deep were released from their contract with 50 Cent’s G-Unit label.<\/p>\n On April 4, 2011, a possible new Mobb Deep single leaked on the internet named \u00ab\u00a0Dog Shit,\u00a0\u00bb this song features rapper\u00a0Nas. This is the first official song by Mobb Deep since Prodigy made his return from jail and their first consensual collaboration with Nas in nearly ten years due to their feud (notable exception: member\u00a0Prodigy\u00a0& Nas appearing on producer\u00a0The Alchemist’s album\u00a01st Infantry, on song \u00ab\u00a0Tick Tock\u00a0\u00bb). It is produced by\u00a0Havoc\u00a0and\u00a0Alchemist. In the longrun of their relationship, they are also recording an upcoming, self-titled album (which will be their ninth studio album) with production from Havoc, The Alchemist, Sid Roams,\u00a0DJ Premier, MTK, Cardiak and the\u00a0J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League\u00a0as well as other guest artists such as;\u00a0Rick Ross,\u00a0Lil’ Kim,\u00a0Wiz Khalifa,\u00a0Odd Future\u00a0and\u00a0Nas\u00a0on their new album.\u00a0On November 21, 2011, the duo released an EP called\u00a0Black Cocaine<\/em>.<\/p>\n On July 27, 2012, Havoc told AllHipHop in interview that group is on an indefinite hiatus. According to HipHopDX, Havoc and Prodigy had fallen out after Havoc blasted Prodigy on\u00a0Twitter, and eventually, a sound clip leaked of him taking numerous shots at his former Mobb Deep comrade during their concert at\u00a0SXSW. At first, Havoc claimed that he was hacked. However, he then confirmed it was him because he felt that Twitter was not a place to resolve a beef. He also stated that he had a diss track aimed at Prodigy in store for the making. \u00ab\u00a0Same Shit Different Day\u00a0\u00bb was recorded to take a direct hit towards Prodigy.\u00a0The song later turned out to be \u00ab\u00a0Separated (Real from the Fake),\u00a0\u00bb which is slated to appear on Havoc’s upcoming solo album\u00a013<\/em>.<\/p>\nOrigins<\/h3>\n
Rise to success<\/h3>\n
East Coast vs. West Coast feud<\/h3>\n
2000 to 2010<\/h3>\n
G-Unit Records<\/h4>\n
2011 to present: Break-up, reconciliation and\u00a0Mobb Deep<\/em><\/h3>\n