Prodigy of Mobb Deep

23rd January 2024

Prodigy formed Mobb Deep alongside his partner Havoc when they were teenagers. Together the duo basically started gangster rap for the East Coast. When he joined the show back in 2011, Prodigy had just written a biography called My Infamous Life. He talked with us about the book and also his lifelong battle with sickle cell anemia. In 2017, he was hospitalized for his anemia and died while in care. Late last year, the FDA approved a new therapy to treat and almost eliminate symptoms of sickle cell disease. Had it been available to Prodigy when he was alive, there’s a good chance he’d still be here today.

Episode notes

(Photo: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

Prodigy is one of the fathers of hardcore hip-hop. As a teenager, in the early nineties, he and his partner Havoc formed the group Mobb Deep. Together they created music that was an east coast answer to the emerging west coast gangster sound.

Mobb Deep’s tone was dark, eerie and minimal. And their lyrics were cold and brutal. They didn’t yell because they didn’t need to. The words spoke for themselves.

Prodigy was born with sickle cell anemia, a condition he dealt with for the entirety of his career. In 2017, he was hospitalized for his anemia. He died while in care. 

Prodigy was only forty-two when he passed. And we’re replaying this interview with him today not because there’s some posthumous recording coming out or a boxed set or whatever.

Late last year, the FDA approved a first-of-its-kind therapy to treat and almost eliminate symptoms of sickle cell disease. Had it been available to Prodigy when he was alive, there’s a good chance he’d still be here today.

When he joined the show back in 2011,  Prodigy had just written a biography – My Infamous Life. He talked with us about the book, his lifelong battle with sickle cell and more.

If you or someone you know is experiencing Sickle Cell Disease, here are some available resources:  

Addressing Sickle Cell Disease: A Strategic Plan and Blueprint for Action

CDC Sickle Cell Disease Resource Page

This interview originally aired in May of 2011.

 

 

In this episode...

Senior Producer
Producer
Maximum Fun Producer
Maximum Fun Production Fellow
Video Editor

Guests

  • Prodigy

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

If you would like to pitch a guest for Bullseye, please CLICK HERE. You can also follow Bullseye on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. For more about Bullseye and to see a list of stations that carry it, please click here.

Get in touch with the show

People

Senior Producer

Producer

Maximum Fun Producer

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Video Editor

How to listen

Stream or download episodes directly from our website, or listen via your favorite podcatcher!

Share this show

New? Start here...

Liked Prodigy of Mobb Deep? Listen to these next...