1993 was a game-changing year for hip-hop. Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest released classic albums, Tupac Shakur slapped the world with Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z. in the wake of the Rodney King tragedy of the Los Angeles riots, and on the West Coast, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre had just taken G-Funk mainstream with “Nuthin' but a G Thang."
Only 19 at the time, the duo Havoc and Prodigy of Mobb Deep was knee deep in the movement, recording in the studio with 90s legends Nas and Raekwon. Their 1993 album Juvenile Hell reflected the distinctive energy moving underground hip-hop culture to the forefront and getting it recognized for what it was––socio-political commentary on working class America.
But what made Mobb Deep stand out from the rest was their authenticity. The opening line of “Shook Ones Part II,” “I got you stuck off the realness,” is by some opinions one of the best opening lines in hip-hop, and certainly codified “realness” as one of rap’s core values. Growing up in the Queensbridge projects, Mobb Deep was involved in a lot of street struggles from a young age, as fans will recall from the line, “I’m only 19 but my mind is old.” Their beats further distinguished them––dark, eerie, and soaked in that distinctive New York soul, cleverly sampling Motown artists like Willie Hutch.
Now, 20 years later, Havoc and Prodigy are looking back at their success and cataloging. They’re in the midst of a North American tour and are gearing up for an album release. The Infamous Mobb Deep, set to be released on April 1, will include their breakthrough 1995 album as well as previously unreleased tracks from the era.
Recently, star struck and nerve-racked, I talked with Prodigy about Mobb Deep’s beginnings, where they used to go digging for records in Manhattan, and more.
Grace Wang: You guys met at the High School of Art and Design, which Marc Jacobs and Pharoahe Monch also attended. What were you each studying or interested in?
Prodigy: Havoc was going to school for architecture and I was going to school for designing clothes or what not. I liked this place in Queens called the Shirt Kings. They used to make these shirts with the cartoon characters with big gold ropes and stuff like that. That’s where I got the inspiration to do what I was doing at school.
What other fashion were you into at the time? You definitely talk about clothes in some of your lyrics. In "Peer Pressure," for example you say, “Buyin’ new gear, nuthin but the best / Forget Levi's, strictly Polo and Guess.”
Yeah, we talk a lot about the fashion at the time. You know back then in the early 90s, late 80s, it was like Benetton, Nautica, Polo, some things like that. Word.
In 1993 you guys were dropped by your label Island, then picked up by Loud Records, making you label contemporaries with Wu-Tang Clan. Can you talk a bit about that transition?
When we first got signed, we was only like 15, 16. We was still kids, mentally. We wasn’t really taking the business and the craft of making music seriously. So you know, I guess that had to happen to us. For us to get it together, put the reality ahead.
Is that where the line "I&
Only 19 at the time, the duo Havoc and Prodigy of Mobb Deep was knee deep in the movement, recording in the studio with 90s legends Nas and Raekwon. Their 1993 album Juvenile Hell reflected the distinctive energy moving underground hip-hop culture to the forefront and getting it recognized for what it was––socio-political commentary on working class America.
But what made Mobb Deep stand out from the rest was their authenticity. The opening line of “Shook Ones Part II,” “I got you stuck off the realness,” is by some opinions one of the best opening lines in hip-hop, and certainly codified “realness” as one of rap’s core values. Growing up in the Queensbridge projects, Mobb Deep was involved in a lot of street struggles from a young age, as fans will recall from the line, “I’m only 19 but my mind is old.” Their beats further distinguished them––dark, eerie, and soaked in that distinctive New York soul, cleverly sampling Motown artists like Willie Hutch.
Now, 20 years later, Havoc and Prodigy are looking back at their success and cataloging. They’re in the midst of a North American tour and are gearing up for an album release. The Infamous Mobb Deep, set to be released on April 1, will include their breakthrough 1995 album as well as previously unreleased tracks from the era.
Recently, star struck and nerve-racked, I talked with Prodigy about Mobb Deep’s beginnings, where they used to go digging for records in Manhattan, and more.
Grace Wang: You guys met at the High School of Art and Design, which Marc Jacobs and Pharoahe Monch also attended. What were you each studying or interested in?
Prodigy: Havoc was going to school for architecture and I was going to school for designing clothes or what not. I liked this place in Queens called the Shirt Kings. They used to make these shirts with the cartoon characters with big gold ropes and stuff like that. That’s where I got the inspiration to do what I was doing at school.
What other fashion were you into at the time? You definitely talk about clothes in some of your lyrics. In "Peer Pressure," for example you say, “Buyin’ new gear, nuthin but the best / Forget Levi's, strictly Polo and Guess.”
Yeah, we talk a lot about the fashion at the time. You know back then in the early 90s, late 80s, it was like Benetton, Nautica, Polo, some things like that. Word.
In 1993 you guys were dropped by your label Island, then picked up by Loud Records, making you label contemporaries with Wu-Tang Clan. Can you talk a bit about that transition?
When we first got signed, we was only like 15, 16. We was still kids, mentally. We wasn’t really taking the business and the craft of making music seriously. So you know, I guess that had to happen to us. For us to get it together, put the reality ahead.
Is that where the line "I&