Queens native and legendary rapper Prodigy, one half of the wildly popular hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, has reportedly died on Tuesday, June 20, at the age of 42, in Las Vegas due to complications from sickle cell anemia.
Prodigy, whose real name is Albert Johnson, was performing in Las Vegas a few days ago with Mobb Deep partner and Queens native Havoc (real name Kejuan Muchita), when he was hospitalized, Mobb Deep’s publicist told Rolling Stone.
“As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled the disease since birth,” the statement read. “The exact causes of death have yet to be determined. We would like to thank everyone for respecting the family’s privacy at this time.”
Johnson and Muchita both grew up in Queens and burst onto the hip-hop scene in the early ’90s with their debut album “Juvenile Hall” and made it big with their sophomore album “The Infamous,” which features one of the pair’s most iconic songs, “Shook Ones Pt. II.”
Johnson was a major player in the famous East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry that ran through the mid-’90s which included iconic rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac.
Mobb Deep dropped their latest album, “The Infamous Mobb Deep,” in 2014.
