Biography of Mobb Deep

The duo known as Mobb Deep -- Prodigy and Havoc -- met at a Queens high school in the early '90s and soon became friends. After writing a few raps together, they hung out around the Def Jam headquarters waiting to get noticed. After attracting the attention of Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, the duo gained a record deal with 4th & Broadway by 1993 and released their debut album, Juvenile Hell, the same year. The LP wasn't very successful, but Mobb Deep resurfaced on Loud Records the same year, with the single "Temperature's Rising." Prodigy and Havoc's debut album for the label, The Infamous, was released in 1995. It hit the Top 20 and went gold, thanks in part to the Rap Top Ten single, "Shook Ones Part II." Mobb Deep's third album Hell on Earth debuted at number six in early December 1996. Murda Muzik followed in 1999. ~ John Bush