Mobb Deep

Mobb Deep stood tall as East Coast hardcore rap figureheads on the basis of their epochal album The Infamous. Released in April 1995, The Infamous was released almost exactly a year after Illmatic and about half-a-year after Ready to Die -- the debut masterpieces of Nas and the Notorious B.I.G., respectively, and likewise albums of momentous significance for East Coast hardcore rap. On The Infamous, the duo of Prodigy and Havoc set the tone for future generations of hardcore New York rappers. Subsequent Mobb Deep releases were equally influential, especially Hell on Earth (1996). The following decade, Prodigy and Havoc recorded for G-Unit-- the label of Mobb Deep disciple 50 Cent -- as well as numerous other outlets. The duo's partnership faltered for a time, but they were actively performing into mid-2017, when Prodigy died from complications of an illness that had afflicted him since infancy.