H.Town@Shop: Htownshop presents: The Hits! Moob Deep

9/20/2008

Htownshop presents: The Hits! Moob Deep

Mobb Deep is a hip hop duo that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The group is perhaps most famous for its landmark 1995 album The Infamous and for the single "Shook Ones Pt. II." The group is currently signed to G-Unit Records. Although the group hasn't seen a large amount of commercial success, the majority of its albums have been met with critical acclaim, in particular for The Infamous, which is considered an East Coast classic, in the same league as Nas's Illmatic and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die.

Havoc & Prodigy started rhyming in the late 1980s when the duo met at the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Havoc took the role of producer, while Prodigy assumed the position of primary emcee. Originally dubbing themselves the Poetical Profits, the duo later changed its name to Mobb Deep in order to "reflect their reputation on the streets."^{[citation needed]} In the group’s early career, it released the single "Cop Hell."

While members of the clique were only 17, the clique released its debut album Juvenile Hell, which was led by the single "Peer Pressure." The album sold very poorly and was met with harsh reviews that wrote the duo off as just another hardcore group with little to distinguish them from the rest of the hip-hop world—especially with the group Illegal—despite production by DJ Premier and Large Professor. However, a few songs from Juvenile Hell gained a little recognition, such as "Hit It from the Back," "Locked in Spofford," and "Me and My Crew." Also in 1993, Havoc had a guest appearance in the critically acclaimed Black Moon album Enta Da Stage, on a song called "U Da Man."