| Prodigy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lance Albert Johnson Banks |
| Born | November 2, 1974 Hempstead, New York |
| Origin | Queensbridge, New York |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper, producer |
| Years active | 1992-present |
| Labels | Koch |
| Associated acts | Havoc, The Alchemist, Big Noyd, Nas, Infamous Mobb, G-Unit, 50 Cent |
| Website | HNIC2.com |
Lance Albert Johnson Banks, (born November 2, 1974[1]) better known as Prodigy, is an American rapper and one half of the hip-hop and rap duo Mobb Deep.
He was born to parents of Ethiopian-Jamaican decent, and is the great-great-grandson of the founder of Morehouse College. Prodigy was born with Sickle-cell anemia and has suffered from the disease throughout his life.
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Born in Hempstead, New York, Prodigy became a member of the duo Mobb Deep. He comes from a musical family—his grandfather, Budd Johnson, and his uncle Keg Johnson are remembered for their contributions to the Bebop era of jazz.[2] His mother, Fatima Frances Collins, sang in The Crystals and recorded such hits as “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “Then He Kissed Me”.[3] Propelled to awareness partially by fellow rapper Nas, who took a similar approach lyrically on his Illmatic album from 1994, as well as with the aid of a successful single, "Shook Ones Pt. 2," Mobb Deep released The Infamous. A year later, in 1996, Prodigy and Havoc released Hell on Earth; debuting at number six on SoundScan the album was composed with both evocative beats and cinematic rhymes that communicated the dark side of New York's urban landscape. Due to a grim video for "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)" and theatrical Scarface-like photos inside the CD booklet picturing the duo with guns and a mound of cocaine, Mobb Deep had created an elaborate image for themselves that took hardcore gangsta rap to a new level for East Coast hip hop. Its next release, Murda Muzik, was heavily bootlegged while still in its demo stage, leaking, onto the streets and over the internet, rough versions of the nearly 30 songs the duo had recorded ..
In December 2000 Prodigy was robbed[4] of jewelry with a value of 343,000 dollars. This happened in his old neighborhood while shooting a video in Queens NY. He completed work on his third solo album H.N.I.C. Part 2, which was previewed on his official mixtape The Return of the Mac on the independent label Koch Records. The mixtape single and mixtape video are called "Mac 10 Handle,". H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 was released through Voxonic Inc., of which Prodigy is an equity holder.[5] In late 2009, Mobb Deep was released from its contract with 50 Cent's G-Unit label.[6] He recently served a three-year sentence in Mid-State medium-security prison, following a plea agreement stemming from a gun-possession charge.[7] He was officially released on March 7, 2011.
Prodigy released an autobiography during spring 2011 entitled My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy. It was co-written with Laura Checkoway and was published by Touchstone Books.
Prodigy was recently featured in the 2011 documentary Rhyme and Punishment a film that documents Hip-Hop artists who have been incarcerated. The film documents Prodigy's trial and his last days before starting his prison sentence.
During 2011, Prodigy released a free EP called The Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson EP which is his first project since being released from prison.
On April 21, a song titled "The Type", with Curren$y, was released on Curren$y's free album, entitled Covert Coup.[8]
In 1993 to 1997, the media-fueled "East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry" was occurring. This "beef" started when Tha Dogg Pound released "New York, New York," to which Mobb Deep took offense as, in addition to the lyrics, the song's music video portrayed New York buildings being stomped on by Dogg Pound members. In response, Mobb Deep with Capone-N-Noreaga and Tragedy Khadafi released "LA, LA". 2Pac "dissed" Mobb Deep (along with The Notorious B.I.G.) in "Hit 'Em Up" where, in the outro of the song, he made a remark in clear reference to Prodigy's ailment in having sickle cell anemia: "Oh yeah, Mobb Deep, you wanna fuck with us?/You little young ass motherfuckers/Don't one of you niggas got sickle cell or something?/You're fucking with me nigga/You fuck around and catch a seizure or heart-attack/You better back the fuck up before you get smacked the fuck up". Mobb Deep responded in a track called "Drop A Gem On 'Em" which was released as a single after 2Pac was murdered, although the song came out before his death. 2Pac also dissed Mobb Deep on the song "Against All Odds"[9] which was released after his death. But Prodigy later sampled 2Pac's voice from a freestyle for the chorus on the song "Return of the Mac" (a.k.a. "New York Shit") on his album with the same name. His affiliate and fellow rapper Majesty, who had made a song with 2Pac (which was never released) called "Big Time" (also featuring 2Pac's frequent collaborator Stretch and the late E-Moneybags) paid tribute to 2Pac on a skit called "Madge Speaks," on the same album.
On The Infamous, made remarks about rappers who rap about "smoking weed" and talk about "space shit".[10] Def Squad took offense but the feud was settled when Prodigy and Keith Murray met at a video shoot.[10] The feud was rekindled when Prodigy again referenced "space shit" in his appearance on LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya" which also featured Murray. Murray saw Prodigy at a club one night and punched him.[10] Prodigy recalled the altercation and threatened Murray in the song "In the Long Run" on Hell on Earth. Murray released a song "Call My Name" on his Enigma album dissing Mobb Deep. The feud seemed to die down until Prodigy dissed Murray again in his 2004 song "Bad Blood." Murray has responded with numerous songs since.[10]
During an interview Prodigy stated that he did not like Saigon, Tru-Life or many other rappers for that matter and dissed Prodigy back in an interview.
On the night of September 19, 2007, after an impromptu performance by Saigon during a Mobb Deep show, words were exchanged between Saigon and Prodigy.[11] This escalated into an argument, which resulted with Saigon punching Prodigy twice and running out the club.[12] Two video versions of the events have since emerged. One version with slow motion footage says it shows a clear look of Saigon hiding under a table yet you can see him standing to the right of the table, while another video shows Saigon running away from the club.[13] The feud has appearantely died down, since Saigon had expressed happiness that Prodigy was coming home, in an interview two months before the rappers release.[14]
While in prison, Prodigy wrote a letter about his disillusionment with hip hop and rappers. He directly referenced Crooked I's name in the rant about vibe.com's best rapper alive 2008, specifically commenting,
| “ | Vibe says 920,000 people voted for it. I would personally b*tch slap all 920,000 of these voters if given the opportunity. Who in the f*ck picked Crooked I, Flo Rida and Rich Boy? How did Vibe approve this? | ” |
Crooked I has since responded in a blog entry, challenging Prodigy to a one-on-one fight upon the rapper's release.[15]
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