—The book giveaway is closed—
Fresh off the book circuit, Albert “Prodigy” Johnson from the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep sat down for a moment to chat with me about his musical family, the ’90s hip hop wars, and his debut book. The autobiography My Infamous Life is Prodigy’s story to date. It moves at a sprinter’s speed and reads like a hard-boiled novel.
We have two copies of My Infamous Life to give away. Details after the interview.
You have musical background, on both your mom and dad’s sides of the family. Can you tell me about it?
One the first people to get into music was my grandfather. He was a jazz musician by the name of Budd Johnson. He’s in the Jazz Hall of Fame and the Big Band Hall of Fame. He put out about six or seven albums. He did a lot, man. He was in a band with Quincy Jones. He helped Quincy with his composing capabilities. He helped him write sheet music. He toured the world. I used to go to all of his shows when I was six or seven years years old… in like the Blue Note and the hole in the wall jazz spots in Manhattan, Harlem, and all of that. I was… those are the memories of my grand father. Then there was my mother. My mother and father were in doo wop groups. They had their little success.
My mother was in a group called the Crystals. She released big records, and went on tour a lot. [The Crystals] had some big songs like “Rocking Robin” and “Da Doo Run Run.” My mother toured with Diana Ross and The Supremes, Dick Clark, and what have you.
I grew up around [music]. I was taught the importance of song writing and producing your own stuff. People [in my family were] always talking about the business. That’s how I was raised.
Tell me about your first turntable. It was a Genesis, right?
For Christmas when I was fifteen or fourteen or something like that, my mother bought me a turntable. She bought me a mixer, headphone, speaker. You know, I wanted to be a dj to make my own mixtapes and what have you. So I used to do that as a hobby I picked up from my Puerto Rican friends. They used to collect albums and DJ equipment. I wanted have my [own] in the crib. That’s when I got into the technical part of music. I got into the lyrics. Then I started getting into whose beats were hot, whose beats are better than the others. Rap music is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Very much like prose of your book, you have an unapologetic, direct, yet colorful gift for storytelling in your music. How did you cultivate your style/sound?
I read a lot. I mean I read a lot of books. Some of my favorite books to read when I was locked up was Malcolm Gladwell. I read all his books. I read The Tipping Point. I read Blink. I read Outliers. I read most of his books.
I would read a lot of different things. I read some of those hood novels, those little ghetto novels. I couldn’t read too many of those because it was the same old thing. Gimme something that will challenge my mind. Gimme something that I’m gonna learn. Tell me something I don’t know already.
Out of all the hood novels I read, there were probably three or four I really liked. [Public Enemy’s] Sista Souljah’s books The Coldest Winter Ever and Midnight were really good.. Then you got Nikki Turner who put out a few good ones, Hustler’s Wife. After that it really starts to get boring. It’s the same story about drug dealers, getting kidnapped… It’s all the same [thing].
Some novels take too long to get to the point. They like to really emote and explain things. Like the color of the leaves in the fall with morning dew glistening. I’ll never write like this. [I thought] this shit is really pissing is me off! My time is precious I don’t [like my time being wasted].
That’s where my writing style comes from, I guess. I really get to the point on a lot of things.
How did you and Kejuan “Havoc” Muchita meet?
Havoc and I went to school in Manhattan at the Manhattan Art and Design. We met through a mutual friend. Who wanted to get us together because he knew we both rapped. And was like yo, you should start a group together. And we clicked, since day one. We had the bond. It was meant to be. We’re like brothers almost, know what I mean.
This is what I want people to take away from my book. I want people to learn about loyalty, family, and relationships. It’s a beautiful thing [for family] to stick together, no matter what. It should be cherished. That’s what Mobb Deep has, as far as the music and relationships go.
In the ’90s when the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud emerged, people died. How did this tragic episode in hip-hop history change the music industry?
It calmed us down a lot. From what escalated from little rap beats into serious things. I bumped into Jay-Z at Justin’s, Puffy’s club, after the Summer Jam incident. When I saw him, [Jay-Z] approached me and put his hand out. He said, “It’s no beef, ain’t no drama. It’s just rap music.”
I’m looking at him, and I’m thinking about how I could react right now… what I could do to him, but I knew that was wrong. It’s not that serious. Especially since it’s just [music]. [Jay-Z] reminded me it’s not that serious. Look at the Biggie-Tupac situation. We see how serious I could get. I calmed a lot of things down in hip hop.
Your mother gave you copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. His story had profound influence on men locked up and free. The book crossed color lines. Do you think My Infamous Life could have the same impact on your readers and society?
You know Malcolm was way more… well read and well spoken than me. [laughs] But I think I can definitely have an impact. They can read a lot of different things like health, to relationships, to street shit, real life gangsta shit that’s going on in the street, to business and finances. There’s many different or a lot of things you can take away from it, that can help you from my experiences. I don’t think I can’t compete with Malcolm X.
Don’t sell yourself short. I’m waiting for your next book. Anything in the works?
I have three in the works.
You and Havoc have been judges at the Independent Music Awards. Is this you guys giving back to music? If so, what other ways do you help out young artists?
Just getting out there on panels maybe at music conventions and talking to the people. Just being a real person, you know what I mean, when you talk. Being interviewed, and appearing on the radio, so people can learn about you, know what I’m saying, so you don’t brag about your success. I went astray from that, you know, from being humble. We try to do what we can for the young aspiring artists.
Jay-Z said to Prodigy, “It’s no beef, ain’t no drama. It’s just rap music.” To win one of the two copies of Prodigy’s autobiography My Infamous Life, simply tell us your favorite hip-hop artist involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud. Besides Prodigy.
