American Musician. Known professionally as Prodigy, he was one half of the hip-hop outfit Mobb Deep, which he formed with his partner, Havoc, in New York City in the early 1990s. Johnson was born into a family filled with musicians; his mother, Fatima Johnson – then known as Francis Collins – was once a member of the '60s girl group the Crystals, while his grandfather, Budd Johnson was an acclaimed jazz saxophonist. Johnson, who began rapping while he was in high school under the stage name Lord-T, managed to score a demo deal at Jive records and earned himself a debut feature on Hi-Five's 'Too Young' which appeared on the 'Boyz N the Hood' soundtrack. Not long after, Johnson united with Kejuan "Havoc" Muchita, but when Jive wouldn't sign them as a duo, the pair struck out on their own, releasing their first demo in 1992 under the name Poetical Prophets, which they followed up a year later with their Mobb Deep debut, 'Juvenile Hell'. Their 1995 follow-up 'The Infamous', remains a hardcore NYC classic and features one of the group's signature songs, 'Shook Ones Pt. II'. The duo would go on to release eight records together as Mobb Deep, including 'Hell on Earth', 'Infamy', 'Blood Money' and 'The Infamous Mobb Deep', which was released in 2014. Johnson, who was in Las Vegas performing with the Art of Rap tour, died from complications caused by a sickle cell anemia, which he had battled since birth.
American Musician. Known professionally as Prodigy, he was one half of the hip-hop outfit Mobb Deep, which he formed with his partner, Havoc, in New York City in the early 1990s. Johnson was born into a family filled with musicians; his mother, Fatima Johnson – then known as Francis Collins – was once a member of the '60s girl group the Crystals, while his grandfather, Budd Johnson was an acclaimed jazz saxophonist. Johnson, who began rapping while he was in high school under the stage name Lord-T, managed to score a demo deal at Jive records and earned himself a debut feature on Hi-Five's 'Too Young' which appeared on the 'Boyz N the Hood' soundtrack. Not long after, Johnson united with Kejuan "Havoc" Muchita, but when Jive wouldn't sign them as a duo, the pair struck out on their own, releasing their first demo in 1992 under the name Poetical Prophets, which they followed up a year later with their Mobb Deep debut, 'Juvenile Hell'. Their 1995 follow-up 'The Infamous', remains a hardcore NYC classic and features one of the group's signature songs, 'Shook Ones Pt. II'. The duo would go on to release eight records together as Mobb Deep, including 'Hell on Earth', 'Infamy', 'Blood Money' and 'The Infamous Mobb Deep', which was released in 2014. Johnson, who was in Las Vegas performing with the Art of Rap tour, died from complications caused by a sickle cell anemia, which he had battled since birth.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
Advertisement
See more Johnson memorials in:
Advertisement
