Mobb Deep Trivia: 19 fun facts about the hip hop duo!

Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from the Queensbridge Houses in New York City.

Let’s see some interesting facts about them!

1. In 1992, before Mobb Deep was officially established, Havoc and Prodigy originally went by Poetical Prophets and released their first demo titled Flavor for the Nonbelievers which was promoted through the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine.

2. In 1993, Havoc and Prodigy, released their debut album, Juvenile Hell, which was promoted by the single “Peer Pressure.”

3. Also that year, Havoc made a guest appearance on the Black Moon album Enta Da Stage on a song titled “U Da Man.” In 1994 the duo released a single titled “Shook Ones Part 1”.

4. The group saw its first major success with their second album, The Infamous, released in 1995.

5. Mobb Deep catapulted to the top of the hardcore hip-hop scene through Havoc and Prodigy’s straightforward narration of street life.

6. Mobb Deep’s third album, Hell on Earth was released in 1996 debuting at number six on the Billboard Album Chart; the album continued the duo’s portrayal of harsh street life while further pushing them to the forefront of Hip Hop scene along with contemporary East Coast Rappers like The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, Big L and fellow Queensbridge rapper Nas. Nas as well as Method Man and Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan appear on ‘Hell on Earth’.

7. Mobb Deep was part of the infamous East Coast vs West Coast Hip Hop rivalry that was fueled and increasingly promoted by the private media.

8. The beef started when Snoop Dogg and the West Coast group, Tha Dogg Pound, released “New York, New York” which Mobb Deep, along with Capone-N-Noreaga and Tragedy Khadafi responded with the song “L.A L.A” (This song can be found on Capone-N-Noreaga’s debut album The War Report).

9. This song was released during rapper Tupac Shakur’s final days of incarceration. Members of Tupac’s group, Outlawz, allegedly attended a Mobb Deep concert; they then visited with Tupac over public rumoring that the duo had snubbed them at the concert.

10. Tupac dissed Mobb Deep on multiple tracks, including: “Hit ‘Em Up” and “When We Ride on Our Enemies” in which Tupac makes light of Prodigy’s sickle-cell disease.

11. Additional Tupac diss tracks include: “Bomb First (My Second Reply)” where Tupac said “You’re barely breathin'” and “Against All Odds,” both of which were released on Tupac’s posthumous studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.

12. Mobb Deep retaliated on their 1996 release of Hell on Earth, which contains a diss track entitled “Drop A Gem On ‘Em.”

13. Mobb Deep released Infamy while in 2001 the song “Burn” (featuring Vita) was perceived as a response to Jay-Z’s diss song “Takeover” on The Blueprint, as was “Crawlin’,” in which Prodigy’s two verses both mention Jay-Z.

14. Mobb Deep then released Amerikaz Nightmare in 2004. The record sold poorly and lead to the group’s departure from the label.

15. Today, as a result of various mergers, all of Mobb Deep’s studio albums from 1995 to 2004 are owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

16. They are known for their dark, hardcore delivery as exemplified in “Shook Ones (Part II).”

17. Mobb Deep has become one of the most successful rap duos in hip hop, having sold over three million records.

18. Mobb Deep’s net worth is $10 million USD.

19. The group briefly disbanded in 2012 but has since reunited.