As half of Mobb Deep and as a solo artist, Prodigy was one of the most influential rappers ever – even for rappers outside of the East Coast rap scene he grew up in. His impact was further proven this week, when Eminem and Kendrick Lamar introduced Peter Rosenberg’s “Real Late” broadcast on Hot 97 to rap some of P’s verses.
Eminem introduced the show by spitting Prodigy’s verse from Mobb Deep’s 1995 çlassic “Survival of the Fittest,” and K. Dot rhymed the first verse from “Genesis,” the second song from Prodigy’s solo debut H.N.I.C.
Rosenberg then presented a nearly two-hour mix that paid tribute to Prodigy. The Queens MC died at age 42 last week; while his cause of death hasn’t been announced yet, it is suspected to stem from his sickle cell anemia, a disease he battled for all of his life. Artists from all over the industry paid homage to Prodigy on social media after his death, and at Sunday’s BET Awards, Havoc (of Mobb Deep), Lil Kim and Kendrick Lamar all honored his legacy.
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Listen to the mix below.