Prodigy, who was part of hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, died on Tuesday, June 20, at age 42, according to Rolling Stone.
Mobb Deep’s publicist confirmed that Prodigy passed away after battling sickle cell anemia his entire life. “It is with extreme sadness and disbelief that we confirm the death of our dear friend Albert Johnson, better known to millions of fans as Prodigy of legendary NY rap duo Mobb Deep,” the statement read. “Prodigy was hospitalized a few days ago in Vegas after a Mobb Deep performance for complications caused by a sickle cell anemia crisis. As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled the disease since birth. The exact causes of death have yet to be determined. We would like to thank everyone for respecting the family’s privacy at this time.”
The rapper most recently performed at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on Saturday, June 17, as part of the “Art of Rap” tour alongside Ice-T, Ghostface Killah and others.
Prodigy and his childhood friend Havoc broke into the NYC music scene in 1992 under the name Poetical Prophets. The following year, they changed their name to Mobb Deep when they dropped their album, Juvenile Hall. Prodigy and Havoc released eight records together in total, and some of their biggest hits include “Quiet Storm,” “Shook Ones (Part II)” and “Hey Luv (Anything).”
Many celebrities took to social media to pay tribute to the late star. Prodigy’s close friend Nas posted a photo on Instagram, writing, “QB RIP King P. Prodigy 4 ever.” Lil Wayne tweeted, “Damn. RiP to the great one Prodigy. Rap game lost a legend the world lost a G. [Prayers] to and for his fam. Love. MOBB.”
