P, Rest In power Dunn
Coming out of Queens and as somebody who has known Prodigy since before Mobb Deep blew up, Cormega is someone who is more than qualified to speak from the heart about P’s passing than anyone. Between tracks like “Thun N Kicko,” “Three,” “Killaz Theme” and “What’s Ya Poison,” the two had a number of classics under the belt together.
In a letter for Newsweek, Mega Montana opened up about how he first met Prodigy and how he saw him and Havoc blow up when he had to go to jail. You can also hear the appreciation for P and Hav when he appeared on Murda Muzik and how much it meant to him when he almost signed with Priority Records back in the day. Even the fact that Prodigy appeared on two tracks on The Realness was something that still sits dearly with him to this moment.
“On June 20, I received a text from a friend asking me if Prodigy was dead. I looked at my phone with disgust, assuming it was baseless gossip. But just to make sure, I searched online. I found nothing. Then I got another text asking the same thing. I thought this was all a tasteless joke until more texts came and someone sent me a screenshot of TMZ saying Prodigy had died. By then I was in my car and felt so terrible I thought I might crash. I pulled over and let my daughter go into a store as a plethora of thoughts went through my mind. To the world, Prodigy, one of the greatest rappers of all time, had passed away at the age of 42. But I lost someone I knew, someone I had shared stages with. He would never say “what up thun” as he did when we saw each other. News of his death left me uneasy, but also made me grateful for the time we spent together and the music we made.
I admired their determination. But I was caught up in the street life that would inevitably send me on an up north trip to Midstate. During my years away, Mobb Deep developed into a formidable duo. One day, while I was in prison and watching television, I caught a video of “Shook One’s,” the hit single of Mobb Deep’s The Infamous LP. I felt proud to know them, proud that the seeds they had planted had blossomed into something wild and exciting. It was also amazing to see so many familiar faces in the video, which was filmed on the same streets we represented. Mobb Deep had made it. They was “on” as we would say when someone succeeds.
……
Over the years, Prodigy and I had valleys and peaks, but I can say this sincerely—with God as my witness—I loved him. And I’ll always feel honored that we made music together and be grateful for the things he did for me.
You can read the full letter over at Newsweek.
OS REWIND: Cormega – Guns and Butter (feat. Gunplay)