19 thoughts on “A Salute To Prodigy aka Veteran’s Memorial Pt 3.”
Nice write-up, Robbie (although I had to copy and paste the dead link).
Yeah, I distinctly remember a time when Prodigy was severely counted out. The beef with Jigga, that whole thing with the ballerina picture, and the poorly received Infamy album. In the early 2000’s it was looking like P’s glory days were well over. But then he made a strong comeback that both restored his credibility while also illuminating all of his past work. You gotta respect that.
Link fixed.
I disagree with the “brutally honest” and “never fell off” bits but still an interesting read. I love “The Infamous” and thought “Hell on earth” was decent but totally lost interest after that. The thousand-yard-stare and quiet violence formula had run its course for me during HOE.
Agreed 100% although I enjoyed some releases that came out after.
Hell On Earth “decent”? There is no excuse for such a claim. Shit is certified classic.
Nice tribute but FYI The Prodigy have been around since 1990 so they definitely didn’t jack Ps name.
@Dino: The Infamous is terrific, but Hell on Earth is the superior album, despite that awful cover artwork. And I think P kinda toned down the “thousand-yard-stare and quiet violence formula” in his solo work, which was more personal and self-deprecating than his stiff with Hav.
You do have a point about Prodigy not being “brutally honest”, though. I remember reading his autobiography and rolling my eyes at how he constantly skewed history and spun things in his favor.
@KQ: Never let facts get in the way of a good story.
Prodigy Alchemist Albert Einstein Dope!
Every time a middling rapper dies, they suddenly become GOAT. I guess all the contemporaneous 3/5 reviews and a decade of fan indifference were all wrong.
As for Prodigy never falling off. What about Prodigy’s EDM EP? Didn’t Mob Deep do verses for Mariah Carey and other pop/R&B remixes?
I get why Robbie was moved to pen his piece. after all, Prodigy is the quintessential CRC-approved rapper.
The Mariah track with Mobb & Noyd is flames. I won’t hear a bad word about it.
one of the most irritating things about hip hop fandom is constantly having to read about who’s better than who. in no other genre is this pathetic discussion so prevalent. like I can’t even enjoy dude’s music after he died without this soft ass noise
The smartest thing that Prodigy did, after his Mobb Deep days ended, was align himself with Alchemist. The Return of the Mac and Albert Einstein albums were excellent throughout. The HNIC albums had some good points but also some pretty bad songs.
I bought his book when it came out, but only just started reading it. It’s pretty good, presumably due to the writer Laura Checkoway. The book is a lot like his lyrics — you obviously can’t believe everything, but the stories are entertaining in P’s personally nihilistic way.
@Dino: Nobody called P the greatest rapper of all time. But he was one of the most talented and iconic rappers of the mid-to-late 90’s, and to stand out and rise above the competition in that era is really remarkable. I fell in love with hip-hop when Mobb Deep was at its peak, and Prodigy remained one of my favorite rappers ever since.
I didn’t like his HNIC 2-era material as much as Robbie, but I still recognize it as high-quality music. If you don’t enjoy the song Young Veterans, then I don’t want to sit at your lunch table.
As far as his most recent releases, I didn’t like HNIC 3, but I spun Albert Einstein quite a few times and enjoyed it a lot. After that I kinda lost interest in his solo material. But I still always perked up whenever I saw him drop a guest verse.
It’s true that a lot of heads suddenly fall in love with any rapper who passes away, and that’s pretty annoying. But you know what bothers me even more? The people who bash a dead rapper on their tribute thread less than a week after they die.
It’s been hard for me to even listen to his music but I put on the Albert Einstein album and it took me to a place. He was spitting jewels on the last album.
Sidenote: I agree with what Master P had to say about P and how the industry do artists when they pass.
well written.complete co-sign.
p never fell off.he kept it cold.
with and without havoc.he delivered.
the way he was gettin busy over those
sid roams beats was beyond comprehension.
he put alc on (s/o buc 50) and picked
beats like no other.there was not a week
i didn’t pump some of his work.
(and un pacinos. shame on y’all)
imo he was relevant ever since.
lately he co-signed wsg and conway
and kept it raw til his demise.
i will miss him.no doubt.P!
Prodigy was dope as fuck till he signed to g unit. After that his rhymes didn’t even rhyme. Lets be honest those albums were trash and he used trap beats too.
I salute P but he did sell out a long time ago. His music got embarrassing especially solo music.
He was a dope mc UNLIKE 2Pac.
props to Mobb Deep for having the heart to stand up against the West Coast during the East-West beef most of your favorite rappers were silent
Nice write-up, Robbie (although I had to copy and paste the dead link).
Yeah, I distinctly remember a time when Prodigy was severely counted out. The beef with Jigga, that whole thing with the ballerina picture, and the poorly received Infamy album. In the early 2000’s it was looking like P’s glory days were well over. But then he made a strong comeback that both restored his credibility while also illuminating all of his past work. You gotta respect that.
Link fixed.
I disagree with the “brutally honest” and “never fell off” bits but still an interesting read. I love “The Infamous” and thought “Hell on earth” was decent but totally lost interest after that. The thousand-yard-stare and quiet violence formula had run its course for me during HOE.
Agreed 100% although I enjoyed some releases that came out after.
Hell On Earth “decent”? There is no excuse for such a claim. Shit is certified classic.
Nice tribute but FYI The Prodigy have been around since 1990 so they definitely didn’t jack Ps name.
@Dino: The Infamous is terrific, but Hell on Earth is the superior album, despite that awful cover artwork. And I think P kinda toned down the “thousand-yard-stare and quiet violence formula” in his solo work, which was more personal and self-deprecating than his stiff with Hav.
You do have a point about Prodigy not being “brutally honest”, though. I remember reading his autobiography and rolling my eyes at how he constantly skewed history and spun things in his favor.
@KQ: Never let facts get in the way of a good story.
Prodigy Alchemist Albert Einstein Dope!
Every time a middling rapper dies, they suddenly become GOAT. I guess all the contemporaneous 3/5 reviews and a decade of fan indifference were all wrong.
As for Prodigy never falling off. What about Prodigy’s EDM EP? Didn’t Mob Deep do verses for Mariah Carey and other pop/R&B remixes?
I get why Robbie was moved to pen his piece. after all, Prodigy is the quintessential CRC-approved rapper.
The Mariah track with Mobb & Noyd is flames. I won’t hear a bad word about it.
one of the most irritating things about hip hop fandom is constantly having to read about who’s better than who. in no other genre is this pathetic discussion so prevalent. like I can’t even enjoy dude’s music after he died without this soft ass noise
The smartest thing that Prodigy did, after his Mobb Deep days ended, was align himself with Alchemist. The Return of the Mac and Albert Einstein albums were excellent throughout. The HNIC albums had some good points but also some pretty bad songs.
I bought his book when it came out, but only just started reading it. It’s pretty good, presumably due to the writer Laura Checkoway. The book is a lot like his lyrics — you obviously can’t believe everything, but the stories are entertaining in P’s personally nihilistic way.
@Dino: Nobody called P the greatest rapper of all time. But he was one of the most talented and iconic rappers of the mid-to-late 90’s, and to stand out and rise above the competition in that era is really remarkable. I fell in love with hip-hop when Mobb Deep was at its peak, and Prodigy remained one of my favorite rappers ever since.
I didn’t like his HNIC 2-era material as much as Robbie, but I still recognize it as high-quality music. If you don’t enjoy the song Young Veterans, then I don’t want to sit at your lunch table.
As far as his most recent releases, I didn’t like HNIC 3, but I spun Albert Einstein quite a few times and enjoyed it a lot. After that I kinda lost interest in his solo material. But I still always perked up whenever I saw him drop a guest verse.
It’s true that a lot of heads suddenly fall in love with any rapper who passes away, and that’s pretty annoying. But you know what bothers me even more? The people who bash a dead rapper on their tribute thread less than a week after they die.
It’s been hard for me to even listen to his music but I put on the Albert Einstein album and it took me to a place. He was spitting jewels on the last album.
Sidenote: I agree with what Master P had to say about P and how the industry do artists when they pass.
https://massappeal.com/prodigy-return-of-the-mac-album-legacy/
well written.complete co-sign.
p never fell off.he kept it cold.
with and without havoc.he delivered.
the way he was gettin busy over those
sid roams beats was beyond comprehension.
he put alc on (s/o buc 50) and picked
beats like no other.there was not a week
i didn’t pump some of his work.
(and un pacinos. shame on y’all)
imo he was relevant ever since.
lately he co-signed wsg and conway
and kept it raw til his demise.
i will miss him.no doubt.P!
Prodigy was dope as fuck till he signed to g unit. After that his rhymes didn’t even rhyme. Lets be honest those albums were trash and he used trap beats too.
I salute P but he did sell out a long time ago. His music got embarrassing especially solo music.
He was a dope mc UNLIKE 2Pac.
props to Mobb Deep for having the heart to stand up against the West Coast during the East-West beef most of your favorite rappers were silent